Colter
M aybe offering Hugh one of his spare rooms wasn’t his best idea, but he was honestly just trying to help the guy out. It didn’t hurt that thought that he was hot, or the fact that he seemed pretty easy to talk to. He had only a handful of friends since moving to town to open Abner’s and adding Hugh to that list might be a good idea if they were going to work together. The question was—would he actually take up on his offer?
He spent the rest of the day at the bar, trying to put out a few small design fires that had come up, and by the time he got home, he felt about ready to drop. He pulled into his cul-de-sac and found a pickup truck sitting in his driveway, and for some crazy reason, his heart started racing. He knew that hoping it was Hugh sitting in his driveway was crazy, but he did.
As soon as parked in the garage, Hugh jumped out of his truck and met him at the door. “Hey,” he breathed.
“You decided to take me up on my offer then?” asked, hoping that he already knew the answer. He was on dangerous footing with his new employee, but for some reason, he just didn’t give a fuck. One thing he was certain of—he was lying to himself when he said that he wanted Hugh as a friend since he didn’t have many in town. With the way that his body responded to his new bar manager, he wanted him for so much more than friendship and that wasn’t something that he could let happen. He needed to keep things between them as professional as possible, even while living together.
“I have, if that’s still okay with you,” Hugh admitted.
“Of course it is,” agreed. “Come on in and I’ll show you around. I was about to order some dinner if you’re hungry.”
“Starving, but that’s just my constant state of being. I can’t seem to stop running long enough to eat a meal—well, until today. I guess that not finding a place to live was a good thing because I sure do like that little diner in town,” Hugh admitted.
laughed, “Well, I hate to tell you this, but you would have found it eventually anyway. It’s one of the only three places in town that serve food. That’s also why I wanted to open my bar here—not much competition.”
“Let’s get the tour out of the way, and then, how does Chinese food sound?” asked.
“Let me guess—it’s one of the only three places in town, right?” Hugh asked.
“Yep, and the other one is a burger place. But that’s what I ate last night, so I’m really hoping that you like Chinese food,” admitted.
“Well, you’re in luck because I love Chinese food,” Hugh said.
“Great, follow me,” ordered. He led the way upstairs to the bedrooms and pointed to the master. “I’m there, but you can have your pick of those two. They are the only other furnished rooms up here. I just moved in and I’m still figuring things out,” he admitted.
“No, this place is great,” Hugh said. “It must have cost you a fortune.” could feel his entire body go ridged and he knew that he was going to have to face telling the truth at some point. “You know what, forget I even said that. How much your house costs isn’t my business.”
“Forgotten,” said, taking the out.
“If it’s okay, I’ll take this room. It’s closer to the bathroom,” he joked.
“Always important,” agreed. “So, that takes care of the upstairs, and you already saw the kitchen when we came in from the garage. The family room is just off the kitchen and is the only room in the house that has a television.”
“Works for me,” Hugh agreed, “I don’t watch much TV. Really, I never have time.”
“Well, I’m afraid that might not change much, while we’re opening the bar. Hopefully, things will calm down after the place opens,” said. He had been working so long on his bar that he couldn’t remember the last time that he sat down and watched television. Hell, he didn’t have time for much of anything since he took on the bar, but that was a price that he was willing to pay.
Hugh barked out his laugh, “I think that you’re underestimating how much time this place is going to take, even after it opens. We’ll both be exhausted but in a good way.” felt like he couldn’t get the goofy grin off his face even if he wanted to. Every time he even thought about the bar opening, he felt euphoria that he hadn’t felt before. He guessed it was the excitement of finally realizing his dream and honoring his grandfather at the same time.
“I can’t wait,” admitted. “I’m dying to see my bar filled with people having a good time, making memories.”
“Yeah, that will be nice to see,” Hugh admitted. “Listen, do you think that me working for you and living here is going to be a problem?” he asked. Hugh followed down to the kitchen and sat on the barstool at the kitchen counter.
“I don’t think it will be an issue,” said. Hugh wasn’t sure if he believed him or not. He didn’t know his new boss well enough to know if he was being truthful or not.
“Really?” Hugh questioned.
sat down next to him and pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. “I think that we need to order some food and have this conversation while we eat,” said. “I’m hungry and you said you’re starving. I think that we might need to come up with some house rules—you know so that we don’t cross the boundaries at home or work.”
“Boundaries?” Hugh asked. “Do you really think that some rules will make everything less confusing?”
“What exactly are you worried about?” asked.
“Everything,” Hugh breathed. “I mean, what if we get sick of each other, being under the same roof and working together?”
“Is that all you’re worried about?” asked. He wasn’t worried about getting sick of Hugh at all. Instead, he was thinking that if they fell into bed together, that might cause some problems, but he had a feeling that he wasn’t going to tire of Hugh any time soon.
“What else is there to worry about?” Hugh questioned. could almost see his wheels turning. Hugh knew exactly what he meant, but he was going to make spell it out for him.
“What if we end up together—you know, like in bed?” asked.
“Well, you have a few bedrooms, and from what I saw, they all had beds,” Hugh said.
“Jesus,” Colton growled, “that’s not what I mean, and you know it. What happens if we have sex?” he almost shouted.
Hugh shrugged, “We won’t have sex?” he insisted.
“It’s as easy as that?” asked. “We’re two gay men in a town with few options, and we’ll be spending a lot of time together. You can’t just say that we won’t have sex and that’s that.”
“Right, and I understand your point, but there is one thing that you don’t know,” Hugh said.
“Oh, what’s that?” asked.
“I’m not attracted to you,” Hugh admitted. wasn’t sure if he believed him or not. A part of him didn’t want to believe that Hugh didn’t want him. Every time they were in the same room together, he could feel the electricity that seemed to hum between them. But the way that Hugh looked at him right now, he was telling him the truth—even if it hurt his damn feelings.
“Okay, well, that’s settled then. I’m not your type, got it. How about we set up a few house rules after I order dinner, and then, we can get some sleep,” offered.
“Sounds good to me,” Hugh agreed. pulled his cell from the counter and found the number for the only Chinese place in town. Luckily, they delivered because he was dog-tired, and driving was the last thing he wanted to do. Actually, continuing their conversation was the last thing that he wanted to do, but knew that running up to his room to hide wasn’t going to be an option. No, he was going to have to stay and face Hugh—like it or not.