Chapter Three #2
He shook his head again and smiled. “Both my parents were in Pharma sales. That’s what they used to say.
It’s not about what you're selling, but what they want—in their case, it was doctors who wanted to help people, be prominent, or just get rich. You can only do that in person. Their heyday was before regulations, so they’d be on yachts and golf clubs all day, every day.
Can’t do that shit over the phone, or at all anymore. ”
“Oh damn, I didn’t know it was in your blood.”
“Yup. Born huckster.”
“I just get off on traveling. The adventure of being somewhere I’ve never been will never get old.”
“Careful what you wish for. It gets tiring, man. Take it from an old guy.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “You’re not old, Alec.”
“Older than your punk ass.”
“That’s true. I wiped the floor with you in the gym yesterday.”
“Yeah, but you ate my dust on our run. I was getting ready to carry your sweaty ass back to the hotel over my shoulder.”
My pupils dilated, and my pulse rose a point or two at the conjured image. It made me think of the coming renovation. With the new setup, I’d have an unobstructed view of Alec whenever I wanted. Including when he wore that pair of jeans that looked like he was smuggling a grapefruit.
“Thanks for having my back, I guess?” I laughed.
“Yeah, man. Of course.”
“Is it weird that the trip was kinda fun?”
Alec smiled. “No. Not weird. Unusual, maybe. But I had a good time too. For a pitch trip, that is. We work well together.”
“We do, right? I thought so, too.”
Alec smiled again as an unshared thought played on his face. “I told you I wasn’t thrilled when I heard I’d be taking on a Jr. Rep. But, yeah, this has been working out pretty good… so far. Just don’t fuck it up.” He laughed.
I smiled and said, “I’ll try not to.”
◆◆◆
I’ve always been a huge fan of happy hour. It was my time to shine. I like to drink, but it wasn’t that. I’m a big dude and can hold my booze, but I was never into the whole shots on shots on shots scene. Nope, I prefer a stiff glass of bourbon, neat, and I’m good to go.
I enjoy being the life of the party, and everyone’s best friend.
I love the attention. Happy hour with the FinCrest sales and marketing crew was no different.
The department is pretty big, so each happy hour is different.
There’s always someone to meet, schmooze, and turn into a friend—after the prerequisite rituals.
Once everyone arrives, we share a toast, typically made by Alec, or Lisa if she felt feisty that week.
They’d give kudos to who deserved it from the week prior, or have the honored person speak on their own behalf.
After forty-five minutes of mingling, the group disbands, only to return in smaller groups throughout the night.
That night, after the rituals and discussion of the wager, I broke away to get myself a drink. I was deciding if I’d stay or go out on my own, when this guy started talking to me.
“Hard week?”
I looked over at him, confused at first, until he glanced down at the glass of straight whiskey the bartender had just poured me.
I smiled and laughed. “Nah, man. This place has a good selection, and I try to take advantage when I’m here.”
“Ah, you’re a connoisseur. Or a raging alcoholic.”
I laughed. “Let’s go with connoisseur. I’m with my coworkers.”
“Ballsy to order hard stuff when the boss is watching.”
I laughed again. “My boss can’t see me, but if he could, he’d give me shit for only getting one finger.”
The guy cocked an eyebrow and smirked. “Lucky.” He chuckled. “Mine forces us to go out, then makes snide comments if anyone orders more than two beers. On our own tabs.”
It wasn’t funny, but I laughed anyway. His eyes tracked me, and his laughter built with mine.
“Don’t know what you do, but my job’s pretty chill.”
Still laughing, he asked, “What do you do?”
“Sales,” I said with a big smile, matching his. “You?”
“Integrated Human Resources.”
“Sounds fun.”
“So much fun.” He laughed again. “The most fun.”
We smiled at each other until our faces changed. “Mason, nice to meet you, man,” I said, holding out my hand. And his gaze.
“Ernesto. Likewise.”
I had gotten a vibe, but his smile left no question.
He was hitting on me, and I let him watch me scan him up and down.
Around my age, in decent shape, but with an ass for days.
He was shorter than me, and handsome once I let myself really look at him.
But overall, too masculine. He looked like a dude.
Not the skinny little twinks I fantasized about.
That didn’t stop me from flirting back. I leaned my elbow on the bar. “What is Integrated Human Resources?”
Ernesto rolled his eyes a bit. “It’s just a fancy term, meaning I work in HR, but manage the company’s integrated approach.
” He smiled and mimicked my lean. “What do you sell? No, wait, let me guess…” He scanned me like I had to him.
“Firefighter equipment? No! Hockey pads and jock straps? Or something else manly like that?”
I laughed hard. I wished women would be that direct when they wanted to fuck. Which was a shame for Ernesto. Because no matter what, we’d never.
“Nope. Financial software. So sexy.”
He held my gaze. “Yeah. Very sexy.”
The way he was throwing himself at me, I could’ve taken him out back and fucked his brains out right then.
If I were a better person, I’d walk away with a “Later man” or drop my fictitious girlfriend’s name.
