5. Indy
FIVE
INDY
The week flies by until we find ourselves schlepping back inside Moby’s. The name has grown on me, and we’ve had fun with Low’s designs for our t-shirts and other merchandise. We take our spots around the bar, our daily ritual now, to touch base before the contractors show up and start work again.
Sometimes I still can’t believe this is all happening. It feels a little bit like fate that my life crisis aligned perfectly with my friends being ready for changes in their own lives. It’s been a roller-coaster ride for all of us since we graduated, and while I think we’ve all handled it well, the only one of us who worries me just a little is Lowen.
Sure, he’s all business and pulled together like he always is, but that’s exactly what’s got me concerned. He’s been through the worst of it. Reaching out, I rub his back, drawing his pretty eyes to me.
He raises a perfectly groomed eyebrow. No makeup today, but somehow he’s just as glamorous.
“Yes?”
“You good? ”
He nods, smiling slightly. “Slept well last night despite the drafts in my bedroom. Oh, speaking of… Hey, Rid?”
“What’s up?”
“I talked to Oakley about the house. He’s gonna send his best guys over to take a look at it.”
“Perfect.” He salutes us as Lowen returns his attention to the notebook he has.
He’s obviously not ready to open up yet, and I get it—I’m not the most emotionally expressive guy either, but his divorce was nasty. Like, worthy of media coverage nasty. I guess that’s what happens when two of France’s top interior designers marry, then implode in a very public way.
Everyone’s chatting over their various morning drinks, digging into the box of donuts courtesy of Kit, and that weird, warm feeling of home settles in my chest again. I didn’t realize how much I needed these guys until we came back together.
“Isn’t Salem starting today?” Kit asks.
I nod. “Yeah. Is the payroll stuff ready?”
Jerryn nods. “We’ll still have to do manual checks for a couple of weeks, but we at least have an account and a checkbook.”
“Oh, and I found some new hire paperwork we can use,” Lowen announces, tapping his manicured fingers on a manila folder. “We can have him fill that out today.”
“Cool. I wrote up a quick training plan last night.” I’ll leave out the part where I fantasized about the taste of his mouth and his supple ass rubbing against my cock. Just thinking about my solo sex session yesterday while my thoughts put us in the filthiest situations makes my body heat rise. “Can you guys check it over and see if I missed anything?”
“Of course.” Low takes the paper.
The others gather around to look at it too, but Kit hangs back, leaning against the bar. The old mirrors are cracked and broken, but they’re coming out anyway.
I bump my hip against Kit’s. “You look tired.”
He chuckles. “I am. Left over from Saturday. Picked up this fucking cub of a man at the grocery store.”
“Did you bring him to the house?”
“Nah.” Kit shakes his head. “I didn’t want to parade him in front of you losers.”
“Fair.”
“He was…” He releases a low whistle. “Twenty-two and eager to please. Kept me up well into the early morning hours. We slept for, like, four hours and then he was at it again. My dick hurts.”
I laugh softly even as envy pokes at my chest. It’s been too damn long, but I’ve had more pressing concerns. Maybe that can start to change now that I’m back in Willow Bay.
“College guy?”
Kit nods. “Kept trying to call me Daddy though.” He scrunches his nose. “I had to explain that older doesn’t automatically equal daddy.”
Ridley hears that and cackles, startling Lowen and Jerryn. “Are any of us daddies?”
Lowen scoffs, which is answer enough. Out of all of us, I imagine Kit and I are the closest to the image of a daddy, but it’s not my kink.
“Not even the sugar kind,” Kit says.
“I thought for sure it would be you, Indy,” Bane says. “Back in the day you had serious daddy vibes brewing.”
Chuckling, I fold my arms over my chest. “I think the vibes are probably accurate, but the dynamics don’t do anything for me.”
“Even if pretty twinks are your Achilles heel,” Lowen teases .
“They are. No denial here.”
“And the prettiest one ever is gonna work with us,” Bane says. “You ready for that, Indy?”
“It’ll be fine.”
“Famous last words.” Ridley snorts. “Speaking of, when is he coming in?”
“Ten,” I answer. “I texted him last night and he confirmed.”
“A text?” Bane says. “How modern of you. Did it hurt?”
“Shut it.”
Bane laughs.
“Were you nervous?” Jerryn asks, completely serious.
“Uh, no.”
Lowen turns his probing gaze on me, and as I look at my friends, it’s clear none of them believe me.
