Euphoria (The Kink Club #3)

Hugh

H ugh felt like an ass for lying to Colter, but what option did he have? None, not if he wanted to keep working and living with Colter separate. He thought that his new boss was the hottest man he had set eyes on in a long time, but telling him that wouldn’t end well for either of them—not if he wanted to keep his job.

“So, about these rules,” he said, taking a bite of the lo Mein that Colter ordered for dinner.

“I thought that you didn’t want to make any rules,” Colter said.

“No, I said that we won’t have sex, but a few rules might help us out around here. Like, who’s getting a shower first before we head into the bar for the day?” he asked.

“You really want to make a bathroom schedule?” Colter grumbled.

“Why not?” asked. “I mean, who knows how things will go with us living together? We really don’t know each other, so maybe a schedule or even some rules might be helpful.”

Colter looked at him as though he had lost his mind, and when he finally nodded his agreement, let out a breath that he didn’t know that he was holding. “Fine, but let’s not get too stringent in our rules. I mean, we have to leave room for human error, right?”

“Of course,” agreed. “We can make as many or as few rules as you’d like.”

“Okay, well, I get up at about six in the morning to work out, and I usually shower at about eight,” Colter said. “Would that work with your schedule?” Was this the part where admitted that he really didn’t have a schedule? He got up about an hour before having to be at work, showered, and went in. Hell, he didn’t even work out on a regular basis, and his dad bod was proof.

“Um, sure,” agreed.

“If you want to work out with me, you can. I have a gym set up in the basement,” Colter offered. “It’s fully outfitted and better than any gym around here—well, if they had a gym around here. The closest one is about forty minutes away.” was beginning to wonder if his guess about Colter being loaded was correct. His house was huge and knowing the market in town, it had to have cost a pretty penny. Now, he was going on about his fully outfitted gym in the basement. didn’t care one way or the other, and there was no way that he’d flat-out ask him again.

“So, is that a yes?” Colter asked, drawing him back to the conversation.

“A yes to what?” asked. “I’m sorry, my mind kind of wandered off,” he admitted.

“No problem,” Colter said, “it’s probably been a long day for you. I was asking if you’d like me to wake you to work out with me?” wondered if “God, no” was an appropriate answer to give to his new boss or not.

“Um, I’m not really a workout kind of guy. I mean, this all doesn’t happen by running on a treadmill,” he teased, rubbing his tummy.

Colter chuckled, “Okay, well, if you change your mind, just let me know.”

“Thanks,” breathed, “so, we have the shower schedule all worked out then. You’ll grab one first and then, I’ll get one later.”

“I take it you’re not much of a morning person,” Colter said. He wasn’t. In fact, would sleep past noon if his schedule would allow it. Working at a bar was going to involve late hours and not getting his sleep would make him grumpy as hell.

“It’s not that I’m not a morning person. I just like my sleep and if I don’t get enough, I’m a bear,” admitted.

“Well, I will try to be quiet when I get up in the morning, so I don’t wake you. I also usually make a pot of coffee. Does that work for you, or do you drink something else in the morning?” Colter asked.

“Coffee is great,” agreed. “I usually get mine on the way to work, but I guess that the diner is my only option for a cup of coffee in town.”

“Yep, and although their food is great, their coffee is like sludge,” Colter said.

“Well, I’ll try not to drink the whole pot myself,” teased.

“No worries,” Colter drawled, “I have a coffee pot in my office at the bar. Help yourself anytime.”

“Thanks, man,” said. He stood and gathered both of their plates from the table. “How about chores?” he asked. “I don’t mind helping out around here. Hell, I can do the majority of the chores since you’re kind enough to let me stay with you until an apartment opens up.”

“Um, that’s not necessary,” Colter assured. “I have a cleaning company that comes in twice a week and does the whole house. I try to keep up on laundry and dishes though.”

“Twice a week?” asked. “Doesn’t that seem a bit excessive?” He couldn’t imagine being dirty enough to have his place cleaned twice a week, but maybe Colter was.

“I’m kind of a neat freak, so it works for me. Plus, I can afford it, so why not have that one luxury?” looked around the place as he started washing the dishes. It seemed as though Colter had quite a few luxuries, but it wasn’t ’s place to judge.

“You have a look on your face. What’s that about?” Colter asked. People liked to tell that he wore his emotions on his face. If he didn’t like something, everyone around him could tell without him saying a word. Apparently, Colter was already able to pick up on that.

