Hugh
H ugh Davis wasn’t sure if managing a new bar was still his jam, but breaking up with his boyfriend, Luke, had him spiraling and he needed a fresh start. He had held so many different jobs over the years, trying to find his niche, but nothing ever stuck. Honestly, he had worked at many new bars—helping the owners to start up a new business and watching them succeed should have been enough for him, but it wasn’t anymore. The older he got, the more he toyed with the idea of starting his own place from the ground up. Of course, that would require capital that he didn’t have, so his dream would have to wait, and he would have to keep working his ass off trying to claw his way to the top.
The new bar owner sounded cool enough on the phone. Plus, the bar was right next to some funky Kink Club that he planned on checking out. He was hoping that he’d be able to find another gay guy in town, but he doubted that such a person would exist in the po-dunk town that he was stuck in.
walked into the unfinished bar and looked around. A full construction crew was working and when he cleared his throat, they all turned around to look at him. “I’m looking for Colter Williams,” he said. “I have an appointment with him.” He looked down at his watch and realized that he was about ten minutes early and wondered if that was a good or bad thing. Some people hated it when others were early, and some people thought it was a show of excitement for the new job. He’d go with the latter if asked.
“I’m John, the construction foreman,” one of the guys said, stepping forward. “Get back to work guys,” he ordered. The men did as he asked, and had to admit—he was pretty impressed.
“I’m Davis.” He held out his hand to John and watched as the guy dusted off his hand on his jeans and shook ’s hand.
“I hate to tell you this, but the boss left a few hours ago and I don’t know when he’ll be back,” John said.
“Oh, I have a job interview and am supposed to meet with him in five minutes. Do you mind if I wait around?” he asked.
“Sure, you can sit back in his office. It’s the only room that’s completely done. It’s dusty back there, but tolerable. Follow me,” John ordered. He liked bossy men and wondered if John was available. He was never shy about asking a man out, but he was out of his element in this town.
John showed him back to Colter’s office and told him to have a seat. He offered to call “his boss” and was grateful for that. He had a few apartments to look at and if this interview went well, he’d need to rent one of them soon. The bar looked about finished and he’d want to help with the final touches. had a feeling that was why he was called into an interview while the place was still a construction site.
“I’m so sorry that I’m late,” a big guy wearing sunglasses said. He walked into the office and sat down behind the desk in the corner of the room. “Oh, where are my manners?” he asked. He stood and offered his hand. “I’m Colter Williams, the owner.”
“Good to meet you, Colter,” he said, shaking his hand. “I’m Davis—hopefully your new bar manager.” The big guy smiled at him and didn’t miss how blue the guy’s eyes were when he took off his sunglasses or the adorable dimples that he had on each cheek.
“You okay, ?” Colter asked.
“I am,” he said, trying to clear his mind of how much he’d like to lick his possible new boss’s dimples. “I guess I’m just a bit distracted after the long ride to town this morning.”
“You don’t live in town?” Colter asked.
“Not yet,” admitted. “I live about three hours from here, but I’m looking at apartments after our meeting—if everything goes well.”
“I’d say that we’re off to a good start,” Colter said, sitting back in his leather chair. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the guy. He was sexy as hell and was picking up some pretty strong vibes off Colter that he was gay. He needed to keep his head in the game and ace the interview first. Then, he’d ask the guy a few questions that would confirm his suspicions.
“How can you tell?” asked, “I mean all I’ve told you so far is my name and that I’m in the market for an apartment if I get this job.”
Colter barked out his laugh and nodded, “You’re a bit of a smart ass, , and I like that. I’ve also looked over your references and experience. You’ve done a lot of work in the industry, managing bars. Why do you want to work here?”
sat up in his seat and nodded. They were finally getting to the bullshitting part of the program. This was where he’d tell Colter how much he loved working in the bar industry. He’d tell him that it was his passion to help bar owners get their businesses up and running. But before he had a chance to do any of that, Colter held up his hand.