“Okay, fine. I was a little nervous. He’s very… appealing, and it’s been a long time since I’ve been interested in someone.”
“He’s gorgeous,” Kit says. “And twinks aren’t even my thing.”
“He’s very attractive,” Jerryn says. “Only Lowen is in the same category as a guy like Salem.”
Lowen beams, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. “Thanks, boo. Salem’s face will help business. Hopefully he has a good personality too.”
“He was professional and excited when I offered him the job.”
Lowen rubs my arm. “I think it’s cute that you’re a little nervous. Big bad Indy is holding back, but none of us will fault you if you give in.”
I roll my eyes but still grin. We all know that if I’d met Salem under any other circumstances he’d already be in my bed. Hell, maybe I’d be over him by now. One and done is my typical MO.
The door opens and Oakley and his crew pile in. They’ve been stripping the place of the smoke-stained wood panels and built-in booths that have seen better days. We’re going with a chill vibe but classing it up just enough to appeal to every type of person. We’d love to lure the locals in too, and not just the cyclical college crowd.
“Morning,” Oakley says, beelining it straight for Lowen. He hands Low a folder. “I drew up some quotes for the ideas we talked about last week. We can sit down and talk them over whenever you’re ready.”
Lowen’s face lights up. “Perfect.” He opens the folder and starts studying the sheets inside as I peek over his shoulder.
“What’s that for?”
“Oh, I asked Oakley to quote me for an idea I have for the second floor of the house.” He gestures for all of us to move in closer. “If you guys agree, we have the space to create mini suites for all of us. It’s some work, of course. Knocking down walls and refiguring the plumbing but the bones are mostly there.”
“Mini suites?” Ridley asks, his brow creased as he picks up one of the sheets.
“Apartments, if you will,” Lowen says. “Without a kitchen. So the first floor would be our common areas—living room, kitchen and dining, laundry. Second floor would be rooms for us. I thought on the third floor, we could do something really cool, like maybe a speakeasy lounge.”
“What about outside?” Ridley asks.
“Oakley and his crew don’t do much for landscaping planning, but he’s referring us to someone he knows who does cool stuff.”
Ridley nods. “Does it figure into the budget I have?”
Lowen twists his glossy lips. “No, but I’m contributing too, and before you argue with me, the project benefits me. I can use it in my portfolio.”
“Oh yeah, because you need a house in a small town to prove your skill,” Kit says sarcastically.
Lowen smiles sweetly. “Darling, Kit. Do you think the average person thinks they can afford me to renovate their home?”
“Uh, probably not.”
“Exactly. If you opened my portfolio and saw nothing but luxury hotels and mansions, I imagine that would be off putting. But if you see a beautiful Victorian home right down the street, well, that changes things, yes?”
“Do you need to work?” Bane asks.
“I’m an artist, of course I need to work. I plan to be selective, but there’s money and old homes in Willow Bay. I doubt the bar will keep all six of us busy forever.”
“Good point,” Kit says. “Speaking of, I got an introduction video done and ready to launch on our socials.”
Ridley sets the papers back in the folder, and glances up. His cheeks are red and his eyes are a little blurry, but there’s a dopey smile on his face. “This is cool. We can all live together but still have our own spaces.”
Lowen squeezes his hand. “Exactly. The crew going over today is assessing the scope of work. It’s very exciting, but we’ll be living in a construction zone for quite a while.”
Ridley shrugs. “I’d rather live in a dump with you guys than a mansion alone.”
His words linger, silently falling over all of us. Being back together with these guys is exactly what I needed, and apparently I wasn’t alone.
The morning moves at a decent pace, but that doesn’t stop me from checking my watch every five minutes the closer we get to ten. When the door opens and Salem finally steps in, my stomach does a fucking flip. Seriously? Where is my chill?
He glances around until he finds me, and a smile fills his face as he struts confidently in my direction. Kit and I are discussing the design of the bar.
“Morning, guys,” Salem says as he approaches.
“Morning,” Kit says happily while I stare and try to find my voice.
All I can manage is a mumbled “morning” as I shuffle papers for no reason.
“Good weekend?” Kit asks.
Salem shrugs. “As good as being back at my parents’ house can be. I have my own apartment, but my mom is all over me right now.”
“Do you have a good relationship with them?” Kit asks.
“It’s not bad. It just wasn’t how I planned for things to go, you know?”
I nod as more questions occur to me. I want to know everything about him just so I can watch his mouth move as he speaks. Those lips of his have to be as soft as pillows.
