“I think you’re missing what he’s saying, though I’m only getting second-hand margin notes. He didn’t say he didn’t want to, right? He said he can’t.”
“I guess I want him to choose me,” Cash admits. He lets his body fall forward, his forehead landing on my chest. I hug him with one arm. “And yet, I’d be absolutely devastated and furious if you chose someone over me, so I can’t even say I don’t understand.”
“Except that I’m not an asshole,” I argue. “Our friendship makes sense. I will never understand how he stands being around Benson.”
“Yes. Maybe that’s why I don’t feel like it’s a fair comparison. You’re a good person. Ben isn’t. But Onyx is. So how can two entirely different people, Onyx and Ben, be best friends?”
“Maybe think of it differently. Maybe Onyx doesn’t actuallylikeBen anymore, but they’ve been friends for so long that it’s loyalty keeping him there? Or… oh, the band. Maybe he wants to keep the band going.”
“And leave Kala for their big break literally anywhere else,” he mutters. “Which brings up more reasons why I shouldn’t be upset that hecan’tdo this, you know? He’s leaving anyway. I’m not going with him. Even if he asked me to—which he won’t—I’m not leaving Kala. Your experience has given me nightmares, and I love my job.”
I hug him a little closer. “I’m sorry.”
Cash sighs. “What’s up with you?”
“Well, brace yourself. I finally get his massive dick in me and my fucking father walks into his house.”
“Oh my god!” Cash exclaims, leaning back to look at me with wide, horrified eyes.
“Yep. So as a person who has never been in the closet, I hid in the closet for three hours since my dad wanted to hang with Laiken, and Dad already knows Laiken has a secret lover. Doing something suspicious would make my dad snoop, so yeah. Since then, Laiken has reverted to uncle or Dad Number Two.”
Cash gives me a sympathetic look. “That sucks.”
“Yep. It does. But like you, I can think of a lot of fucking reasons this can’t go on. Not least of all because one or both of us is going to end up broken-hearted when it has to end, and ithasto end, right? My fatherwill notbe okay with this. It’s better to end it before my dad finds out, right?”
“Yes! Exactly. I’d rather be in control of the way it ends than Ben finding out and losing his fucking shit. I think he’d actually hit me.”
“I’ll run him over if he touches you,” I say. “I don’t know with what, but I will.”
He smiles, letting himself fall onto his back again. “How did we get caught up in these situations? Why these two men out of the literal thousands of options surrounding us on any given day? I mean, I see hundreds of hotties daily at work. Why does it have to behim?”
I nod. “There is not a shift that goes by where I’m not handed room numbers on napkins. I get it. My options are plentiful. Oh! Before I forget. I have tea.”
Cash grins and comes up on his side again. “Tell.”
“While I was hiding in the closet, Mr. Calloway called Laiken and wants to talk to him about the management jobwithoutTaylor’s involvement. It sounds to me like Taylor’s been removed from his supervisory role.”
“Wow.” He rocks backwards as if a strong breeze shoved at him. “That’s… wow.”
“On top of this month’s town meeting being canceled, I’mdyingto know what’s going on behind the scenes.”
“Has your dad said anything?”
“No! He didn’t even tell me he stepped down from his position in solidarity with all upper management until I found out way after the fact. I’m seriously offended.”
Cash laughs.
“Now tell me about your job. You said you love it?”
He sighs. “So, so much, Lie. I’ve always thought that I’d love to work on a boat, but man, I didn’t realize how much. I want to own a boat, give tours, and stay on the water all day. Every tour we go on, I think of a hundred things I’d do differently. Fun things that the tours we currently have don’t do.”
“Have you suggested your ideas?”
Cash shakes his head. “No. I’m caught between sharing them and keeping them for myself for when I can finally buy a boatand offer my own tours. Want to own a business with me, Lie? We’d have so much damn fun all day!”
I grin. The idea of spending every day with Cash is definitely the most appealing job of all time. It’s certainly enticing. “I’ll think about it.” But being on the water every day? I’m not sure I’m cut out for that.
Then again, it doesn’t feel like I’m cut out for anything, so there’s that.