“Don’t feed me any bullshit,” he insisted. How he knew that was about to feed him some bullshit line was a mystery. “I understand that interviews are about selling yourself and your skills, but I want an honest answer. Why do you want to be in this town and work here?” Colter asked.
“Okay,” breathed, “I’m feeling kind of lost these days. My boyfriend and I broke up a few months ago and I’ve been drifting, you know?”
“I do know,” Colter said, “my grandfather died a couple of months ago and I knew I couldn’t stay in the house I had grown up in. He raised me and staying in that town felt like a step backward. So, I packed up some of my stuff and hit the road. This was the first place I stopped and when I found this building, I knew it had to be where I’d build my bar.”
“Ah, so I’m assuming that this place is named after your grandfather then,” guessed. He thought the name to be old-fashioned and now he knew why.
“Yep,” Colter said, “his name was Abner, and I thought that he’d get a kick out of me naming a bar after him. After all, it was the money that he left me that allowed me to do all this.”
“You are very lucky to have a grandfather who loved you so much, Colter,” he said. “I never knew my family. I grew up in foster care, and while I never really minded much, sometimes I miss the family that I never knew.” He shrugged, “It’s hard to explain.”
“No,” Colter said, “my parents were killed in a car accident when I was seven, and while I loved my grandpa, I still missed them.” nodded, noticing the same sadness that he often felt reflected in Colter’s eyes. “How would you like the job, ?” Colter asked.
“I think that I’d like it here,” said, “thank you.” He stood and shook Colter’s hand and turned to leave. “Oh, when do you need me to start?” he asked.
“How about Monday?” Colter asked. “We can start going over the final details of the bar together. I can use all the advice that I can get.”
“That works,” agreed. That would give him the weekend to find an apartment and move his meager belongings in. He didn’t have much, so it would be an easy move. “Are the people in town nice?” he asked.
“Nice?” Colter questioned.
“Yeah, you know, would they accept a man like me?” asked.
“Oh, you mean will they accept you being gay?” Colter asked, picking up on his meaning. He nodded and Colter laughed. “Well, I hope like hell that they do, because if not, I’m not going to have very much business. I’m gay too, ,” he said. turned around to look at Colter. His Spidey senses were still working, and liked the fact that his new boss played on his team—not that he’d ever pursue Colter. The one thing that had learned from his last failed relationship was not to mix business and pleasure.
“Good to know,” said, turning to leave again. “See you on Monday, boss,” he called back over his shoulder.
met with a realtor about an hour after accepting the job with Colter. He knew that he might be jumping the gun, but he wanted to find a place to rent and get settled before he had to start his new gig on Monday. The problem was that the realtor had two places to show him, and both were basement apartments in old homes that were mostly rented by college students in town. The last thing he would want to come home to after a late shift at the bar was a frat party or some damn loud music playing. Did that make him sound old—sure, but he didn’t give a shit? He knew that he couldn’t commute from his current place, so he decided to thank the realtor and head over to the cute diner in town for some food and to mull over his options.
He was halfway through his turkey club when Colter walked into the diner and sat up at the front counter next to him. “Well, I didn’t expect to find you here,” Colter said. “I thought that you had places to look at.” He wasn’t planning on being there either, but he needed food and honestly, he needed to come up with a plan for where he was going to live, not that he wanted to tell his hot new boss that.
“Well, the apartment search didn’t take too long. There were only two choices, and they were beyond awful. Do you know if there are any good places to live within thirty minutes of town? I might have to commute to find a suitable place to live,” said.
“I tried going the rental route first, not knowing if I’d want to put down roots here, but I found my bar and decided to buy. I remember how scarce things were around here, though. Let me guess—college students,” Colter drawled. God, the man sounded like sex on a stick. loved a good southern boy, and Colter seemed to fit that bill.
“Yep, and the last thing I want to do is party with some frat boys, you know?” asked. Colter threw back his head and laughed as though had just said the funniest thing he’d ever heard.
“I know exactly what you mean. When my realtor sent me listings of the places she found for me, I told her the same thing. I’m too old for that shit,” he grumbled.