Today he’s wearing skinny jeans and a black t-shirt that hugs his lithe chest. He smells good too—a little floral, a little sweet. I want to nuzzle his neck and see what sounds I can draw from his pretty mouth.
My cock swells at the thought and I clear my throat, shifting closer to the bar to hide my condition. Salem cocks his head to the side, his eyes wide with questions. Kit chuckles.
“I, uh, I have a training plan.”
“Fun,” Salem coos. “Where do we start, boss?”
“Call me Indy.” I glance around for the folder Lowen gave me earlier. “Paperwork. Let’s get that out of the way.”
“Okay.”
“There’s an office in the back. Come on.”
He follows me and I’m thankful for the crew making plenty of noise around us as a distraction. I open the door to Jimmy’s old office. It’s dusty and reeks of cigar smoke, but it’s all we’ve got for now.
“Sorry. It’s pretty fucking gross in here.”
“I wasn’t expecting much. It’s obviously under renovation.”
“Yeah.” I gesture to the chair. “You can sit here. It’s just the basic information so we can get it over to our payroll company.”
“Great.” He walks to the desk, choosing the route where he has to brush past me in the small space. Is he fucking with me on purpose? “Super curious, Indy. What led to you hunky boys choosing to open this place up again?”
“We told you. We went to school here.”
“Yeah, I got that.” He sits in the chair and does a little half spin so he’s waist high to me, gazing up. “But why now?”
I nod, understanding the deeper question he’s asking. “We’ve been tight since sophomore year, and it just worked out that we all reached a point in our lives and careers where we needed a change.”
Salem nods, picking up the pen and tapping it on the desk. “How lucky for me and Willow Bay. Six gorgeous queer boys running a bar. Delicious.”
Staring into his eyes, I’m wondering whether my luck is running good or bad. Salem is temptation with a capital T.
“We should get started.”
“What are the rules about fraternization?”
“What?”
“Fraternizing? You know, fucking your coworkers.”
My throat tightens with all the filthy words swirling in my head. I could bend him over this desk right now, get him dirty in more ways than one as I unravel him piece by piece. He clearly wants me to.
“We’re still working it out.”
“Can I make a suggestion for the policy?”
I nod, leaning just a little closer .
“We’re all adults working here, right?” Salem asks, continuing without waiting for a response. “I think it should be allowed as long as all parties are consenting and mature.”
“How would we gauge maturity?”
“Guess you’d have to go with your gut, Indy.” He bats his long lashes at me as his tongue darts out to wet his lips.
Fuck. Me.
“I confess I have a vested interest in the policy.”
“That so?”
Salem stands, barely reaching my shoulders. He drags a finger down my chest, his eyes fixed on me as I have to bend my neck to hold his gaze. Heat radiates between us and my cock twitches in my jeans. I’m desperate to get my hands on this sexy man.
“I happen to have a thing for big, brawny men with unusual names and pretty green-blue eyes.”
“Messing around with your boss comes with potential complications.”
“What’s life without a few complications?”
He drags soft fingers under my chin, and I imagine the beard burn my scruff would leave on his flawless skin as I took him apart.
“You may have noticed I’m pretty up-front about getting what I want.”
“I noticed.”
“And I don’t think I’m alone in my interest. Am I wrong, Indy?”
Even the way he says my name makes my knees a little weak. This is the part where I could put some professional distance between us, and probably should, but I seem to be frozen. He’s got me completely under his spell and I don’t hate it.
Salem presses himself against me, rising on his toes and parting his pretty lips. My resolve weakens as I’m drawn into his orbit, but just as our lips are about to touch, a man tumbles straight through the drywall beside us.
Salem shrieks, jumping out of the way as dust fills the space. The construction worker on the floor pulls himself up as others rush to his aid.
“Dammit. Water damage,” he mutters, brushing his jeans off and pulling a chunk of damp drywall away from the hole. “Lost my balance. Sorry about that.”
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Yeah.” He knocks on his hard hat. “All good.”
Salem grabs the papers and folder off the desk. “New location?”
“I guess the bar up front will have to do for now.”
Salem nods, walking ahead of me but stopping in the hallway and turning to face me.
“Rainchecks are available whenever you want them.”
“Noted.”
He saunters off, leaving me horny, half hard, and with my head spinning. I have a feeling Salem is going to be a handful. Whether that’s good or bad remains to be seen.