Rubbing One Out - Susan Mac Nicol Page 0,21

he stood in front of the mirror—a full-length one he’d conjured up—and contemplated his appearance with glee.

“Wicked. No one’s going to ignore me in this. Whoever you are coming over to see Ben—eat your heart out.”

***

Ben slumped in his armchair, wondering what Dae was doing in his room. He felt bad about forcing his houseguest to make himself scarce, but it was probably the right thing to do. There was no way he could let Hemingway even get a whiff of anything special about Dae. His best friend’s bullshit barometer was strong with the force, and he’d pick up the smell from far away.

Ben glanced at his watch. Hemmy would be here any minute, being the punctual person he was. It was usually Ben who turned up late to everything. He stood up and walked over to the kitchen, checking that the oven was on low, so the Chinese food could be warmed up. He bet it would be cold by now given the weather outside.

There was a loud blow to the door and a yell. “I come bearing gifts. Let me in.”

Ben grinned and pulled the door open. Hemmy stood there, windswept and wet, his puffy parka stuffed unevenly with cardboard boxes. In his right hand, he held a six-pack of beer. In his left was the promised pistachio ice cream.

Ben stepped back to let him in. “Hurry up. You’re letting the rain in.”

Hemmy bumbled in, and Ben shut the door quickly. “Get your jacket off, and I’ll warm the food in the oven for a minute.” He took the beers and the ice cream Hemmy thrust at him and walked into the kitchen. Tess gave a pleased woof and came over for her head to be scratched.

Behind him, his friend heaved a sigh of relief as he took out the food under his jacket. Ben was a little put off seeing his cherished kung pao chicken being plucked from under Hemmy’s armpit as he removed his jacket and shoes.

“It shouldn’t be too cold given I have been heating it with my body warmth,” Hemmy announced. “Take that look off your face. I showered before I came here, and the food is in a sealed box. I bought enough for three of us.”

“Still,” Ben grumbled as he took the items offered and placed them on the top shelf of the oven. “It’s an armpit, Hem. Probably gonna smell of sweat now.”

Hemmy smiled widely. “Additional fragrance,” he chuckled. “If you think anyone could sweat in that weather out there, you are very much mistaken.” He looked around as he took a beer from the six-pack and sauntered over to the couch. “Where’s your mystery guest?”

Ben shrugged as he closed the oven and turned to his friend. “Feeling a bit under the weather,” he said, guilt washing over him. “He’s asleep, I think.”

He took himself and his beer over to his armchair and sat down. Hemmy followed, making himself comfortable on the couch and bringing his long legs up to perch on the armrest. His socks were holey and mismatched, one blue, one a bright green.

“That’s a pity,” his friend countered as he took a swig of his beer. “I was looking forward to meeting him.”

“And meet him you shall,” a soft, Scots-accented voice said.

Ben swung around to the source of the voice and his jaw dropped. Holy hotness. The man looked wicked.

Dae was dressed in a pair of white jeans, which moulded to his long legs. Topped with a white polo-neck, and teamed with a casual waffled dove-grey waistcoat, loosely buttoned at the front, he looked like a GQ model.

In fact…Ben frowned. I think I’ve seen that outfit in my GQ magazine. I remember because it was pretty sexy.

Dae strode forward and held out a hand. “Daniel MacLeod of the clan MacLeod. Lovely to meet you.”

Ben closed his eyes in mortification. Oh hell. Dae had gotten his inspiration from watching Highlander. He hoped Hemmy hadn’t picked up on that little nugget.

Hemmy stood up with a grin and shook Dae’s hand. “I thought you were feeling ill, glad to see you feel better. Yeah, Ben here told me you were visiting from Scotland. Great to meet more of this bloke’s family at last. I only know his dad. Malcolm is such a hoot. I love the old guy.”

Dae blinked, looking intrigued. “Oh, does he live around here too, then?”

Ben nodded quickly. “He stays a village over, I see him fairly often. He’s retired now.”

Hemmy chuckled. “It took a while for Ben