I had to park on the street because the driveway was filled with cars. That seemed to suggest I was in the right place, which my GPS corroborated, but I pulled up the invitation I'd received to double check.
"Don't spend Valentine's Day alone--you're invited to the Singles' Soiree, the most exclusive party of the year. Only the hottest make the cut, so don't miss out!"
The address provided matched the house I was looking at, but...was I really going through with this? I still half expected this to be some kind of scam, or worse. On the other hand, I could really use some fun. I'd been out of commission for too long; maybe it was time for me to get back on the horse. If it turned out to be less than I hoped, I could always just leave.
Feeling self-conscious but resolved, I got out of my car and and headed for the door. The house was one of those sprawling ranch-style places, single-storied but with multiple wings and additions sticking out in every direction. I knocked, and twitched in surprise when it was immediately opened. I opened my mouth...and froze, momentarily mesmerized by the man before me.
He was chiseled to perfection a marble statue would envy, six feet of flawless skin and rippling lean muscle. This was extra apparent due to the fact that his only attire was a clingy pair of near-transparent white boxer briefs that hugged so closely they might as well have not existed. Finely wrought features beneath glossy black hair surrounded blue eyes that danced with amusement. If I'd been a cartoon canine, my tongue would have lolled out of my mouth and onto the floor.
"While it's nice to be appreciated," he said, a little smirk on his lips, "it's also damned cold out here. You coming in, or what?"
Oh, right. Winter. I was feeling rather warm all of a sudden, myself, so it took me a moment to compute the issue. "Yes, sorry. You caught me by surprise, is all." I stepped forward, and he only barely moved, forcing me to rub against his body on the way through the door. Something about that move tickled the back of my brain.
I mean, it tickled something else, too, but that particular organ isn't known for being overly concerned with details.
"I'm glad you could make it, Nick," he said, closing the door. "I was starting to worry you weren't coming."
Hearing him say my name settled it. A flash of memory, that same voice gasping my name, that beautiful body writhing beneath me...
"Hello, Dante," I said, suddenly certain. "I wasn't sure you'd remember me."
"Of course," he replied. "We may have only hooked up the one time, but it was only a few months ago. That's the reason you're here, after all. If I didn't remember you, you wouldn't have been invited."
"I didn't realize this was your party," I said.
"Oh yes, I do this every year." He was clearly delighted to share the story. "I keep track of my favorite hookups throughout the year, and then invite them here all at once on Valentine's Day. It makes for a hell of a party." His previous smirk had grown into a wicked grin. "The hottest, best hung, and most multi-orgasmic guys I met last year are all under one roof tonight. You're all three, so of course you made the cut for this year's lineup." I had to smile at that. He was right, it was nice to be appreciated.
The rumble of male voices and laughter echoed down the hallway from the front door. "Speaking of which," Dante said, suddenly brisk, "let's get to it." He went over to a little side table, grabbed something, and turned back, offering the item to me. It was a black plastic garbage bag, still folded up from the box. A piece of white masking tape with "Handsome Nick" written in clear block letters was stuck to the bag. I could only roll my eyes.
"Strip," he commanded. "Put all your stuff in here, and I'll lock it up with everybody else's. That way everyone leaves with everything they came with."
Strip? Like, all the way? Right here, in the foyer? I guess I should have known what kind of party this was from how Dante answered the door. In for a penny, in for a pound...or in this case, a pounding, hopefully. I kicked off my shoes, then started pulling off my coat and scarf while Dante shook out the bag, which proved to be the high-volume sort.
I jerked my chin at the bag as I shoved my outerwear inside, making sure my shoes were on the bottom. "Smart. Simple, but effective."
He nodded. "The first year I did this, I didn't have a system in place. I kept finding leftover socks and dirty underwear all over the house for like a week."
I chuckled, pulling off my shirt. "Yikes. Nobody wants that."
"You're telling me...oh, my." His voice trailed off as I put my shirt into the bag. Shit, I should have realized. Glancing up, I found his eyes locked on my neck, because of course it was.
The scar tissue covered the rear left side of my neck and the top of my shoulder. "It's not as bad as it looks," I said quietly. "How does the saying go? Something something skin deep?"
His gaze jerked up to meet mine again. "I'm sorry, I just didn't know. Talk about catching someone by surprise. When did...how...But no, you don't have to talk about it. I'm sure you're sick of explaining it all the time."
I appreciated that, but better to get it out of the way. "It's okay. To make a long story short, it was a collapsing roof beam. Just a couple of weeks after our first meeting, actually."