35. Indiana
THIRTY-FIVE
INDIANA
“Come on, everyone,” Lowen calls, waving us toward him. “It’s time.”
I blow out a breath and squeeze Salem’s hand. “Fuck, I’m nervous.”
“I get it, but there’s no reason to be. It’s gonna be great.”
Nodding, I press a kiss to his cheek. “You’re right.”
We follow Lowen and everyone outside. Oakley and his crew are here, as well as our new wait and kitchen staff. A crowd greets us, to my surprise, and a man with a camera steps forward.
Lowen smiles. “Hi, Rick. Thanks for being here.”
“Happy to participate,” Rick, the photographer, says.
“What’s this, Low?”
His pretty smile lights up his face. “Oh, just a little article in tomorrow’s business page in the New Onyx Times .”
“Seriously?”
“Let’s just say my name has a little pull stateside too.”
I grab him in a big bear hug and twirl him around. He whoops and pushes against me, but he’s laughing .
“You’re gonna mess up my hair, Indy!”
“You’re still beautiful.” Kit chuckles.
I set Lowen down and focus on the growing crowd. We don’t open for another hour and chose to have this little opening ceremony for our team. Wren and Florian hand out glasses of champagne, and my eyes actually sting with emotion. This crazy idea I had almost six months ago is actually happening. So much has changed for the better.
Salem leans into me, and I turn my gaze toward him. He looks absolutely stunning tonight in a tight-fitting black mesh top and white skinny jeans, with all the marks I left on him faintly visible under the concealer. He’s wearing full makeup, with a smoky eye as he described it, and it’s going to take all my strength not to drag him to the office to mess it up later.
Lowen clears his throat, tapping his glass with a spoon. “I’d like to share a few words on behalf of myself, Kit, Ridley, Jerryn, and Bane.”
“Shit,” I whisper. “He’s about to fuck me up emotionally.”
“I got you,” Salem whispers back.
I nod, blowing out a breath and shaking my shoulders.
“Indy has always been our unofficial group leader,” Lowen says, angling himself toward the photographer and the journalist beside him. “Since college when we were still a bunch of kids figuring out life, Indy’s quiet but sure presence, his clear mind, and his ability to make everyone feel heard and seen have made him a standout.”
Salem squeezes my hand while I breathe through the emotion building inside me.
“So when he called each of us roughly six months ago and suggested we blow up our lives, move to a small town, and open a gay bar, not a single one of us hesitated. It was like the lighthouse in the storm, and Indy guided us right back to where we needed to be. ”
“Low…”
He smiles, but his eyes are glassy as he waves his hand in front of his face. “We spent our last night before graduation right here. We won’t talk about all the nights before that.”
The crowd laughs softly.
“I remember standing on this sidewalk at closing time, knowing we were all starting new lives the next day that would take us far apart, but somehow the bond never broke. I know our friendship is one of the most important things in each of our lives, and we want to thank Indy for making this happen.”
“Thank fuck I’m not wearing eyeliner.” I sniff and wipe at my damp eyes.
Lowen raises his glass and others follow. “So here’s to many nights of new memories. Tonight starts the next phase of our lives. Thank you, Indy, and thank you all for being here.”
The crowd claps, but we hear a clamoring from the back. An old man pushes his way forward, bent with age as he leans on a cane. It takes me a second, but then recognition hits.
“Oh my god. Jimmy?”
He smiles, pulling himself as upright as possible. “Didn’t think I’d miss this, did ya?”
Kit hurries over, offering his hand to Jimmy. “You made it.”
“Sure did, kid.” He winks. “Thank you for finding me.”
“Grandpa!” A younger guy pushes through the crowd, exhaling with relief when he sees Jimmy. “Damn, you move faster than you should.”
Jimmy chuckles. “I’m old, not dead.”
“Took a lot of work to find him,” Kit says, nudging my arm. “But I did it.”
Jimmy nods. “Living with my daughter and her kids now, in Clearbrooke.” He looks up at the restored building. “It looks good. Brings back memories.”
I pat his shoulder. “For us too, Jimmy. ”
The crowd chants, “Speech! Speech! Speech!”
Lowen hands Jimmy the microphone, but he looks at it like it smells bad before handing it to me. “This is your night, Indy.”
Taking the microphone, I look at it, then my friends, the crowd, and finally Salem. Beautiful, surprisingly sweet Salem. The crowd falls silent in expectation, and all I can hear is my own breathing and the clicking of cameras.
“I’m not quite the public speaker Lowen is, but I’ll give it a shot.”
Salem wraps his arm around mine in support.
“Like Lowen said, I had this crazy idea. Jimmy’s meant a lot to us back in the day, and something about it called to me again. I was ready for a big life change, and I knew I couldn’t do it without these guys who have become my family.”
I turn my gaze to Salem.
“And because of that wild decision, I met this stunning angel beside me, who I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving.”