“Same, and now, I’m going to have to look further out, but I don’t think that will be a problem. I mean, it will just mean a little less sleep, but I think that I can handle that,” lied. He loved his sleep and being deprived of it only made him a bear to deal with, but he was sure that Colter would find that out sooner than later.
Colter sat back on the barstool and crossed his arms over his massive chest. “How about you come to stay with me until you can find something better? I just bought a house, and while I can’t promise that it’s decorated or anything like that, it’s a nice place. It has four bedrooms, so you can even have your pick—but not the master. That’s the only room that I’ve already made my own. You can bring whatever you want—the more furniture, the better because I still don’t have much since I’ve been too busy to go shopping.”
was sure that he was looking at Colter as though he had lost his ever-loving mind. “You can’t be serious,” he insisted.
“Why can’t I be?” Colter asked. “I mean, I know that I have a dry sense of humor—at least that was what my grandfather used to tell me, but I’m not kidding around here. You need a place to stay, and I’ve got plenty of room. Besides, it’s more of a selfish offer on my part,” he admitted.
“How so?” asked.
“Well, I can’t have my new bar manager grumpy and tired from having to commute from work to home. My house is literally right around the corner from the bar, and you won’t have to miss out on your sleep,” Colter offered. He was being serious, and wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss the guy or laugh his ass off at him.
Jumping into a decision like this was what always ended up with getting his heart hurt. That was what happened with his ex-boyfriend, Luke. He had rushed into a relationship with him, and saying that it ended badly was an understatement.
“Listen, if I overstepped, I’m sorry. I was just trying to help you out with something that really seems to be bothering you. If you want to commute, I’m sure that you can find a place one or two towns over, no problem.”
“Here’s your order, Colter,” the older woman from behind the counter said, giving him an exaggerated wink.
Colter chuckled and handed the woman a fifty. “Keep the change, Gina,” he insisted.
“You know, if you keep tipping me like this every day, you’re going to be broke within your first year of living here,” Gina chided.
“Not a chance,” Colter said. He stood with his to-go bag in hand. “Listen, just think over my offer. It doesn’t have to be forever, just until something more appropriate than a college house pops up on the market.” He pulled something out of his jean pocket and held it out to . “Here’s my information and home address. If you change your mind, just come on over. I’ll be home after six tonight.” didn’t know what to say, and that was okay because, by the time he figured it out, Colter was out the front door, walking down Main Street, back to his bar.
Gina stood behind the counter, her hands on her hips, staring him down. “You know, he’s a really nice guy,” she offered. “You could do worse.” He had done worse, but living with his boss wasn’t an option. was sure that she didn’t mean to insinuate that he wanted to date his boss. Hell, he wanted to do so much more to Colter than just date him, and that was going to be a problem.
“I know that we just met, Gina and that you don’t really know me, but I can’t live with the boss,” he insisted. “It’s just not a good idea.”
“Because he’s hot,” the older woman filled in for him. He shot her a smile and she nodded. “I might not be a spring chicken anymore, but I can tell when two people have the hots for each other. What’s your name?” she asked him.
“Oh yeah,” he said, standing and offering her his hand. “I guess it’s not fair that I know your name because of Colter, and you don’t know mine. I’m Davis,” he said. She shook his hand, and he sat back down on the barstool. “I’m going to be Colter’s new bar manager and that’s why I can’t accept his offer.”
“Among other reasons, I’m sure,” Gina challenged. “Listen, why not just use his spare room until you get a place? What can it hurt? You’ll have a place to lay your head every night and sooner or later, something will become available for you to rent.”
“How long will that take?” he grumbled.
“Oh, six months to a year,” Gina said. “Not too long.” was starting to think that even a few weeks of living with Colter might break down his resolve not to crawl into bed with the guy. Months might actually kill him. He could tell her exactly what it might hurt—everything, including his pride and his heart, but telling Gina that wasn’t something he was ready to do. Unfortunately, it was starting to look like he had no choice but to accept Colter’s offer, and hated not having choices.