“My face isn’t doing anything,” lied.

“Bullshit,” Colter grumbled. He took the clean plate from and started to dry it. “You look as though you don’t approve and I’m just trying to figure out what you don’t approve of.”

“It’s not that I don’t approve,” said. He sighed knowing that he was going to have to come clean with Colter and clear the air. “I just think that you might be a little bit spoiled.”

Colter barked out his laugh, and worried that he had said too much. “You’re right. I am spoiled now. I lost my parents when I was only seven, and my grandfather raised me. From what the lawyers told me, after my grandfather’s death, my parents had left me some money, and with the money that my grandpa had put away for me, well I’m a very rich man. But I didn’t grow up that way.”

“You didn’t grow up with money?” asked.

“Nope,” he admitted. “My grandpa had a modest house in the country, and I wore hand-me-downs most of my childhood. He’d say that new clothes for a young boy were a waste since I’d just ware them out climbing trees and all the other boy stuff I did. I honestly didn’t mind. Most kids where I was from didn’t have much, and I guess my grandpa didn’t want me to be any different from them.”

“That’s smart in a way,” said.

“Yeah,” Colter said, a silly grin on his face. Seeing him that way made want to tell him that he was a liar and that he was exactly his type, but it was too late to take back his words. “When I was sixteen, my grandfather told me that if I wanted a car, I’d have to go out and get myself a job. I did too. I worked as a bag boy at the local grocery store, and when I had earned enough money to get a beat-up old mustang, he talked me out of buying it. He said that I should hold out for something a little better, so I did. My grandfather had never steered me wrong, so I trusted him.”

“How long did you have to wait for a car?” asked.

“About two weeks,” Colter admitted. “I went to the bank to put my paycheck in and realized that my account was practically wiped out. I ran home to tell my grandfather and that’s when I saw the shiny black pickup truck he got me. He told me that he took the money from my account, doubled it with some money he had saved up, and was able to get me my first truck. I loved that damn thing.”

“That’s a great memory,” said. “And you didn’t have any idea that maybe he was hiding money away when he was able to help you get the truck?”

“Nope,” Colter said. “He never let on that he had money stashed away. In fact, I felt bad that I was draining his savings. I told him that he should save his money for when he couldn’t work anymore, and he said that it wouldn’t matter because he didn’t plan on becoming an old man. He said that if he did, I had permission to run him over with my truck because all old people did was complain about aches and pains. My grandpa wanted to go out on his own terms.”

“Did he?” almost whispered.

“Almost,” Colter said. “He lived to be seventy-two and died from colon cancer. I hated seeing him suffer through treatments, and after the first round of chemo failed, he refused any new treatments. He sat me down and explained to me that it was his time. He told me that I’d be fine—that he’d make sure of it. I tried begging him to reconsider, but he told me that I was a man now and that I shouldn’t waste any more time taking care of him. He said that I had important things to do in the world and spoon feeding an invalid wasn’t one of them. He died three weeks later—on his own terms. No treatments, no hospitals or nurses sticking him with needles—although he liked the nurses.”

“He sounds like a great guy,” said.

“Thank you, he was. I loved him very much and miss him every day. But he was right, I found a way to move on with the money that he and my parents left me. I’ve started a life here, and so far, I like it.”

“I hope that I can be as happy as you are here, Colter,” admitted. He had his doubts. The only time he thought he was happy was with Luke, and that turned out to be a lie.

“I hope that you can too, ,” Colter said. He wrapped his arm around and pulled him in for an awkward side hug, but honestly didn’t mind. He leaned into Colter and when he realized that he was crossing so many lines and probably breaking a bunch of rules, he pulled away.

“Sorry,” whispered.

“Don’t be,” Colter said. “Sooner or later, you’ll come around.” wanted to ask him what the hell that meant, but he didn’t. He wasn’t about to open a whole can of worms before he went up to bed. He’d be up all night thinking about Colter as it was.

“I’m going to head up to bed if that’s all right with you,” breathed.

“Yep,” Colter said, “I’ll lock up down here and probably do the same. Sleep tight, ,” he whispered.

“You too,” said. He walked to the staircase and didn’t bother looking back. He could feel Colter’s eyes on him the whole way, and damn if that didn’t make him feel like he was about to combust from the raw heat he was putting out.