Chapter Nine
James rolled his shoulders, which were locked into place after a long day at work.
The guys in the IT department were joking and chatting, but he let the sounds wash over him, absorbing them while focusing on his screen.
He liked to socialize but couldn’t multi-task well, so he always ended up coming off curmudgeonly.
At least Andrew had always called him that—affectionately of course.
“Come on, man,” Ken said to Parker, whose arms were crossed and expression looked thunderous. “This party is going to be amazing. You’ve got to attend.”
“I’ll be at the one for my other job,” Parker said firmly.
Other job clued James in at once, and he straightened up.
Ken hadn’t struck him as part of the scene, but perhaps that was because he avoided those sectors.
When he vetted munches to attend, he always kept a gauge on how diverse they were.
Based on the demographics, if they all slanted in one direction, there was a high chance the munch wouldn’t be as welcoming for him.
James’s jaw twitched as he resisted the urge to step in.
Which was unlike him, since he pointedly kept that part of his life private.
Ken yammering about parties in front of the vanilla folks at the office didn’t sit right with him, and based on the furrow in Parker’s brow, he wasn’t a huge fan of the intrusion either.
“You should at least stop out to Carter’s place sometime,” Ken continued, ignoring the signs. “It’s fresh, and there’s a lot of new energy. Meg’s is fine and all, but you have to admit, Whipped is stale. Kind of boring.”
James plunked a little harder on the keys of his keyboard.
Safe. Meg’s was safe. And despite that some kinks always had an inherent risk factor, at Whipped and their sponsored events, Meg made sure the people there wouldn’t be taken advantage of.
That you wouldn’t have play partners slipping into outright abuse.
That participants wouldn’t be playing under the influence and end up with permanent damage.
At least, not if she could help it. He let out a harsh breath.
“Ken, you think about going into sales?” James asked. “You’re pitching this thing real hard.”
“Nothing for you to worry about.” Ken shot him an annoyed look.
James arched a brow, fixing him with a heavy stare. The aspects of domming didn’t always slip out, but this time he couldn’t help himself.
Ken rolled his eyes. “Someone as serious as you would have no interest in what we’re discussing.”
James schooled his features and ignored Ken’s jibe. Despite the jab, he refused to rise to the bait. He’d always kept his kink life private, and he wouldn’t change that here, even though Parker knew his secret. Thankfully, Parker hadn’t said a peep.
“Just think about it,” Ken cajoled again with Parker, who appeared more annoyed by the second. At the munch, James had gotten the gist a new kink club was causing problems, and Ken was all on board with the problematic guys. Why was he not surprised?
“I’ll pass,” Parker said. “Shouldn’t you be finishing up for the day anyway?”
James bit his cheek to hide the smirk.
“Fine, man,” Ken said. “Your loss.” With that, he pivoted around to focus on his screen.
Work was almost over, and James looked forward to going home.
It had been so long since he’d felt that way, long before Andrew had passed.
When Andrew was sick, coming home meant facing reality every time, watching his husband progressively get worse.
And coming home to a house that wasn’t empty?
Where Nolan would offer flirty remarks and casual, comfortable conversation?
Fuck, he liked his new situation a shade too much.
A little bit of guilt prickled through him, but that feeling wasn’t as strong as when he’d arrived. He swallowed hard, unsure if that was good or bad.
“What are you doing later?” Parker asked.
James glanced at him. “No plans.” He wouldn’t be sad hanging home with Nolan, but that wasn’t the best idea. Nolan had a guy interested in him, and James was off-limits. His gut twisted.
“A few of us are heading out to House of Swords later. Want a drink and wings?”
“Are wings the only menu option?” James teased. Though tempted to just go home, he should put himself out there with socializing. He found the endeavor easier with the Whipped crew due to his implicit trust in Meg.
“If you like wings, then yes. Otherwise, the normal bar fare,” Parker said, flashing a grin.
James didn’t miss the glower Ken gave both of them.
Clearly, Ken was grumpy the invitation hadn’t been extended to him.
If he was part of the crew at the new kink scene starting up though, James wanted to veer far away from him and his ilk.
“Yeah, I’m in,” James said. “We heading straight there?” He was tempted to reach out and ask Nolan what he was doing, but he also didn’t want to form too strong of an attachment.
