Chapter Twenty
Nolan brought the carafe of coffee over to the corner table, which he’d cleared for the meeting today.
He was joining Meg and a few of the folks from Tabletop Tavern to discuss the upcoming collaboration.
It was in a few weeks, so he’d start the hard launch after the talk today, since the current iteration of another newbie night wasn’t attracting the usual interest.
Not with Euphoria’s big party night on the exact same day.
“Did your…James discuss with you the Carter bullshit?” Meg asked, plunking down into one of the seats.
Nolan’s lips twitched at Meg’s effort with tact.
He and James hadn’t quite committed to titles yet, though Sir was probably closer on the horizon than boyfriend in their future.
He didn’t mind. James was so single-minded that Nolan didn’t question his focus.
The man had a quiet presence but an indomitable one, and Nolan was addicted.
“Yeah, looks like we’ve got a repeat offender on our hands,” Nolan said, taking the seat next to Meg. “More the reason to push him out of this sphere.”
“Sex offender more like,” Meg spat. “How these fuckers continue to escape repercussions makes me want to scream.”
“Money and privilege, babe,” Nolan said. “It’s a bitch. At least we can make some headway in steering newcomers out of the inevitable crash and burn of Euphoria.”
Meg scrubbed her face. Lately, she’d been a little more on edge, as if the stresses of the job were impacting her more than usual. Maybe a little because Tristan had been traveling to conferences a lot more frequently, and as much as the rest of them tried, he was a pillar of support for her.
Nolan flicked her in the side. “You know we’re here for you too, right?”
“How dare you,” she teased dryly. “Using my own advice against me.” She glanced at him, weariness heavy in her gaze. “If everything gets to be too much, I’ll tell you.”
“Why am I missing out on secrets,” Micah called as he passed by. “Tell me too.”
“Away with you, brat,” Meg teased. “Or you’ll be getting a spanking. You know your Daddy would let me.”
“Don’t tempt me,” Micah said as he slipped back behind the espresso bar. “Tomorrow can’t come soon enough.”
Nolan chewed his lower lip. Maybe it was time…
“You inviting him?” Meg asked.
“What are you, a mind reader?” Nolan let out a laugh. “Yeah, I’ll ask. No promises, but James knows everyone anyway.”
The idea of finally bringing someone to Play Night sent a shiver down his spine.
It was an unwritten understanding that inviting anyone outside of the workers at Whipped meant the relationship was serious.
None of Nolan’s past partners had ever warranted an invite, even those he’d dated for six months or longer.
Yet, James understood him better than anyone he’d met, and more than that, he trusted him.
“Damn, it’d be good to see him in action again,” Meg said. “He’s the one who taught me how to flog, and the man has skill.”
“Mm, I’m well aware,” Nolan said. A week had passed since the intense scene together, and the bruises had mostly faded, which meant it was high time to accumulate more.
“Hope we’re not late,” a guy with styled black hair called out as he strode in through the door. He wore chef’s coat and had an athletic, twink-ish build. “My boyfriend decided to tag along.”
The guy who trailed behind him was built and blond, with scruff and a hard look to his features. Behind him stepped Jasper, one of the owners of Tabletop Tavern.
“Don’t listen to Arjun,” Jasper said, striding past the couple. His dark hair was trimmed, and he wore a loose, purposefully threadbare tank with skinny jeans. He lugged a heavy-looking bag. “We asked Eli to join because he’s never been here and was curious.”
“I want my vanilla boyfriend to do kinky, kinky things to me,” Arjun said with a shit-eating grin.
“Oh god, do we have another Fin or Micah?” Nolan said, even as amusement bubbled up in him. He recognized a brat a mile away.
Jasper dropped the bag on the floor beside them with a thump.
“What, did you smuggle a body in that?” Meg asked with a wan grin.
“If I did, it’d be David. Fuck that guy,” Jasper said, his sarcasm fluid.
Nolan knew Jasper the most out of the crew at Tabletop Tavern, since Jasper and his boyfriend, Matt, both came to events here.
A few of the others, like Kelly and her girlfriend, Tabby, had shown up a few times, but Sloan and Fin also frequented gaming over at their café.
Truthfully, he should take James. He could tell how much the man missed tabletop gaming.
“Nice place,” Eli said, tilting his chin up to gesture.
“I’m a fan,” Meg said with a wan grin. “If you two are curious, the event we want you involved in is the best place to dip your toes in the water.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Eli swore and stared at the ceiling while Arjun cackled.
“Arjun’s with me because he’ll be figuring out some bite-size food items to bring over. Figure we can showcase best of both cafes,” Jasper explained.
“That’s perfect,” Meg said. “We’re mostly of the pastries variety, so more offerings sounds great.”
“I’m sure you’re already aware, but that Carter guy is all bad vibes,” Jasper said. “One of his cronies dropped off flyers at our shop the other day. I tossed them in the trash can.”
