The fake boyfriend, p.1
The Fake Boyfriend, page 1
The Fake Boyfriend
A Men of Café Seuil Novel
KP Maxwell
Bronze Owl Press
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by KP Maxwell
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover designed by KP Maxwell
Published by Bronze Owl Press
First Edition, 2020
Version 1.0
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Thanks for reading!!
Have you met Damien?
About the Author
Chapter One
Liam O’Connell has always been extremely popular with certain types of clients. It’s his slight build, his large blue eyes, his messy brown hair. He looks like he should be someone’s doting boyfriend, and many of his clients like to pretend exactly that – that he belongs to them, just for the night.
Liam is currently in the shower, with the water turned up as hot as he can stand. The clear glass shower door is already fogged up with it, and he’s sure the mirror is as well, with beads of condensation forming on all of the gleaming fixtures and the marble countertops. This bathroom appears to be the en suite in an upscale apartment, but this is not a real apartment. It’s an illusion of sorts, decorated merely for the purpose of entertaining clients. The main door of the luxury apartment leads out into a hallway that connects several other such rooms to a shared living space above the establishment where Liam works.
Tonight’s client is Andrei Federov, the goalie for Portland’s NHL team, the Lumberjacks. Liam has been seeing Andrei off and on for a few years now, almost exclusively during the offseason. Usually, Liam waits for Andrei elsewhere in the apartment, watching television or reading webcomics on his phone. Andrei likes to meet Liam in this fashion, as if Liam is at home, waiting for Andrei to return from wherever he’s been.
But pre-season starts up soon – just in a few weeks, in fact – so this might be one of their last nights together for a while, and Liam has something special planned.
Tonight, Liam stretches himself open with two fingers, his other hand braced against the tiled back wall of the shower for support. He’s easily ready for more, but he’s been working himself open for a while now, taking his time with it, teasing himself as he waits for –
He hears it then: a door clicking shut in the connecting room, and it’s not the main door to the fake apartment, but a different door all together. A special door that appears out of thin air onto one of the blank walls in the apartment at the exact time the client is ready to use it. A magic door.
Like honest-to-god magic.
Liam moans a bit, playing up the theatrics. He left the bathroom door just barely ajar so it would be obvious where to find him. Sure enough, it’s not long before he feels the draft of cool air as the shower door opens, and he hears the brassy, slightly accented voice of his companion for the night.
“Hello, darling,” Andrei says, amusement and arousal both clear in his tone. “I see you didn’t wait for me.”
Liam finds himself blushing for real at Andrei’s words. Even after doing this for as many years as he has, there’s still some sort of illicit thrill in it. Tonight he’s playing at being caught in the shower while his lover stayed late at work, and he’s gotten pretty far into the role while he was waiting for Andrei to arrive.
He turns his head over his shoulder, glancing back at the other man with his most innocent look. He doesn’t have to try too hard at it. He’s sure his cheeks are still pink from being “caught” in this situation, and his dark brown hair is plastered around his face from the water. Andrei is tall, gorgeous in his own rough way, and still fully clothed. Liam hopes to remedy that last part sooner rather than later.
“Ahh,” Liam gasps, as he starts sliding a third finger in. “I did though. I was very good while I waited.” His cock bobs against his stomach as if in protest, and he whines a bit at the stretch of his fingers.
“Christ,” Andrei curses and begins stripping his clothes off very quickly. His t-shirt flies off to reveal a mouthwatering physique, honed from years of playing professional hockey. Liam finds himself repressing a smile as he falls back into the role, spreading his legs a little wider and pushing himself onto his own fingers eagerly.
Andrei finally steps into the shower with Liam, closing the door behind him, placing his large hands on Liam’s slim hips. The shower is big enough to fit two comfortably, but Andrei still manages to make it feel small. Liam is easily the shortest host out of the others who work with him in this establishment. He’s only ever had one or two clients that were of similar height as him. Andrei’s on the taller side of any of his clients. And made of solid muscle.
Andrei gently grabs Liam’s wrist, groaning as he helps to slide Liam’s fingers out of his eager hole. “Let me help you,” he whispers in Liam’s ear.
Liam nods frantically, more than happy for assistance. Andrei reaches over Liam’s shoulder to grab the bottle of lube that Liam left on a shelf, and soon Andrei’s thick fingers have replaced Liam’s own.
Liam mewls as Andrei stretches him open, sliding his fingers in slowly and carefully. Andrei is always oh, so cautious with Liam, as if Liam is a fragile, precious thing. As if he might break. And Liam supposes he must seem like it compared to a man of Andrei’s size.
When Andrei finally slides his cock in, they both groan with pleasure. Liam’s toes curl with it, nearly sliding on the wet floor of the shower. Andrei switches his grip to hold Liam around the waist tightly, securely, and Liam feels almost weightless. He squeezes his eyes shut, wanting more, wanting something he knows he can’t ask for with this client.