Salem gasps as his eyes turn glassy.
“I found my footing again,” I continue. “And most importantly, I’m excited about the future. I can’t thank you all enough for being here to support us tonight, and to my friends, Jerryn, Bane, Ridley, Kit, and Lowen—” My voice breaks and I huff through an emotional laugh. “You guys are the best friends a guy could ever hope for. Thanks for trusting me.”
They smile back at me with just as much emotion as I feel.
“Let’s do this, huh?” I nod at Wren, who hurries inside with the door propped open. “Welcome to the grand opening of Moby’s Bar and Dining.”
Wren flips the switch and the sign lights up brilliantly. We went with a whale, the water spray representing the colors of the progressive pride flag to make sure it’s real clear what kind of place this is. We also added a flag in the window to drive the point home.
The six of us arrange ourselves out front for pics, and then they highlight Wren and Florian too. I don’t know what kind of ‘small’ article this is going to be, but if I know Lowen, and I do, there won’t be anything subtle about it.
We follow the crowd inside, and within minutes, the place is filling up and there’s a line at the door. People laugh at the sign Ridley insisted on hanging behind the bar—No Whales, Just D. I stand at the bar, completely stunned.
A group of imposing men enter, heading straight for the bar. There are twelve of them, and as they pass, one of them pauses, his wild hair and penetrating gaze causing my stomach to tighten. Please don’t let there be trouble on our first night.
“Are you the owner?” he asks.
“Co-owner. Can I help you?”
“Nah. We just came in from New Onyx to check it out.” He extends his hand. “Thorn Orpheus. About time this sleepy town woke up.”
“Nice to meet you. Indy.”
Salem clears his throat, clutching my arm possessively.
“This is my partner, Salem.”
Thorn grins, reaching behind him to pull forward a sweet looking man with glasses. “And the love of my life, Kyson.”
“Your place is nice,” Kyson says, smiling softly. They make an odd couple but I can almost feel the love coming off them.
“Thanks. Enjoy the evening, huh?”
Thorn and Kyson rejoin their friends at the bar, and I glance around in near shock at how full the place is already.
“Holy shit,” Kit says, appearing next to me. “If this is a sign of things to come, we’re gonna be busy.”
“The social media posts I put out today were getting a ton of traffic.” Salem bounces on his toes .
“This is incredible,” Jerryn says, almost in awe.
“Gonna need some help here,” Florian yells as he and two other bartenders make drinks as fast as possible.
“On it,” Ridley says, jumping up onto the bar top.
“What is he doing?” Bane asks.
“I’m guessing he’s providing a little distraction,” Lowen says. He sounds both exasperated and impressed.
Since coming back to Willow Bay, Ridley seems to have unlocked a part of him he tucked away for years in the corporate world. His hair is cut and styled into a spiky mess and dyed bright blue, and as he tugs his t-shirt up to show off his still impressive abs, he gets the crowd’s attention long enough to let the bartenders catch up.
“Some things never change,” I muse.
“Impressive for a guy over forty,” Salem adds.
Ridley drops to his knees, grinding his hips to the beat of the hip-hop song playing over the speakers. He’s obviously having a blast, and my heart fills with so much relief and happiness, I could burst.
Salem snuggles against me, his smaller body fitting perfectly against mine. “I think you pulled it off, boss.”
Nodding, I smile. “I think so too. It took a village, but we did it.”
He scoots in front of me, dancing suggestively and drawing all my attention to him. “Don’t get too tired though. I have a little fantasy that needs tending to.”
My cock immediately twitches with interest. “Yeah? What’s that, gorgeous?”
“You, me, and a dark office while the bar is filled with people enjoying themselves.”
I rub his chin with my thumb. “Sounds unprofessional. I’d hate to get caught.”
“Guess we’ll have to be careful. ”
He presses against me, reaching down to rub my dick and drawing a moan from me.
“You’ve always been dangerous, and apparently, I like danger.”
Salem drags his hand down my chest. “I’m proud of you.” His expression softens as he gazes up at me. “And I’m so proud to be on your arm. I love you.”
I almost can’t believe this is my life. A successful business, surrounded by my best friends, and loved by this gorgeous creature. Life is good.
“I love you too, sweet thing.”
I lean down to kiss him, but the crowd’s wild clapping pulls our attention. Florian hands Ridley a tray once he’s back on solid ground, and my friends gather around me.
“The signature cocktail for this evening,” Ridley says, handing out glasses. “But this one’s yours, Indy.”
He hands me a highball glass and I sniff the amber liquid inside. The richness of oak, hints of vanilla and cherry, and earthy tones seduce my nose.
“Whiskey, neat, for the man who made all this happen,” Ridley announces. “The finest we could find.”
“To Moby’s,” Kit says, raising his glass. “And to us.”
Filled with gratitude, happiness, and love, I lift my glass. “I’ll drink to that.”