The man was temptation incarnate, utterly gorgeous, and the sort of fascinating James was drawn to effortlessly.
Yet, he was too broken, too fucking damaged to offer anything more.
No matter how his battered insides had begun to spark to life.
“Fuck yeah, so let’s wrap this day up,” Parker said, leaning in and focusing on his computer for a beat.
James caught the time—past working hours—and he saved the project he’d been in the middle of and exited everything before turning off his computer.
When he rose from the seat, his joints creaked.
He needed to get back to the gym on the regular—not just to keep his body functioning but to improve it for his other pursuits.
The itch to flog again was rising higher and higher.
He hadn’t forgotten his conversation with Nolan.
His mouth dried. Doing that in the house would be a bridge too far. If he flogged Nolan where they both lived, where they saw each other every day, then all he’d be able to think about was getting that boy stripped down, bending him over, and sliding his cock inside him.
He sucked in a sharp breath to brace himself. The usual guilt walloped him square in the chest at the idea of moving on. At the filthy thoughts parading through his head about his gorgeous switchy roommate.
James slung his bag strap over his shoulder and met Parker by the door, who waited for him.
Most of the other guys had hustled out with a few byes.
Ken took his time finishing at his station, and James felt the irritated gaze press on him.
Was the friendliness with Parker going to be a tipoff to his lifestyle?
Ken seemed far too nosy, and James didn’t trust him.
Still, he wouldn’t refuse camaraderie tonight. Not with the visit on his horizon.
They headed down the hall toward the exit, and James’s shoulders relaxed.
“I need at least two drinks after dealing with that asshole,” Parker murmured under his breath. “Come to Euphoria? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Mind filling me in on the deal with that?” James asked.
Nolan had come home tense yesterday when he’d had the meltdown in the kitchen, but all he’d mentioned was it had to do with the folks opening the new club.
Which meant they stirred up a lot more trouble than he let on.
Meg had made brief comments at the munch but had stayed purposefully vague, promising to clarify later.
“Ugh, where to start?” Parker said, casting a quick glance behind them as they reached the door.
They’d left Ken behind, and no one lingered in the foyer, but Parker didn’t continue until they stepped out through the doors, which James appreciated.
“So, new scenes pop up all the time, and it’s not a huge deal when they’re respectable or not actively trying to cause problems… ”
“But this one’s a bucket of red flags?” James guessed.
Parker let out a low whistle as they strode along the sidewalk. “Yeah, fuck. Not only have several banned members from Whipped migrated over there, but they’ve barely got any safety precautions in place. And the whole crew there is pushy as fuck, as you can see.”
“Yeah, Ken was coming on a bit strong,” James murmured while they hopped to a Muni station. The train screeched to a halt in front of them, and Parker boarded first, James following close behind.
“The timing is a bit suspect too,” Parker said, gripping tight to the pole in the center. James swayed as the train lurched forward. “Nolan’s been dealing with a slew of trolls on our socials for Whipped. Every event we try to post about has an increased volume of anonymous complaints.”
Now he understood the stress buzzing from Nolan yesterday.
“Why aren’t you guys tracing the accounts?” James said. “Figuring out who’s behind it should be simple.”
Parker raised a brow. “Not all of us have hacker backgrounds. I’m here for your more generic IT issues.”
James nodded slowly. The urge to help bubbled up inside him, but the person he needed to ask was his roommate. Maybe Nolan had a different strategy that didn’t involve him.
“Anyway, we’ve got an upcoming newbie event, but we wanted to elevate it somehow, get some different groups in the community involved,” Parker said.
“Noles has been wracking his brain. We’ve brainstormed for the past few days, but I think I’ve been running intro classes for too long and am used to my comfortable format. All my ideas are flat.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” James said, a tickle stirring at the back of his mind. “You probably just need a hook. People love a gimmick, or at least a niche target audience.”
Parker ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll be honest, day to day’s overwhelming as-is, without the junk Euphoria’s bringing to our door. The folks at Whipped know, but I’m planning on proposing to Micah, and that’s taking up way more of my attention.”
James swallowed hard, and pain lanced through him. Parker trusted him with this, an honor he didn’t deserve and frankly hadn’t earned, yet the memories barraged him.