Chapter 7
Mark
“Hey, you’re back.” That voice. Oh, how I missed that voice.
Talking to him via email and chat just didn’t compare to the in-person experience.
Sawyer stepped into my office, his smile broad and his face a beacon of positivity and light.
My breath caught as I looked at him. I hadn’t expected to see him so soon.
My flight came in late last night, and I could have worked from home today, but what was the point?
If I was at home, then I was more likely to be left alone with my thoughts, and all my thoughts were centered around the man leaning against the door frame of my office.
“How was your trip?”
“Good,” I said. Way too good. Except for the part where I was away from him.
I had finally gotten the chance to sit down with Marissa, and it was official but not yet announced.
I would be moving to a new position within the company, and another VP would be taking over my department.
If Sawyer played his cards right, this reorganization could come with a promotion for him if he wanted it.
If it was up to me, he’d be named director.
Given the nature of our relationship, I would have to stay out of that discussion, though.
I, of course, felt that he deserved it. Not just because I was half in love with him, but because he was amazing.
I hated that I wouldn’t work with him every day.
But I couldn’t. Not any longer. Not when we had crossed that line.
Of course, if I played my cards right, we would still see each other, just not at work.
“Hey, I’m sure you’re tired from your trip and all that, but I found two passes to the laser tag place, and they expire tomorrow. I have to use them today. No one else can go with me.”
I raised a brow.
“Come on, it’ll be fun. I’m sure you spent all week being a super important VP talking to other super important VPs, doing your C-suite circle jerk, or whatever the fuck you guys do.”
I rolled my eyes. Any other employee would not get away with that, but this was Sawyer.
“I have a lot of work to catch up on,” I said.
“No, you don’t. We are so far ahead. Did you get my email? I have all the reports ready. If you spend your day reviewing them, then they’re done, and we can go play laser tag and make it back in time for karaoke night.”
I had joined the karaoke fun a few times.
And I wouldn’t mind spending time with Sawyer.
He and I had a lot to talk about. I wasn’t allowed to discuss the re-org with him, and I didn’t want to get us in trouble with HR.
We were already on thin ice considering the nature of our relationship.
Our relationship was exactly what we needed to talk about.
“Gregory will be there, so you’ll be hanging out with him, too. Please.” Sawyer pouted. His lower lips stuck out, and I wanted to suck it into my mouth. I couldn’t say no to that.
“I know that look. You have caved and given in to my demands. I have you entrapped in my snare, and you don’t even realize it.”
Oh, I realized it. I just wasn’t fighting anymore.
“What time do you want to go?” I said.
“Five-thirty? I have a change of clothes here. I can buzz down to the gym, swap out my clothes.”
I nodded. “That sounds like a plan.”
His eyes narrowed. “You sure everything’s okay?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Everything’s fine. But maybe tonight we could talk?”
He groaned and leaned his head against the door frame. “I was both hoping and dreading we were going to talk once you got back. Can we go have fun first? Then we can do the boring adult things. We’re not going to let it be awkward, though, right?”
“It’s not awkward. You’re making it awkward.”
He scoffed. “You’re awkward.”
I smiled, because this was what I loved about Sawyer. It was fun, it was light, but when it came down to business, he got stuff done. We needed to discuss our relationship outside of work. Should I wait for the re-org news or not? I supposed I’d have to see how the evening went.
“All right, I’ll see you at five-thirty.”
“Yeah. Can you drive? My car is non-existent.”
“What?” I said.
He shrugged. “I’m paying for an apartment on my own now, so I ditched the car. I’ve been taking the bus to work. Sometimes Evan takes pity on me and he picks me up.”
“Okay,” I said. “That makes sense.”
The end of the day came way too quickly, or perhaps not quick enough. I did spend way too much of my time looking out the window of my office to find Sawyer out there. He would always lift his gaze and find mine and smile broadly.
Christ, this was too much.
We kept pretty quiet as we went to the laser tag place. Sawyer had changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt from his alma mater. Meanwhile, I wore jeans and a sweater—overdressed, maybe. I didn’t know.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever played laser tag,” I said.
“What? Seriously, it’s the best game. Come on.”
Laser tag was darker than I expected. How was I supposed to see what I was aiming at? The vests we wore illuminated with colors indicating which team we were on. Sawyer was in his element, bouncing on his feet as the teenage employee explained the rules to us.
“So you just point and shoot?” I said.
“That’s it, dude. Red means you’re hit, green means you’re active. Most hits wins. Pretty simple.”
Sawyer grinned. “Hope you’re ready to lose.”
I scoffed. “I never lose.”
“Pretty sure I’ve kicked your ass at darts and billiards for years, Mark.”
I shrugged. “I might surprise you.”
Sawyer’s eyes turned dark. “I’ve always been surprised by you.”
Inside the laser tag room was a maze of ramps and barriers, little hidey-holes where people could hide and shoot at the enemy. It was just Sawyer and me in the room. I stumbled for the first few minutes while my eyes adjusted.
Once I was hit with the first red beam square in the chest, the game was on.
“Gotcha!” Sawyer laughed and ran off.
“You little shit,” I said.
I chased him through the maze of lights, with twists and turns that led us to who knew where.
By the end of it Sawyer had demolished me, with fifty-four hits to my seventeen. This was exactly what I needed, just fun without the weight of the corporate hierarchy or HR nonsense hanging over us. No reports to worry about, just us.
“Rematch?” he asked.
I grinned. “Absolutely. We have time for one more, but then we should get to karaoke.”
Sawyer wrinkled his nose. “I suppose I should shower before I go.”
“Want to go back to my place?” The words were out before I could stop them. And I found that I didn’t want to.
He licked his lips. “I wasn’t sure if we were talking about that.”
“We can talk about it.”
We were silent for a moment, both of us still wearing our laser tag gear. Around us, people had begun filling the room for the next group to go in.
“I don’t want a repeat,” I said.
Shock rippled across Sawyer’s face, then he looked away. “Of course. Right. We’re… and we can’t… I get it.”
I put a hand on his shoulder. “I want the real thing. Dating. You and me. We just sort of skipped a step. It wasn’t a one-time thing for me.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded. “So sure. Do you want that?”
He stepped closer and put a hand to my chest. “Yes, Mark. But I’ll be honest, if you thought I was a handful as an employee, you’re about to find out what a handful I can be as a boyfriend.
” His eyes went wide. “Not that I... I mean, if we’re just figuring things out, then clearly we aren’t boyfriends yet—”
I shut him up with a kiss.
“Boyfriend. I like the sound of that,” I said.