TJ snorted. There was more truth than poetry to the confusion. But, he smiled and shook his head. "Not at all. Now, if I'm not hard to get and you're not hard to get, where does that leave us?
"I did no such thing. I merely put forth the idea that I might enjoy teasing you in such a way that turns your own words back on you." Following Travis' gaze, his lower lip found its way between his teeth again. "No, it's not. Even if I manage to figure out to live without it for more than a few months, it will always be there. I'm not going to ever really be free of it." The words probably sounded far more self-aware than he meant them. For TJ the sentiment was more fatalistic.
The hug took him by surprise, but he hugged back before resting his forehead against Travis'. "Everyone's always watching. And they never know who I am, even if they know my name. That was the problem that night. It wasn't the random socialites and hangers on I needed to see me. They weren't who I wanted to impress because they didn't mean anything. No one who meant anything was there."