"Still going strong, apparently." I lowered my voice as Marissa from accounting walked by. "I haven't been since before Mike and I got serious, but... I don't know. Thought it might be good to get back to my roots."
"Your roots being getting railed by anything that’s not human?" Jerry snickered.
"Something like that." I couldn't help but grin. Before Mike, I'd had a pretty consistent track record with the non-human community. There was something about scales, fins, and occasional extra appendages that had always done it for me. But back then it wasn’t really an option to do interspecies dating. Now it was still odd, but not unheard of at least.
"Mr. Davenport."
I turned to see Mr. Klauser standing in the doorway of his office, smoke curling from his nostrils, which was never a goodsign. The dragon-shifter's tailored suit strained slightly around his broad shoulders as he beckoned me with one clawed finger.
"My office. Now."
"Shit," I muttered to Jerry. "Talk to you later."
I followed Klauser into his office, the heat radiating off him making me regret wearing a wool suit today. He shut the door behind me and moved to his desk, his tail flicking with irritation. Usually he stayed in his human form, but on stressful days like today, he couldn’t help himself.
"Kyle," he rumbled, "Johnson called me this morning. Said he's thinking about moving his portfolio elsewhere."
My stomach dropped. "Mr. Klauser, I can explain?—"
"I don't need explanations. I need results." He exhaled, a wisp of smoke escaping between razor-sharp teeth. "That's the third account you've put in jeopardy this month."
"I know, sir. Things have been... complicated in my personal life."
His yellow eyes narrowed. "I don't care if your house is on fire. When you're here, you're here. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Fix it. And don't lose any more accounts." He shuffled some papers on his desk. "That's all."
I nodded and backed out of his office, my mind already racing through damage control options for the Johnson account. Maybe I could offer a fee reduction, or?—
My phone buzzed again. Mike's name flashed on the screen.
I stared at it for a long moment before silencing it and shoving it back in my pocket. He didn’t deserve my time. Not today. Besides, he probably wanted to meet and I wasn’t going to waste my night on him. Tonight was about me—about rediscovering parts of myself I'd buried for seven years.
And if I happened to find those parts had fur or scales or feathers, then so be it.
I glanced at my phone one more time before heading back to my desk. Maybe I'd block Mike's number, just for tonight. I didn't need his voice in my head while I was trying to enjoy myself. And I didn’t need him blowing up my phone while I was getting laid, something he never wanted to do anyway.
My afternoon dragged on with more panicked calls and emails. By five o'clock, my temples were throbbing, and my patience had worn thinner than Mr. Klauser's temper. I loosened my tie as I shut down my computer, already feeling the weight of the day sliding off my shoulders. The bathhouse awaited.
The drive across town gave me time to think, maybe too much time. Seven years with Mike. Seven years of building a life that now felt like it belonged to someone else. I'd been so focused on providing the kind of lifestyle he wanted that I'd forgotten to actually live it with him. He wasn’t blameless though. He had a bad habit of scheduling things with his friends on my days off that didn’t include me. Maybe it was just his way of trying to live without me. I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse though.
"Fuck it," I muttered, turning up the radio to drown out my thoughts. Tonight wasn't about things that were over. It was about rediscovering the Kyle who existed before it all—the Kyle who didn't mind getting a little wild with creatures who had more interesting anatomical features than the average human. The Kyle I used tolovebeing.
The bathhouse sat nestled in the warehouse district of town, its tiny neon sign flickering above the door. From the outside, it looked like any other run-down warehouse in this part of town that wasn’t even open to the public. But I knew better. Inside was a wonderland showers, a roman style bath, private pools, glory hole rooms, and beings that would make the average person's jaw hit the floor.
I parked around back, suddenly nervous. What if I was too old for this scene now? At thirty, I wasn't exactly ancient, but I hadn’t been to the bathhouse in years. What if I walked in and everyone just saw some sad, recently-dumped human desperately trying to recapture his youth? What if it had changed beyond recognition? What if I’d missed my chance?
"Get it together," I told myself, checking my reflection in the rearview mirror. I still looked good. Maybe there were a few more lines around my eyes than the last time I'd been here, but my gym membership hadn't gone to waste. Mike had always appreciated my dedication to staying fit, even if he complained about the hours I spent there too.
I slipped into the backseat of my car to change, hanging my wool suit on a pair of hangers I kept in the back at all times. My gym bag was there too, so I pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. They were a little smelly from my previous workout, but I didn’t care. I was only going to wear them for a few minutes anyway. The bathhouse had a strict towel-only policy.
With just my wallet, phone, and keys, I headed up the small set of stairs to the windowless metal door that served as the entrance to the bathhouse. Taking a deep breath, I pushed it open, finding myself suddenly transported to the past. The lobby was clean, relatively unfurnished save a couple of plants and the front desk, and everything was bathed in fluorescent light. It wasexactlyhow I remembered it.
And there, sitting behind the front desk, was the same attendant I’d met all those years ago. In fact, I’m pretty sure he was the one that signed me up for a membership, the same membership I’d been paying for the last seven years and never using, hoping that one day I’d be able to go back. And here I was.
“Welcome to the bathhouse,” the man grumbled, his silver hair catching the light as he looked up from his book. “Membership card please.”
