Landon
Landon had begrudgingly gottenout of bed after hours of Verity’s incessant countdown reminders that it was nearly time for work. He didn’t want to be out of bed, and he didn’t want to be at work. If he were being honest, he didn’t even want to be around Verity, who had spoken some truths the night before that Landon had spent half his life trying to deny.
After staring for too long into his closet, he decided on basic black, a lazy standard of black shorts and a tight tee. The Los Angeles summer was warming up and, paired with the humidity generated in the club, leather wasn’t always the best option. Shorts also required minimal effort, which was about all he had to offer after the bar he’d consumed the day before.
Once at Rapture, Landon shut himself away in his office, busying himself with the mid-month billing and a lot of staring at the whiteboard calendar making sure there were no additional ex-boyfriends sneaking up on him later in the month. As if there had been any other ex-boyfriends besides Gregory who were worth his time anyway.
The office door cracked open and Verity’s head appeared.
“Two things?”
“Of course.” Landon rolled his chair away from his desk and stretched his legs.
“One, I need you to stock the upstairs bar, please.” Verity smiled sweetly.
“And two?” Landon asked, standing and reaching his arms over his head to stretch his shoulders.
“Gregory is here. You’re welcome.” Verity made to pull the door closed.
“I’m welcome? What the fuck did you do, Verity?” Landon rounded the desk then yanked the door handle, throwing Verity off-balance, but they just blinked and smiled.
“I talked with him, today. You should know he was the one who insisted I tell you about the phone call. I would have just let you think another meeting happened serendipitously.”
“Verity.”
“Landon.”
Verity rolled their eyes at him.
“Just hear him out. Pretend you met him on a dating app. Pretend you don’t have history. I don’t care.”
“Why are you so invested in Gregory?” Landon squinted at Verity and tried to size them up to figure out their endgame.
“I’m invested in you. Can you please go stock the bar now?” Verity turned their back and then was gone.
Landon’s t-shirt suddenly felt too tight. It probably was too tight, but he was painfully aware of it now. He stalked to the bar, shooting daggers at Verity before grabbing four bottles of liquor from the cabinet and marching toward the stairs. He scanned the club to find Gregory, but he wasn’t anywhere that Landon looked. Landon felt a momentary sense of relief until he reached the stairs to the loft and found Gregory there, propped against the wall with his legs crossed at the ankles and his arms folded across his chest.
As soon as Gregory saw him, he pushed off the wall and rubbed his palms down his pants in what Landon assumed was a nervous gesture. It was nearly endearing, but not enough to erase what happened the summer after high school. Landon eyed Gregory and sighed then walked past him up the stairs.
Gregory followed him, his heavy boots thudding up each step as he closed the distance between them. When they reached the loft, Gregory didn’t say anything. Landon went to the bar and shoved the bottles underneath it, making a mental note of what else he needed to collect from the storage room.
He looked up over the bar and Gregory was still there, silent and observing. Until he wasn’t.
“Verity told me to come,” Gregory said in introduction.
“They told me,” Landon confirmed.
Gregory nodded. “I didn’t think you’d want to see me.”
“I don’t.”
Hurt flashed across Gregory’s face and he rubbed his hands down his pants again. He was wearing black jeans that hugged every muscle that popped out of his legs and a tight gray shirt. His pants were tucked into boots—that looked as heavy as they sounded—laced to the top and tied off with a neat bow. They seemed well-worn but maintained. Landon wondered if Gregory shined them himself.
Gregory sighed. “Landon, can we go somewhere and talk?”
“I’m working.”
In reality, Landon probablycouldgo somewhere. If Verity had been pulling strings, they would have made sure to staff enough to account for an unexpected absence. Gregory looked at him as though he knew that were the case.
