Tentacle on 34th Street (Tinsel and Tentacles 2.0)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Earth

Three years later…

N o one in their right mind should be forced to wake up before the sun rose. A night owl at heart, Alex Parker had carefully chosen a career working behind a desk during regular business hours, weekdays only, for that very reason. Yet that very office job was forcing him out of bed at an ungodly hour—through no fault of his own. Instead of rising and shining, he turned off his phone’s alarm to stop the incessant beeping and closed his eyes, well aware of the chances he’d drift off back to sleep.

Six a.m. Alex was going to hate five a.m. Alex.

There was one part of him that was wide, wide awake. His woody lay hard and heavy against his upper thigh. He ignored it a moment in the quiet of the early morning, too exhausted to care about getting off—but his hand ultimately slid under the bedding to grip the base as if it had a mind of its own. Perhaps he should simply be happy to be hard. He hadn’t had much interest in sex since Matt had chosen singlehood for both of them back in May. A month later, he’d tested the whole ‘the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else’ theory to mediocre results and a broken condom—which had led him down an STD panic spiral, but thankfully he’d tested negative for three months in a row.

I’m finally able to use my dick again without worries of spreading infectious diseases, and I’m too busy with work to enjoy it. God, I hate my job. I miss Anthony. I really need to spruce up my resume and put some feelers out because I cannot handle Trevor’s indecision anymore. It’s his fault I’m up at o’dark-thirty, the bastard.

His iPhone went off again.

Didn’t I turn you off? Fuck!

Snatching the phone, he turned the alarm off. A reminder popped on his screen as soon the alarm was disabled.

Photoshoot. Studio B.

Today at 6 a.m.

With a roll of the eyes, Alex dropped the phone onto the bed beside him. He reached for his cock again, only to realize he’d gone soft. Perfect. Fuck my life.

A knock sounded at his bedroom door. The entire world was conspiring against him.

He growled out, “Yeah?”

The door opened a crack, and his younger brother, Ethan, peeked in with a too-bright smile.

Morning people are the worst.

“Morning!” Ethan brought a steaming cup of coffee through the crack. “I bring rations.”

The scent of the coffee made him groan. He sat up on his elbows.

His brother entered, crossing the bedroom, cradling the cup gingerly. “I know five a.m. is hard for a night owl. I didn’t want you to oversleep. The coffee is to prevent a grouchy bear attack.”

“Good thinking.” Alex scowled, accepting the offered cup. “Thanks .” He took a sip and sighed as the flavor washed over his tongue. “Why does your coffee always taste better than mine?”

“I have the special touch,” Ethan said, a wide smile growing. He backed to toward the door. “Good luck today.”

“Thanks,” Alex said, not feeling very hopeful himself.

“Oh, before I go… do you remember Rudy? The guy Emilio was dating last year or the year before.”

Alex nodded. “Vaguely.”

“I ran into him when I was picking up groceries yesterday. He asked about you and perked up when I mentioned you and Matt had broken up.”

“No,” Alex said. He didn’t need his little brother playing Cupid again.

“But you know Rudy. It’s not like it would be a blind date like the last time.”

“Rudy’s not my type,” Alex murmured.

“How so?”

“Trust me,” Alex replied. “He’s not.”

“He’s good looking, creative, and seems like a really nice guy,” Ethan argued. “He’s got his life together.”

“No,” Alex repeated.

“I could really see the two of you together.”

“Just give it up,” Alex said more firmly.

“Is it because it was me who brought it up?” Ethan asked. “Or is it because you’re not awake yet? Never mind. I’ll just ask again when you’re in a better mood.”

“It’s because he’s a bottom,” Alex said, cutting his eyes toward his brother.

Ethan blinked a few times, appearing confused. “And that’s a problem?”

Alex took a sip of his coffee, waiting to see if his straight brother would get the point without him having to explain it in detail—which he really didn’t want to do.

Ethan stared at him, his expression blank. After a few more seconds, his head tilted… eyes widened… and his mouth dropped open. “So… are you… I thought you were…” Ethan’s face grew redder. “I guess I… yeah … I just assumed because you weren’t swishy and into sports that you.” Ethan pumped his hand. “You know… took charge?”

