17
Jack
“So, when are you going to bring that boy down here so we can warn him all about you?” William teased as we worked to set up for tonight’s exhibition. He hadn’t given me many details about it, other than to say it had to do with the renovations Sam was spearheading. This was all part of his initiative to make me ease up on the reins, but he still swore he wasn’t interested in officially working for me. Over the past week or two, I’d started understanding a few of his motivations, but I wasn’t going to call him out on it just yet. “Hell, you could give him a call and tell him to get his cute little ass down here tonight. You never know, this might be right up his alley.”
“He’s working,”I told him. I was so damn proud of Slade for how much effort he was putting in at Club 83. Had I known he was that hard of a worker, I might have suggested he come to work for me instead. But, at the time, I’d been worried it would be awkward if things between us didn’t work out. Now, he was doing a great job working for my brother-in-law, and it would be a dick move to try and poach him.
“And even ifhe wasn’t, I’m not sure he’d be comfortable here. He can be a bit cagey at times.” Skittish was more like it. He wasn’t as bad as he used to be, but, from what I’d gathered, it seemed his self-esteem had taken one hell of a hit when the band split up. He’d gone from a man who confidently stepped onto a stage every weekend, to a pile of shattered remnants worried about what everyone thought of him.
“And what?”William handed me two boxes before pointing toward the opposite side of the room. “The Jack I know loves nothing more than nudging boys out of their comfort zones.”
That was true, but, no matter how many nights I spent in Slade’s uncomfortable bed, I couldn’t bring myself to change what we were doing. Things were working for us. As long as I didn’t force him into anything, I didn’t have to worry about him taking off.
“Oh, hell no,”William spat out. “Do not tell me you’re going soft because of this boy.”
“It’s not like that,”I argued.
“Oh really?Then call him and tell him to get his ass down here once he’s done with work. What does he do, anyway?” William crouched to start unpacking a stack of boxes. I took a step back and watched as he created mini scenes around the room. This was genius. I still wasn’t sure how many would show up, but he was doing a damn good job to show that age play was more than diapers and binkies. Hell, maybe there could be something here for Slade. I still wasn’t convinced he wouldn’t find peace in a bit of regression. The boy had bratty Middle written all over him.
“He’s working for Eli. He and Jordan are good friends, and Jordan helped him get the job there.” It felt important to me to explain that, before William could jump to any conclusions about me trying to keep distance between my relationship and my business.
“Better yet.You know damn well that if you call Eli, he’ll let the boy off.”
“His name is Slade,”I ground out. I didn’t like anyone referring to him by such a generic term. He wasn’t some nameless, faceless plaything. He was the center of my universe. “And I’m not going to meddle. It’s important for him to prove that he can make it on his own.”
I thoughtback to that first morning, when he had gotten pissed off at me for ordering groceries when I realized he didn’t have any. I admired his determination to hold onto his independence. In some ways, it made his submission that much sweeter.
William threwthe books he was unpacking into a sloppy pile and rounded on me. “This is what I’m talking about, Jack. You’re going to sit there and get all worked up about me not calling him by his name, but you haven’t bothered to bring him around so the rest of us can meet him. Sure, I might’ve joked around about wanting to warn him about you, but it’s more than that. If this thing is real, and it must be if you’re this twitchy, you need to bring him down here. Let your friends meet the man who's brought you back to life.”
“Both of us are busy,”I offered as a weak excuse.
He’s not,the voice in my head pointed out.He sits home every night he isn’t scheduled and you’re here. It’d be easy for you to ask him to come down and see you.
“When wasthe last time the two of you went out and did something?” William asked as he went back to sorting the picture books. “This is exactly the type of shit that got you in trouble with Colin. We all stood by then, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to watch you destroy what has the potential to be a very good thing because you’re married to this place.”
“That’s not what we do.”I swallowed around the lump in my throat. I wanted to be pissed at William for being so blunt, but that’s just who he was; he wouldn’t tell me what I wanted to hear. “And this isn’t like Colin at all. We spend every Monday together, sometimes Tuesdays, too. And most nights, we try and make time for each other. I promise I’m not ignoring him.”
“So,what do you do when you’re spending all this quality time with him?”
“We mostly hangout at his place,” I explained. “When I have to work late, I’ll head over once I leave. He gave me a key to his place because I hated the idea of waking him up.”
Among other reasons…
“That’s not a relationship,Jack. That’s a fucking booty call and you know it.” I scrunched my nose, and then my stomach turned because William had gotten too close to the truth. Not that Slade was someone for me to call when I wanted to get laid, but that was how I was treating him.
“I really hate you sometimes.”
“No, you don’t.”William groaned as he stood. “You love me because you know I’ll never blow sunshine up your ass. I’m probably one of the few people who isn’t afraid to call you out on your bullshit, other than Eli. Does that mean you’re going to bring him down here?”
I shook my head.Part of me was trying to shelter him. A lot of the boys who hung out here were shallow, jealous little shits, and I didn’t want him subjected to their cattiness when they found out he had something they couldn’t.
William noticed my discomfort,and added, “Otherwise, you could invite a few friends over to your place if you think that would be easier for him.”
“No,you’re right. I think about bringing him down here a lot, but I keep telling myself he might get turned off by the scene.”
“And isthat because he’s close-minded, or because it’s an easy excuse so you can keep your life in neat little boxes?” William challenged.
“Not answering that,”I grumbled. I left William to finish setting up for tonight’s exhibition and wandered through the bar.
