Damaged Goods (MxM - BOOK FIVE)

Chapter Two

Tyler froze. His mouth was somewhere between protesting that he wasn't checking out his new room mate, and an explanation of what he was actually doing.

Mix all of that together with the awkward introduction he was trying to verbalise and you got one very confused mouth that ended up doing little more than hanging open stupidly.

Fantastic first impression.

Narcissus smiled and walked over to him, tossing his phone onto his own bed and holding out his hand for Tyler to shake it.

"Name's Dimitri," he told him confidently.

So not Narcissus?

"Dimitri Carter," he continued offering his hand to shake, "Bachelor of Exercise Physiology."

So he was supposed to introduce himself by the degree he was studying?

"Tyler Douglas," he stammered with not nearly as much confidence, "Commerce."

"Really?" Dimitri looked him up and down boldly with obvious skepticism, "you don't look like a business nerd? Are you an entrepreneur or something?"

Tyler shrugged, he had an idea, but he wasn't about to share it with someone he just met.

Before he could say anything Dimitri reached for the hem of Tyler's shirt and pulled it up familiarly, exposing his midriff. "Nice," he complimented him with a nod, checking out his abs, "you work out."

Was this normal behaviour?

Tyler stepped backward out of his reach and the guy let go of Jack's shirt and it fell to cover him again.

"I'm not gay," he mumbled defensively, his eyes falling from Dimitri's face to his feet.

Dimitri stepped towards him, which made Tyler look up again and the guy leaned in to catch his eyes with a smile across his handsome face.

"Me either," he grinned and Tyler looked back up at his face.

Tyler wanted to die. Now.

He'd just met his room mate and made an uncomfortable assumption and now shit was going to be awkward.

"I didn't mean to offend you," Dimitri apologised and Tyler's mind supplied him with ten different apologies of his own; none of which made their way to his lips before Dimitri spoke again. "That was probably a bit forward of me," he reached into his back pocket pulling out his wallet, and began fishing through it.

What was he doing now? Tyler was losing sense of the moment more and more.

His mind admonished him when Dimitri finally pulled a worn business card from between two bank notes.

"Here," he said, handing Tyler the business card, "I'm also a Personal Trainer."

Tyler turned the card over in his hand. It literally said 'Dimitri Carter - Personal Trainer' and a mobile number.

"I've been meaning to order new cards," Dimitri shrugged, "I'm on a bit of a tight budget - just waiting for some people to pay up for services rendered."

That surprised Tyler. His immediate assumption of Dimitri was that he was wealthy, his clothes and bedding looked expensive and high quality. Tyler noticed these things after working at the hotel for the last couple of years. His new roommate definitely looked like one of those guys who had rich parents.

He was also studying medicine, which usually meant he was either from money, or well on his way to having his own.

"Me too... on a budget I mean," Tyler admitted, and he was. His income from Subway could barely afford the terrace house, his student contributions and his text books, he still wasn't entirely sure what diet he would be living off. He'd be paying HECS for the rest of his life if his business plans didn't work out. "On a budget - that is - I'm not waiting for payments for services rendered."