Swishy? Ugh. “Bottoms can take charge. They can be Doms.” Alex sat his cup on his nightstand. “Tops can be submissive. There are no rules. The only ones with rules are the straights.”

“Okay, then,” Ethan murmured. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

Alex slid out of bed and stretched his arms over his head. “How about you just stop trying to set me up at all? I don’t need your help.”

“It’s been months since you and— you know —and you’ve been a little down since then. The holidays are around the corner, and I’ve read that single people tend to get depressed that time of year… I don’t want you to feel isolated or alone when you’re already a little unbalanced.”

Unbalanced? He had to say Ethan had that part right. After three years with Matt and hints they might build a life together, he was feeling a bit unbalanced. Alex sighed. It had been nearly five months. How much longer was he going to let himself wallow? “Work is ridiculous right now. I don’t have time for a relationship, but even if I did, it’s okay to be single. Holidays or not. Just let me live. I’ll meet someone when I meet someone—and on my terms, not yours.”

“Fine, fine,” Ethan said, moping.

He couldn’t stand to see the sad puppy dog look on his brother’s face. “I appreciate your concern. But I’ll be just fine.”

The corners of his brother’s lips curled up a little. “Okay.” Ethan checked his watch. “It’s almost five-thirty, by the way.”

“Fuck!” Alex snapped. He snagged his cup and raced to the bathroom for the quickest shit, shower, and shave of his life. Hopefully his clothes matched because he barely looked at them when he threw them on. On his way toward the door, he pulled his messenger bag across his chest and plopped his bike helmet on his head—and snatched the travel cup of java Ethan extended his way across the breakfast bar—before lifting his bike off the hook and racing downstairs.

The morning was chillier than he’d anticipated for the first of October with its usual thick layer of fog. He situated himself, zipped up his half-zip sweater against the chill, cursing himself for not grabbing a lightweight jacket. One good thing about the early hour was the traffic, or lack thereof. There were plenty of people and cars out, just not as many as usual. He navigated the streets with ease and arrived only a few minutes late instead of the ten he’d been expecting.

Tossing his bike over one shoulder, he entered the old brick warehouse where they were shooting PridePack’s holiday campaign and climbed the two flights to Studio B. As soon as he walked in, he was in awe of what the set decorators had managed in such a short period of time.

Outside it might be the spooky season, but inside, it looked like Christmas. Alex usually had their holiday shoots done by early August, but thanks to a shake up due to the sudden retirement of their longtime CEO and a new one coming onboard who couldn’t pull the trigger on either of his pitches, they were two months behind schedule. When they’d finally gotten the green light, their usual studio and photographer only had two days instead of the usual four to make the magic happen.

Which meant they’d be working early and staying late—then they’d scramble to put it all together before the season began, meaning more long hours ahead.

His assistant, Jonas, was already there, with their iPad at the ready as usual, in deep conversation with Alex’s set director, Scott. They stopped their exchange and shouted instructions to the decorators as they worked up until the last second before the cameras came out. They luckily worked with a photographer who could do both still shots and video at the same time, cutting costs and time. Alex deposited his bike, helmet, and backpack along a blank space of wall near the stairwell and fixed his hair as he sauntered closer to his assistant, sipping his coffee.

Jonas looked over their shoulder when they noticed Alex’s presence. They spun with a wide smile, smoothing a hand down their short, black skirt. “Morning, Boss! We’re getting close to last looks on set.”

“Great.” He eyed Jonas’s outfit. “You look festive today.”

Jonas smiled, opening their arms and spinning once. Their green, sequined top sparkled against the millions of twinkle lights in the studio. “I figured I needed to get in the holiday spirit.” They glanced at Alex’s business casual and barely hid the cringe.

Alex surveyed his outfit. He saw nothing wrong with his chinos, light blue button down, and gray sweater. It all matched. Considering his morning and how tired he’d been, Jonas should be thankful for that.