It’s good. It’s always good with Andrei. He loves it, even when it’s not quite what he wants.
Andrei takes it slow and easy, until Liam is pushing back against him impatiently. “More,” he whines, trying to get a faster rhythm going.
Andrei’s large hands slide back to grip Liam’s hips a little firmer now, holding Liam still on Andrei’s thick cock. “Not yet,” he says, chuckling.
Liam’s not even sure what he wants half the time, if he’s honest. Maybe he doesn’t want to be treated like he’s precious, perfect, innocent. He’s not, even if he looks the part. How could he be, when he has this sort of job?
Maybe sometimes he just wants to be ripped apart.
But this situation – this isn’t about Liam. Andrei isn’t actually Liam’s boyfriend, and Liam doesn’t have any particular emotional attachment to Andrei other than fondness for a long-standing client. Tonight and all of the other nights that they meet like this are for Andrei’s pleasure specifically. Liam’s job is to satisfy Andrei’s fantasies, and if those fantasies are of having a cute, loving boyfriend waiting for him at home on occasion, then that is what Liam will provide.
Liam is, of course, a host at a very particular type of establishment.
Technically, he works at a barista in a café in Southeast Portland. But the café is mostly a front for the activities that happen on the second floor of the building. Naturally, Café Seuil serves real coffee and pastries on the first floor, but all of the café’s employees work as hosts as well, and the owner, Melanie Selinofoto, prefers to run this side of the business.
What’s even more unusual is how the clients find the hosts.
The clients can find the café through mysterious doors that appear and open for them in various locations around Portland. When a client first stumbles across a door, the door takes them directly to the host that is the best fit – the host that will satisfy their heart’s deepest desires, or something like that. Liam is not clear on the specifics, although he knows Melanie makes the doors using some sort of blood magic. In fact, Melanie is not exactly… human, and Liam doesn’t have a clear idea of what, precisely, she is, even though he’s known her for a very long time. He finds it’s best not to worry too much about things like this.
Once a client meets a host and decides on contract terms with Melanie or one of the other hosts who oversee such things, the door appears for them on the nights they’ve agreed upon. The host only needs to wait in one of the specially decorated rooms that are set up for this purpose. Liam generally waits in this room. The one that’s set up like a high-end apartment. The one that makes his clients feel like they are returning home to a caring boyfriend or loving husband after a long d
Andrei’s large hand finally slides across Liam’s hip until he finds Liam’s cock and starts stroking it slowly in time with his thrusts. Liam presses his forehead against the wet tile of the shower wall. He can already feel it building. That hard, hot, sweet release. He groans when it hits him, and Andrei moans deeply as Liam writhes on his cock.
“Yeah, that’s it, baby,” Andrei says, pushing into him a little harder, a little faster now. He comes as well, fingers gripping Liam’s hips tightly as he does.
Andrei’s up for another round after they towel off, and he carries Liam to the huge king-sized bed. Andrei’s one of the clients who likes to lie in bed afterwards for a while, stroking Liam’s hair, petting him. Liam smiles up at him. He does appreciate all of his clients. They all have different needs in some sense, but Liam fulfills some missing thing for all of them. It just so happens that he’s a good fit for a certain type of thing that’s missing.
Sometimes though, Liam wonders what his host would look like, if he could walk through a door of his own and find one…
Liam falls asleep for a bit, and it’s extremely late at night by the time he wakes up again. Andrei’s already gone, and Liam finds one of Andrei’s jerseys folded neatly on the nightstand. Liam feels his face heat again, touching the material. He’s pretty sure this is a parting gift. Liam won’t likely see Andrei again for almost another year. It’s not like he’ll miss the other man exactly, but it’s always a little strange when clients come and go. He appreciates the gesture, at least. There’s something oddly romantic about it, even if they aren’t really dating at all.
Liam has to be up bright and early the next day to work in the café, so he trudges back into the luxurious en suite bathroom to clean up again. There’s a cozy-looking soaker tub, the well-used rainfall shower from earlier, and fluffy white towels, but it feels a little less something than a hotel room would. Some of the other hosting rooms do look like hotel rooms, and there’s even one set up like a BDSM dungeon. There’s a little bit of something for everyone. But Liam’s clients tend to like the more casual setting to go along with their fantasies. As if they are spending the night with a long term boyfriend rather than someone they are paying for sex.
Because, in the end, even if the clients find the hosts through magic, there’s still an exchange involved, and it’s usually money. Sometimes they offer other things on a rare occasion. Services, for example. Melanie, the owner, likes a good trade. Liam generally doesn’t have to deal with that part though. When there’s a new client, one of the other hosts – usually Sebastian – handles that or sometimes Melanie. Liam doesn’t think he’d be very good at the negotiation part, anyway.
