Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
Ethan
Ethan leaned over the diner’s counter, squirming from the discomfort in his ass.
After their meeting with the Mazers, he and Blake had celebrated a lot.
Four times in the same day, which was a record for him.
When they finally fell asleep at midnight, his hole was so stretched open he was anxious it might not close up again.
Speed-walking back and forth during the lunch rush had irritated an already delicate situation, so in the lull between lunch and dinner, he was taking it easy, jotting down a list of renovation projects in his order pad.
Now that the lease transfer had been approved, they’d begin the real work of making Siren a reality.
Philip was on the other side of the pastry case, keeping his phone out of Caleb’s line of sight. He scrolled through his Instagram feed with dramatic flicks of his index finger, probably to show off his fresh coat of plum nail polish. At regular intervals, he heaved his I’m bored sigh.
The bell over the door chimed, and Zane ambled in, his hands in his pockets. It was such a stark contrast to the way he normally breezed into the diner, that Ethan’s mouth dropped open, and his pencil fell from his slack grip. His friend rarely looked this ordinary.
Zane’s fine, straight bangs hung limply over his forehead, and he was dressed in a slouchy black hoodie and jeans. As he approached the counter, Ethan noticed he wasn’t wearing his blue contact lens.
“Hi, guys.”
Philip slipped his phone into his apron pocket. “Hi, Zany. You look very straight today.” He placed the back of his hand against Zane’s forehead, as if checking for a fever. “Are you unwell?”
Zane chuckled half-heartedly. “One chocolate chip muffin, please.”
“Coming right up.” Philip motioned toward an empty booth near the counter. “Why don’t you have a seat? We’ll bring it out to you.”
Zane wandered over to the booth and slid onto the cushion.
Using a pair of tongs, Philip scooped up a muffin and pushed the plate into Ethan’s hands. “Take your break and talk to your friend.” Under his breath, he added, “He’s scaring me. I think he’s broken.”
After pouring two cups of coffee, Ethan joined Zane in the booth, sliding the plate to his friend.
“Hello, stranger.” Zane broke off a piece of muffin and popped it in his mouth.
“Hi.” Ethan winced with a pang of guilt. Over the last few weeks, they’d texted almost every day, but they hadn’t hung out once. He’d been spending all his free time with Blake, writing the business plan and preparing their pitch for the Mazer brothers.
“Congrats on the lease transfer.”
“Thanks.” Ethan wrapped his hands around his mug. “Sorry I haven’t been around much.”
“I know you’ve been busy with the plans for the club.” Zane broke off another chunk of muffin and chewed it slowly. “But this was supposed to be our summer, and now it’s almost over. I hadn’t pegged you for one of those guys who ditches his friends when he gets a boyfriend.”
“I don’t want to be that guy.”
Zane was right. Their summer break would be over in a few weeks. Once classes started, they wouldn’t be able to spend as much time together. He’d been planning to work on his Wolfman story after his shift – a project he’d neglected for almost a month – but being a good friend was more important.
“Blake’s working tonight, so we can hang out, if you like.”
Zane’s eyes lit up. “Want to go out dancing?” He sipped his coffee and smacked his lips. “Gross. This is decaf.”
“What? No it’s not.” Ethan took a sip and groaned. That’s what happened when he left the coffee-making to Philip. “Just a sec. I’ll get us real coffee.”
“Don’t bother. I can’t stay long. So, drinks and dancing?”
“Sure. Where did you have in mind? Not The Manhole again, please.”
“No… not that you got the full Manhole experience, though.” Zane had openly expressed his displeasure that Ethan hadn’t gotten “dicked down” when they were at The Manhole. “Let’s go to The Firehouse.”
“The Firehouse? That’s the club where Blake works.”
Zane’s mouth fell open in mock surprise. “Really?” He held out for a few seconds before dissolving into laughter. “Duh, I know! You may have mentioned that once or twice. I thought this would be a good way for me to finally meet this mystery man of yours.”
“That’s sweet,” Ethan said. He knew it was time for Zane to meet Blake.
Ethan had already met Blake’s friends, and he was more confident in the relationship now.
And of course, he was looking forward to seeing Zane’s face when he realized his unremarkable, mild-mannered friend was dating an exotic dancer with the body of a Greek god.
“Isn’t it? I’m very thoughtful.” Zane took another sip of coffee, grimaced, and spit it back into his cup. “Also, they have a strip show.”
“There it is.”
“I hear the guys are smoking hot.” Zane reached across the table and held Ethan’s hands, waggling his eyebrows. “We can shove dollar bills into G-strings together.”
Although Ethan had received some lap dances and personal performances in the privacy of his bedroom, he hadn’t seen Blake perform on stage yet. It might be nice to surprise his boyfriend and show support for his dream.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
“You’re the best.”
“Should I text Blake to let him know we’re coming––” Ethan clamped his mouth shut.
Why would they need to do that? As far as Zane knew, Blake was just a bartender.
He searched for any plausible reason and blurted out the first thing that popped into his head.
“So he can time his breaks and have a drink with us?”
“Nah, let’s keep it a surprise. It’ll be more fun that way.”
Zane leaned over the table and kissed Ethan on the lips.
“I’m giving a guitar lesson, then I’ll go shopping for something cute to wear.
You should wear the pink shirt I bought you.
I’ll bring along my pink eyeliner and give you a little zhuzh before the show.
This is going to be epic.” He wrapped what was left of his muffin in a napkin and booped Ethan on the nose.
“Call me when your shift is over. Love you.”
Philip swung by to give Zane a hug. “Bye, hon.”
Zane gave him two air-kisses, one on each cheek. “Want to come watch a strip show with us tonight?”
“I’d love to, but I’m taking care of my sister’s three yappy dogs.”
“Stack them on top of each other and wrap them in a trench coat. The club is dark. No one would notice.”
“They’d just want to sniff everyone’s butts.”
“Great! They’ll fit right in.”
Philip laughed and batted Zane’s arm. “Another time. Now get out of here. Some of us work for a living.”
Zane blew them both kisses and sauntered toward the door with a spring in his step. Before the door closed behind him, he called over his shoulder, “Love the nails, Philly!”
“Thanks!” Philip turned to Ethan with a haughty snort, pretending to be offended. “At least somebody noticed.”
“I noticed! They’re nice!”
While Ethan gathered up their dishes, Zane peeked in again and yelled, loud enough for the entire diner to hear: “Skip the undershirt this time!”