“I might be able to find you a Santa hat to help…” Jonas waved a palm toward Alex’s attire. “This. Sometimes, I wonder if you’re truly gay. You have no style, Alex. Ethan’s straight and he dresses better than you do. You look like an unemployed tech bro.”

“Sorry. I’m just not a fashionista.”

“I’ve offered to do your clothes shopping for you,” Jonas murmured. “Just hand over the credit card and set me loose in your closet. I can get you set right.”

“If I ever need any new clothes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Jonas gave a look before turning to the decorations. “Doesn’t everything look so magical?”

“Sure,” Alex replied, sipping his coffee.

Jonas lifted a brow, shaking their head, their full head of thick, black ringlets shaking. “Well, if you’re not in the festive spirit, the studio sure is.” They pressed a few buttons on their iPad and Christmas music began to play over the speakers. “Thor hooked me into his speakers.”

“Where is Thor, by the way?” Alex glanced around, searching for their photographer through the chaos. Knowing where not to be helped his sanity.

“He’s got another super early shoot in Studio A. He said it’s a short one,” Jonas replied. “You have a reprieve for a while. He’ll be down in about an hour.”

Alex sighed in relief.

“I don’t know why you don’t find us a new photographer. He harasses you every time you’re here.”

“It’s a stretch to call it harassment. It’s… aggressive flirting.” Thor left the rest of his team and the models alone. Alex asked around after every photo shoot to be sure. It was one thing for him to deal with the guy’s heated attentions, but he wouldn’t put his team through that to save a buck. For some reason, Thor only fixated on him.

“You shouldn’t have to deal with aggressive flirting, either.”

“He’s good and he’s cheap. Thanks to him, we can splurge on more set decoration and hire the models we want. For that, I can handle him and his little crush.”

“Did you ever think that maybe he assumes you’re open to his flirting because you keep coming back and working with him over and over again?” Jonas asked.

“I’ve told him no for years—and that I have a boyfriend,” Alex said, cringing inwardly when he realized he no longer had that boyfriend as a barrier. Thor didn’t need to know that, though. “While his persistence is irritating, he never gets physical. It’s just innuendo and staring, which I can deal with. I just keep my distance.”

“Fine,” Jonas muttered. They eyed their iPad. “So, to catch up on what I’ve already done. I’ve got copies of your checklist of what we need shot today, and I’ve given a copy to Scott and Thor as well as sent one to your phone. As soon as the set designers are finished, we need you to walk through and approve. I’ve distributed copies of your schedule to everyone to keep us on track both days.”

“Good work.”

“Oh, the agency called last night right after you left. Our Santa got cast in a television pilot and won’t be able to make it.”

“How are we s?—”

Jonas lifted a palm to stop him. “But it’s handled. They just landed a brand-new model who will be perfect for our sexy Santa, and he’s on his way. M&A sent over his new headshots last night and…” Jonas sighed dramatically. “He’s better than who we had. Much better.”

“He better be. That last guy wasn’t the greatest choice.”

“Also… the organizers for the Rainbow Reindeer Rally called and they said it was no problem that we were reaching out this late. Being their first year, it’s been harder for them to get the word out and they don’t have as many signed on as they’d like. They’re still taking entrants and sponsors. They loved your idea of using our campaign’s Santa as the parade’s Santa. They’re giving us the final float in the parade to do just that.”

Alex almost smiled. “Well, that’s some good news.”

“They did heavily hint they’re still in need of sponsors, too,” Jonas added.

“I can discuss it with Trevor after the shoot. Hopefully this new model they’re sending is all you say he is. That might help convince our CEO to loosen the purse strings since I’ve spent a substantial part of our budget on ad buys for Christmas already.”

Jonas tapped the screen of their iPad before spinning it around. “Something tells me Trevor will green light all the sponsorship money they want after taking a look at our new Santa.”

Alex gazed at the screen and inwardly gasped. A tingling sensation rushed over him. The model was absolutely stunning . He was Hercules, Zeus, and Adonis, all rolled into one. The camera clearly loved him. Alex snatched the iPad to get a closer look.

