Only You by Jerry Cole (the top 100 crime novels of all time TXT) 📕

was also the last port of call for the Singles Through Europe trip in three days' time; when Sherman had been helping to organize it, he had theorized it would be a good way to end the Amsterdam leg of the trip. It looked like he was going to be going twice, which honestly didn’t bother him so long as one of them was with Bradley.

As Sherman got ready that morning, he found himself wishing that he’d packed some of his own clothes. He would have killed to have had his expensive kicks with him, or a pair of shorts that he hadn’t quickly bought online at Target. Sherman wasn’t even that into fashion, but he knew what looked good and what didn’t, and what he was forced to wear right now certainly did not.

But he tried not to let that bother him. Although Bradley was almost certainly gay, Sherman didn’t actually think today was anything more than two lonely guys hanging out and enjoying the sights. Bradley was here by himself and clearly out of his depth. And Sherman had an entire morning to kill and figured why not kill it with a hunk by his side?

The two men met outside the museum, on the outskirts of the main part of the city at just past 10am. To be honest, Sherman wouldn’t have been surprised if Bradley didn’t turn up at all. The whole thing had been rushed – they hadn’t even exchanged contact details – and Bradley had been in a bad place at the time. Odds were that he would wake up in the morning and change his mind. In fact, Sherman half expected him to.

It was so silly, but as Sherman approached the museum, he felt himself getting nervous. This felt like a date, even though it wasn’t. And although he tried to tell himself that Bradley wouldn’t even be there, and that he wasn’t as hot as he had pictured in his head, he still found himself desperately hoping that he was there... and that he was even hotter.

Bradley was there, waiting at the entrance. He spotted Sherman coming from across the way and waved enthusiastically; like a child spotting a best friend he hadn’t seen in months. When Sherman spied him, his heart did a little leap in his chest with excitement... but then it quickly dove back down into his stomach and out his backside as if trying to hide. This Bradley guy was even sexier than Sherman remembered.

Not only was he tall, and broad in the shoulders and back, and thick in the arms, and well dressed in his tight shorts and singlet top, and handsome with his square chin and sparkling eyes and... and... and... yeah, he was hot. His smile was big and enthusiastic too and seemed to show all his pure white teeth at once.

“Hey!” Bradley hurried up to Sherman. When they reached, it looked like he was about to go for a hug... then a handshake... then he just kind of shrugged and indicated back to the museum. “You know, I did some reading on this Van Gough guy this morning. Apparently, he’s like, really big.”

“He was,” Sherman laughed. “When he was alive anyway.”

“Actually, that’s not even true.” Bradley smiled knowingly and puffed out his chest, looking just so proud of himself. “I read that he wasn’t even famous until after he died. When he was alive, no one even knew who he was.”

“Really?” Sherman already knew that, but he was enjoying how much Bradley seemed to like telling him.

“Really,” Bradley nodded proudly. “Pretty interesting, huh?”

“Wow... I guess we don’t have to go in anymore – I'm joking,” Sherman hurried when he saw his joke getting taken as a literal suggestion. “I’m just glad you’re interested.”

“I’m a little shook, to be honest,” Bradley explained as the two men headed toward the entrance, already filling up with dozens of eager tourists. “I’m never usually into this nerdy kind of stuff at all.”

“Oh yeah?” Sherman tried to hide his smile. “What are you usually in to? Non-nerdy stuff?”

“I dunno,” he shrugged. “Just not this.”

Two men more different to one another didn’t exist, yet for some reason – one that Sherman was struggling to comprehend – they got along famously, like old high school friends catching up at their ten-year reunion. It was a connection that neither could have expected.

On the physical side... well, that went without saying. Sherman was shorter than Bradley, he wasn’t as good looking in any known metric, and he wasn’t athletic either. Anyone that saw the two together must have just assumed them old friends from long before puberty shone through to highlight how different they were going to be. Indeed, as they wandered through the three-story museum, Sherman had to pinch himself again and again to make sure that he actually was here with this guy.

Now, to be fair, Sherman had been with his fair share of men out of his league, but that had always come with the caveat of money and success. Every time Sherman was with a man who looked like Bradley, they knew what he did and how much he made. They were essentially with him for his wallet and not his personality.

But that wasn’t Bradley. In fact, as far as Bradley was aware, he was the breadwinner of the two and Sherman was punching in every single way.

“So, what do you do?” Sherman asked Bradley as they lined up for the museum. It was a busy morning and it was going to take at least ten minutes to get in. “I didn’t even ask last night, sorry.”

“In your defense, you might have been a little distracted. You were nursing a big cry baby back to health,” he joked. Then he added quickly, “I’m an actor actually.”

“Really?” Sherman was actually impressed. “What do you act in – have I