Liam shakes his hair out when he gets out of the shower. It’s messy and curly, but it dries just fine as it is, so he never does much with it. He grabs a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a t-shirt he has stored in the apartment for this exact purpose. The hosts can choose to take clients in any room they like, but they all tend to stick to the same ones usually out of some unspoken agreement. It’s just easier that way, and then they can stock them up with whatever they’ll need on the nights that they use them.
After he’s clothed and mostly dry, Liam heads out into the living space that he shares with the other hosts at this establishment. The door that leads out into the hallway looks like the door of a hotel room, but Liam’s definitely not in a hotel. All of the hosts in the café live on the second floor of the building in a shared living space, carefully designed by Melanie herself. The hosting rooms are all in the same hallway, lined up like hotel rooms would be, but there’s a small study area at the end of the hall. It opens up into the main living area with an open floor plan kitchen, a living room with couches and a huge flatscreen TV. There’s another hallway that leads to the hosts’ private rooms just across the floor.
Currently only four hosts live in the private rooms on this floor of the building. Melanie lives on the third floor along with a bunch of studio apartments that are mostly unused. There used to be five hosts, but Damien went and got himself practically engaged to a former client about a month ago, and Café Seuil hasn’t been the same since he left. Well, technically Damien still works downstairs and manages the actual café side of the business, but he doesn’t work as a host anymore.
Tonight, two of the other hosts are still sprawled out on the couch together, even as late as it is. Kaz has a huge sketchpad spread across his lap on the couch. He’s wearing athletic shorts and a loose tank top, and his messy black hair is falling into his eyes as he works. Jake is sitting next to him, also in athletic shorts but nothing else. He’s a little shorter than Kaz, but much bulkier with a more tan skin tone. His dyed blonde hair is starting to grow out a bit, showing some of the dark roots. He’s leaning forward with his elbows on his bare knees and a controller in his hands, playing some cartoonish side scrolling video game on a console they have hooked up to the big TV.
Liam is not about to complain about Jake’s penchant for walking around the shared living space shirtless. Jake’s probably the most fit out of all of the hosts. He spends a lot of time at the gym, and it really shows. He usually drags Kaz along with him. Sometimes Liam and even Sebastian join them for basketball on Sundays when the café is closed. Liam might be the shortest host, but he’s fast, and he can jump.
The only host missing tonight is Sebastian, their pastry chef, who’s probably either already in bed or… well, Liam’s not really sure what Sebastian gets up to in his spare time. Liam imagines Sebastian probably spends a lot of time hanging out with his friend, Daniel, but he honestly doesn’t know. Sebastian keeps odd hours and doesn’t really go in for all of the social interactions anyway.
Kaz glances up from his sketchpad and sniffs the air curiously, eyes landing on Liam. “Shifter?” he asks, referring to Liam’s client.
Liam shakes his head. “Don’t think so,” he replies, mostly embarrassed that Kaz could smell anything on him after his shower. He’s known Andrei for years. Surely it would have come up by now if the other man is a shifter… Liam can’t ever tell when other people are shifters though. Kaz is a cat shifter, for example, and Liam didn’t know until Kaz shifted right in front of him.
Liam glances down at the jersey in his hand and quickly hides it behind his back. He wonders if that’s what Kaz is smelling. If so, it could be from anyone on the Lumberjacks team. Probably. He doesn’t really want to think about it too hard.
Jake pauses the game he’s playing and looks over at Liam with a grin. “Fun night?” he asks, interrupting Liam’s thoughts. Liam can’t help but blush. Jake… Well, Liam may have slept with Jake before. And Kaz. But mostly Jake. Although a few times with both of them. At the same time. It’s kind of a long story.
“Sure.” Liam nods at Jake’s question, not really inclined to give specific details, but Jake seems to take it as a challenge.
“You want to –” Jake starts to stand, tossing his controller onto the couch, before Kaz cuts him off, throwing an arm across Jake’s chest as if to physically prevent him from accosting Liam.
“Give the guy a break,” Kaz says, and at least he’s not asking Liam about shifters any more. “He just had a client.”
Jake looks a little bit like a deflated puppy, but he nods. “Right, right,” he says, grabbing his controller again. Kaz rolls his eyes.
Liam laughs in reply. “Thanks, but not tonight,” he manages, hoping his voice doesn’t betray his embarrassment at Jake’s directness. Okay, so maybe some of the innocence isn’t an act.
Liam’s starting to understand Kaz and Jake’s relationship a little more after living with them for over half a year now, but it’s definitely confusing to an outsider. They take clients together and like to share, but they aren’t a couple, and they don’t seem to actually have sex with each other outside of taking clients. Jake’s usually the one who initiates stuff, and Kaz seems to just… go along for the ride. And, wow, what a ride. Three-ways are not something Liam’s ever had personal experience with until he met them.