“Yeah, he’s trying to push us out of the scene,” Meg said drolly. “Hip-hip hooray. Great times for us.”
“Hence the getting inventive with our next event,” Nolan said. “He scheduled his big soiree the same night.”
“Need to call the Rainbow Coalition in over this?” Jasper asked.
Meg shook her head. “Nah, this is scene drama. I can handle my end of things.”
“We could shit on his lawn,” Arjun suggested.
“You’re a menace.” Eli sighed, even though a wan smile was on his face. “If you need someone to get rid of him quietly though…”
“My boyfriend is terrifying,” Arjun said. “Isn’t he hot?”
“I mean, I wouldn’t say no to getting bent over by him,” Nolan flirted, even though the only person on his radar was James.
Arjun hissed at him. “Mine. I don’t share.”
Nolan barked out a laugh. “Damn shame, because you’re gorgeous too.”
Arjun spluttered as Eli smirked and ruffled his hair.
Jasper cackled. “I warned you ahead of time. Now let’s get down to business nailing details. We’ve got the ball moving on the date, the place, and the food, but what about activities?”
“D&D and flog session?” Nolan teased. “Fail your attack roll and earn your lashes.”
Meg hummed. “Not for newbies, but I’m writing that one down for future reference.”
“How about a few tables set up in one corner for one-shot tabletop?” Eli suggested.
“Then the kink demos and learning on the other side of the dungeon,” Nolan said. “Food and mingling upstairs.”
“Fantastic,” Meg said, jotting down notes on a pad. Jasper had his phone out, and the way his fingers were flying, he was doing the same. Nolan ran through marketing copy in his head. The graphics would be splashy and fun, perfect to draw fresh blood to Whipped.
Perfect to keep newbies from wandering to Euphoria Club.
The information about Carter sat sour in his gut, but he knew how it would go if Whipped blasted it publicly.
If they didn’t have solid proof, the news coming from Whipped would seem like revenge or petty attacks.
James was working to unearth more, but a lot of it was shielded by another hacker.
Carter had brought nothing but trouble into their sphere, and Nolan was beyond over his bullshit.
“How many attendees are we talking?” Arjun asked.
“How much notice do you need?” Nolan responded. “I’m going to start blasting this through our socials today, now that we’ve got details solidified, so I’ll have a better idea beginning of next week.”
“That works fine for me,” Arjun said. “Any types of food to avoid?”
“I’ve seen your menu,” Meg said. “Everything on it is great.”
Arjun preened, a satisfied smile on his lips. “Hear that, Eli? I’m great.”
“She was talking about the food, babe,” Eli said, rolling his eyes.
“Anything you need to set up?” Meg asked Jasper.
“We’ll provide the Dungeon Masters, you provide the Dungeon Monitors,” he teased. “As long as we have the space set out, we can bring plenty of promotional materials along with the stuff to run one-shots. I think Hunter would do a great job here. He’s pretty focused.”
“Got to be able to tune out the moans, I’m guessing?” Arjun said, curiosity in his gaze.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, sweet thing,” Nolan teased. Eli growled from behind him and clutched his boyfriend a little tighter. Nolan lifted his hands, a laugh exploding out of him. “I’ll stop, I’ll stop. Trust me, I’d never make moves without explicit consent.”
“Plus, you have to figure out parameters with James now too, right?” Meg said, eyes glinting.
“You, of all people, are well aware of how James operates,” Nolan said. “We’re still open to playing with other partners.”
“My sweet virgin ears,” Arjun gasped.
“Says the stripper.” Eli rolled his eyes.
“Damn, really?” Meg said. “Why haven’t we done a burlesque night here before?”
Eli groaned. “Don’t encourage him.”
“He’s done geek burlesque before,” Jasper said. “It was so hot.”
“Ugh,” Eli said. “Check me out of this conversation.”
A laugh exploded from Nolan. With everything crushing down on him lately, all the upheavals and changes in his life, he appreciated this lightness.
Excitement fluttered through his veins. This collaboration with Tabletop Tavern sparked new ideas, ones he couldn’t wait to pitch to Meg.
Whipped was a cornerstone in the San Francisco kink community, but if Nolan had anything to do with it, it would remain relevant for a long time to come.
Provided they could deal with their Carter problem.
“Okay, but the burlesque scene at Tempest is the best,” Jasper said, geeking out to Meg.
She nodded. “One of my clients is a dancer there. I work her over on a regular basis.”
“Damn, this is just a reminder I’ve got to get Matt over here more often,” Jasper said. Arjun whispered something in Eli’s ear that made him go bright red, and Nolan couldn’t help his grin.
He pulled out his phone, one thing decided. It was high time James came to play with the rest of the crew.
Want to join me for Play Night tomorrow?