Chapter Seven #2
“Holy shit,” Meg said, walking right up to him. Her lips were scarlet, her black sideshave sharper than normal, and her dark eyes widened in surprise. “I didn’t expect you here so soon.”
“Nolan convinced me,” James admitted. Though, he hadn’t taken much convincing. The guy had turned those pretty eyes on him, and he’d been putty.
Meg scanned him over, her intelligent gaze making him shiver. The woman seemed to see through people, but he wasn’t ready to bridge the topic. No one since Andrew’s passing had sparked his attention to this level, and he both loved and hated it.
“Come, sit,” Meg said. “Meet people. We want you settled in here, not ready to escape back to Sacramento.”
“Ah, so that’s the motive,” James said dryly.
“Getting my friend to stay in the area?” Meg said, crossing her arms. “Of fucking course.”
“Want a drink?” Nolan asked. “I can weather the Fin-storm to get them.”
“Hey, I resemble that,” Fin called over from behind the bar, looking smug as anything.
“You don’t have to,” James started, but Nolan placed a hand on his hip and fixed him an arch look back.
He recognized the Dom look, but surprisingly he didn’t mind it in this regard.
Nolan was capable and kind, and James hadn’t forgotten the man was a switch.
The idea of co-topping with him and then switching to…
he bit his lip hard to force the mental image to disperse.
Not one he should entertain. “I’ll have a latte. ”
Nolan grinned and strode to the bar as Meg clapped a hand on his shoulder and guided him to the tables.
“If you need an out at any point, come get me,” she murmured, low enough for no one else to hear. “Just tell me you want to discuss a business opportunity.”
Gratitude flushed through him fast and fierce.
Meg was a rare sort, ferocious and kind in a way that had drawn him to her from the minute they’d met.
And they’d stayed in each other’s orbits over the years, even when he’d moved for his job in Sacramento and entered the scene there.
In his time apart from San Francisco, Meg hadn’t just made a mark on the San Francisco scene—she was one of the prominent names associated with kink in the area.
And somewhere like San Francisco, that was a formidable feat.
“Thanks,” he murmured as they reached the table. A few familiar faces were there already, Micah and Parker, which felt a bit dissonant after seeing Parker at work. And Pixie and Eva hung at this table, all avidly chatting.
Parker met his gaze with a grin and nodded. “Long time no see.”
“What? Are you having a secret rendezvous with James now?” Micah said, elbowing his boyfriend in the side.
“Clearly, he’s got a network of lovers that he visits in the mere minutes you’re apart,” Eva said.
James chuckled and sat. “We apparently work together. Discovered that when I showed up for the first day on the job.”
Meg let out a low whistle. “It’s like you’re destined to be back here.”
He shot her a wan look. “Laying it on a bit thick there, Margaret.”
“Oh, I’m going to murder you,” she said, her eyes twinkling.
“Margaret?” Micah said, clapping his hands together.
“No,” Meg and Parker said at the same time, and Parker squeezed his boyfriend’s nape.
“I’m not a dog.” Micah scowled at Parker, whose lips twitched.
“You’d make such a cute pup though,” Pixie said, her blue hair longer than it’d been the last time James had been up. She had it in two buns, which looked adorable on her.
“Here you go,” Nolan said, slipping into the seat next to James. He passed him the latte and then settled with his own cup in front of him.
“Thank you,” James said, gratitude flushing through him again.
Nolan’s presence was calming for someone he barely knew, but that was one of the reasons he’d agreed to move in with him.
He took a sip of the latte, not sad to have more coffee in his system after spending the morning organizing.
Though, he was aware Nolan had made him coffee this morning and grabbed him coffee now.
Those little gestures stacked, and he couldn’t help but be charmed by them.
The gnarled knot of guilt in his chest tugged tight, but he pointedly ignored it.
“Hey, Nolan?” a voice sounded, and James followed it to a lithe, attractive white guy with eyeliner, black hair, and piercings.
“Oh, shit, Franco?” Nolan said, half rising from the seat. “When you mentioned being around, I hadn’t realized…”
“Surprise,” he said with a coy wink. Nolan stood and offered the man a hug, to which the guy took full advantage to let linger.
James’s stomach twisted. He’d turned Nolan down and for good reason. Even more so now that they lived together.
“Want to grab a private table to catch up?” Franco asked, tilting his head over to the two-seaters.
“Oooh,” Micah cat-called. “Noles, you gonna hit this fox up?”
Parker cuffed his sub at the nape again. “It’s like you’re begging for a spanking today.”
“You wish, Daddy,” Micah teased back, a glint in his gaze.
Nolan glanced in James’s direction, as if hesitating. Did he think James needed babysitting? Fuck, he was a mess if that were the case.
“Go ahead,” James said, “have fun.” The words sat woodenly on his tongue, as if they were the wrong ones. As if another truth wanted to emerge. Not like it could.
“Sure,” Nolan said, a little quieter than before.
He pushed up from the seat. “I’ll be back in a bit, guys.
” When he stepped up to Franco, the man slid an arm around his waist, and James’s stomach curdled.
The sight of another guy interested in Nolan shouldn’t bother him, yet he felt the slightest bit of possessiveness toward his new roommate.
Probably a symptom of all the new changes and the move.
Still, James tracked where Franco guided Nolan to the empty two-seater. How he leaned in close to talk, his gaze intense and invested. Nolan smiled with an easy familiarity, and James forced his gaze away. What his roommate did on his time was his choice.
Meg sat beside him and scanned him over, her gaze all-knowing. “I’m glad he dragged you out,” she said. “Hell, I think you being there is good for him too.”
“Yeah?” James said, aiming for nonchalant, even though curiosity bubbled up inside him.
Meg pursed her lips. “Just as friends.”
James sipped his latte and pointedly avoided answering. Meg had asked him before if he was getting back out there, but he had given a flat no in response.
And the response would continue to be no.
Because no matter how much his new roommate awakened long-dormant attraction, James had his shot at love, and he’d lost it.
And some broken pieces couldn’t be glued together again.