“This guy is new new, as in we’re his first paid gig. Since they were already planning to send him to us, they got a few images of him in only briefs,” Jonas added. “So we can see what our campaign might look like with him in it.”

“How tall is this guy?” Alex asked. “He looks huge.”

“His stats say six-six.”

Big boy. His insides turned molten looking at those big amber eyes. “I guess Trevor’s getting his muscle-bound Santa Daddy after all.”

Once he’d finally picked a pitch, their new CEO had had stipulations. Trevor had refused to sign off unless Alex agreed not to cast a big, burly bear—which is exactly what he’d planned. Alex had railed against the idea, but eventually given in. There hadn’t been time to argue or sulk when they were already months behind schedule.

Eyeing that image, he hated to admit that Trevor had made a good call. Or rather, he’d lucked out and it had become a good call, no thanks to him. Their new Santa was built—but not so much that it was overkill. Sure, he clearly worked out, but Alex would bet the guy spent more time in a pool than hanging in the gym, though he had a little more bulk than the average swimmer, too. A dusting of fine hair covered his pecks and trailed down his ripped abs, disappearing under the tiny pair of briefs. In that and his short, dark hair and tight beard was a healthy sprinkle of salt in the pepper. The gray was sexy as hell. “How old is he?”

“His paperwork says forty-two. A wee bit younger than Trevor’s suggested range, but I think he’s close enough,” Jonas answered. “And when he looks like that…”

Forty-two. Same age as Matt. Alex growled at that thought. Why had his brain gone directly to comparing someone to Matt?

“You don’t approve? I was sure you would.”

Alex handed the iPad back to a frowning Jonas. “He’s fine.” Yes, he is fine. “And better than the last one.”

“Whew,” Jonas said. “I was so confident you’d green light him that I gave M&A approval to have him sign the contract last night. You scared me there for a minute.”

“Well, even if I hadn’t approved, we’d likely have had to go with him considering we have no time left,” Alex muttered. “What’s his name?”

“Cryss Kreegl,” Jonas replied. “I accidently read Kris Kringle the first time and snorted, sure the agency was messing with me.” They looked at their screen again. “Oh, he’s pretty.”

Alex snorted. “Try not to drool over him when he shows up.”

“I’ll do my best,” Jonas said before they glanced at their watch. “He and Santa’s Helpers should be here soon. I’ve got hair and makeup setting up behind Santa’s workshop as we speak.”

“Where’s wardrobe?”

“Just behind makeup. Want me to walk you through what’s been laid out?”

Alex nodded, and they skirted their Winter Wonderland. “Did we get all of the NearlyNaked Holiday pieces?”

“We did,” Jonas replied.

“And the original PridePack pieces that are in coordinating colors?”

Jonas nodded.

“The new loungewear?”

Jonas cringed. “I’m not sure I remember seeing those this morning.”

Alex waved to the hair and makeup crew and called out “Good Morning,” as they passed by to wardrobe. A long folding table was half-full of neatly stacked piles of their assorted briefs, thongs, boxers, and boxer-briefs, ready for the models to wear. PridePack’s in-house merchandiser, Hector, and two helpers were adding more piles to the table.

“Morning, Hector.”

“Morning,” Hector replied with a broad smile.

“Did we get the loungewear in for the shoot?” Alex asked.

Hector spun in a circle, searching the area. “I put a full rolling rack on the truck last night. It should be here somewhere.” Hector walked behind a collection of unlit backup Christmas trees and disappeared. He returned a few seconds later, rolling a rack out. “They’re here.”

“Good,” Alex said. He scanned the silk robes, boxers, and pajamas. He turned to Jonas. “How are we going to shoot these? The concept was twink elves decorating the trees, working in the shop, filling the sleigh… but we didn’t consider having a set to show them lounging after. Shit.”

“Alex ander Parker!” a booming voice rang out behind Alex.

Alex winced and slowly spun. He found a grinning Thor standing a few feet behind him. “Hey, Thor. How are you?”