“Don’t flatter yourself, vegan man.”
“Vegetarian,” Tyler said. “Not vegan.”
Noah dismissed the distinction with a wave of his hand. “Whatever.” Apparently he’d finally realized Alec refused to apologize for being unavailable, because Noah sent them both a grin. “But you two are going to love me even more when I share the news about our fundraising efforts.”
Finally. Now that the meeting had officially started, the tension in Alec’s shoulders eased, and Alec reached for a cracker and took a bite. Alec’s phone beeped again, and he discreetly checked the message.
Climbing in shower. Don’t make me get started without you.
A seed got caught in Alec’s throat, and he coughed, taking a sip of his latte.
“God, Tyler,” Alec said, trying to recover from the mental image of Dylan jacking off while washing away a day’s worth of sweat and dirt. “I forgot how dry these crackers are.”
“I thought you liked them,” Tyler said.
“Alec lied to spare your feelings because he’s too nice.” Noah dropped onto the couch. “No offense, Tyler, but your strict, healthy diet is horrendously dull.”
“I’ll keep that in mind when I’m adjusting the insulin drip treating your red-meat-induced diabetes, Noah,” Tyler said.
A chuckle escaped Alec, and Noah shot him a look.
“Back to our funding issue,” Noah said, his expression turning serious. “Remember Jack Davis from my party, the moody bastard who sits on the board at Charity Regional Hospital? Anyway, I got a call from him today. He and his wife, Sylvia, have a proposition for us.”
Alec sat up higher in his seat. Maybe this discussion would be over even sooner than he’d hoped.
“They want us to throw a charity bachelor bid,” Noah said.
Tyler stared at Noah, obviously unimpressed, and Alec sank back against the couch, his optimism for a quick meeting slipping away.
“A bachelor auction?” Alec said.
The way Noah had spoken, Alec had thought the couple planned to hand over enough to meet their goals. Problem solved. Back to Dylan. A pipe dream, clearly, but a nice one nonetheless.
“Please tell me you’re kidding,” Tyler said. “An event like that is a waste of time.”
“You haven’t heard the rest of the proposition. If we throw a bachelor bid and raise forty-thousand dollars, then they’ll donate the rest to meet our funding goals.” Noah cleared his throat and picked up a seed from his pants. “With the condition that we include their nephew in the event,” he mumbled.
“We can’t raise that kind of money with a charity auction unless we’re selling sex along with the dates,” Tyler said. “And wait…” He glanced back at Noah. “Who is their nephew?”
“Probably some loser in desperate need of a social life,” Noah said with an indifferent shrug. “But their reasons don’t matter. Except that, lately, Charity Regional has gotten a lot of flak in the news for their lack of community involvement. Jack wants the hospital to team up with us on this and the bachelors to be volunteers from their employees.”
Tyler looked less than convinced, but Alec couldn’t think of a valid reason for continuing to argue against the idea.
“Look,” Noah said, “the hundred grand we’re getting for the humanitarian award is significant. And we could continue to slowly eek forward and eventually meet our goals to secure financing for housing. But we also need to think long term.”
Times like these reminded Alec why he and Tyler had chosen to include Noah in their plans. The man’s fierce dedication and boundless energy were an asset.
Except when applied to Alec’s personal life.
“Starting a popular annual event will provide us funds for future projects,” Noah went on. “I think a bachelor bid has the potential to be a regular draw and pull that kind of figure off, provided we generate a good amount of buzz.”
“How?” Alec asked.
“First,” Noah said, “we sign on someone famous and film a couple of creative commercials.”
Alec barely restrained the groan. Christ, he’d never get home to Dylan with this kind of delusional thinking on Noah’s part. Not without a massive supply of antipsychotics.
“Oh?” Alec knew he sounded as weary as he felt. “Is that all?”
Noah looked unconcerned. “Between the three of us and the six degrees of Kevin Bacon thing, I’m sure there is a famous acquaintance in our midst.”
Alec tipped his head. “One of Tyler’s exes fits the bill.”
The snap of Tyler’s gaze to Alec spoke volumes, and guilt stabbed him.