But I wanted to keep talking to him. He was very attractive, and getting my ego stroked so blatantly was more intoxicating than the whiskey.
I would never go home with a guy. I wouldn’t do anything physical with another man, period.
Not when there were horny women around. But after how horny Alec got me the night before, I had dudes on the mind.
I walked a fine line between flirting and not leading him on.
I’m not a dick, and didn’t want him to think he had a chance, just that I thought he was hot.
Ernesto was great. Witty and funny, he had me laughing from my stomach several times. And how he looked at me was exactly what I was talking about. But his broad chest, the thick black hair poking out of his collar, his impressive biceps, and the deep timber of his voice were all no-goes.
I talked to him for so long that I had to order another drink, and asked if he’d like one too. “Not that you need any more hair on your chest, but as a connoisseur, I recommend it,” I said with a slutty smirk. Each went down too fast for a work event.
The longer we flirted, the more my cock got involved. I started picturing what it would be like to dig my fingers deep enough into his fat ass there’d be marks—then fuck him so hard he’d leave my place bow legged. And, of course, the more I thought about it, the more my dick wanted him to know.
He was in the middle of telling a story I wasn’t paying attention to.
I leaned in and whispered, “If I wasn’t here with my coworkers, I’d have you on your knees out back, choking on my fat cock.
And once you got it good and wet, I’d fuck you so hard you’d think of me every time you sat down for a week. ”
I pulled back with a long smirk and hooded eyes. Ernesto’s face was red, and his eyes were wild. It was the exact look that made my dick leak. Total abandon and deep cock lust just for me. I loved it. If I hooked up with guys, I was sure I could turn them into putty whenever I wanted.
That’s who I was. I didn’t need to brag about being the big swinging dick. It spoke for itself. I didn’t need to claim my dominance. It was already mine.
It took him a beat and a half to regain his composure. “We can, uh… we can head back to my place? I live alone, and not far.”
His pulse was so high it vibrated his temples and shook his voice. If I grabbed his crotch at that moment, he’d nut his pants right there at the bar.
“Nah, I’m my boss’s DD. But,” I laid my phone on the bar displaying my Flare profile page. “Hit me up, man. I’d love to see what you look like when you’re alone in bed later.”
I lied. If anything, Alec would drive me home. But I was tipsy, and I wouldn’t mind getting a video of him jacking himself off while moaning my name. I turned to the bar to finish my drink as he looked for me on the app.
“The fuck you been, Blackwood?” Alec said, slamming his hand on my shoulder so hard I almost stumbled. He and Luke approached from behind without me noticing.
I freaked out. A lesser man would’ve frozen up, but I was trained to think on my toes. “Got a drink and got caught up,” I said, snatching my phone off the bar and stowing it.
I flashed Ernesto a look, which I hoped he understood. His eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch, and he gave Alec and Luke a nondescript nod.
I said, “Later, man,” and followed my boss back to the booth.
Neither asked me who he was, or what we were talking about.
I had prepared a story to tell on the walk over, but they were chattering on about something else.
Which was worse than asking. Alec’s not a stupid guy.
He can read people and situations accurately and immediately.
Yet he said nothing. Not when we rejoined our group, or when we were left alone in the booth.
“Never seen you this drunk before,” he said.
That’s never something you want to hear your boss say. I didn’t feel all that drunk, but every drunk person ever has said that.
I sat up straight and said, “Yeah? I feel okay. Not gonna drive anywhere, but I think I’m under control.”
Alec laughed. “Not what I’m saying, bro. You’re not shitfaced. You’re just…”—he searched my face—“loose.”
“What do you mean, loose?”
“You’re just loose. Nothing else to say about it.”
“Am I a hardass otherwise?”
He laughed again. “No, Mason. Just forget it.”
“I feel like I’m usually the life of the party.” I laughed, hiding my bruised ego. I had no idea what Alec meant.
“You are. I’m just saying it’s your whole deal right now, man. You’re not acting like an idiot, and if I didn’t know you, I’d never pick up on it, but I can tell you had a few whiskeys at the bar.”
Did Alec know me that well? I’d known him for two months. I couldn’t remember his wife’s name. But also, why was he saying that?
“I did, yeah. They’ve got good shit here.”
“Bet they do,” Alec said with a look I couldn’t place.
Soon after, our coworkers came back from the bathroom. Alec didn’t mention my drunkenness again. The next time I went to get a drink, I looked for Ernesto to apologize, but he was gone.
In the cab on the way home, I pulled up Flare and looked for Ernesto. I couldn’t find him. I sighed. Maybe I was a bigger dick than I realized. Or maybe he found someone else to fuck his ass so hard he’d be sore for a week.
I browsed the app. Most of the same profiles I’d seen before. And the smattering of blanks. I was looking forward to getting home and busting a load to be done with this several-day-long lust for guys.
A blank profile messaged me, and I responded in kind. We traded messages back and forth until I got home. Once I did, I crawled into bed and sent the dude a picture of my cock covered in cum. He didn’t return the favor.