“Eddie!” Derek greeted.
He was a gigantic bear of a man, with a beard and belly to match his larger-than-life personality. He pulled Edward into a bone-crushing hug, giving him no choice.
“Let’s get you a drink,” said Derek, holding the door open for him to walk in.
They entered through a kitchen, although Derek didn’t offer a food service. There were occasions he did private parties for which he catered, but there was no need for him to have anything regular as the men didn’t come here to eat– well, not food anyway. The club wasn’t exclusive to men, but Edward had never seen a woman in the place. The closest was one of the drag shows in the cabaret bar upstairs, but that was more for early evenings, and Edward had never been in there. It was too well lit and someone would recognise him. In the basement, he could blend into the shadows. The baseball cap and hoodie he was wearing helped him stay incognito. It was still a risk, though, so he didn’t intend to stay long.
“So, she’s finally given a timeline,” said Derek. “How are you feeling about it?”
“Ready. It’s what I’ve been working towards for the last decade.”
“Are you ready for that kind of scrutiny of your private life?”
“It’s not like I’m not scrutinised now.”
“You wouldn’t be able to slip out for a drink here, though, would you? Not when you’re the big boss.”
He was right. Once he was PM, he wouldn’t be able to do anything without a security shadow following him. Protection had been offered given his current role, but he hadn’t deemed it necessary. The last thing he wanted was for someone who was supposed to be protecting him to be bribed into sharing details about his private life with the press.
“Maybe I should just come out. Olivia thinks the grassroots won’t vote for me if they know.”
“She’s right. There’s already speculation about you online, though, so some of them probably won’t vote for you anyway.”
“Is that supposed to be comforting?”
“Just keeping it real. You know I’d never bullshit you,” said Derek, putting a double whiskey in front of Edward.
“I know, and I appreciate that. I’ve been in the closet for forty years, so what difference is another few months going to make?”
Derek frowned at him and shook his head. Edward knew he was looking out for him, but he’d kept this secret for so long now that when it all came out there’d be a lot of uncomfortable questions.
“I need to check the other bars. Will you be okay here on your own for a bit?”
Edward nodded, taking another sip of his drink.
“If you’re not at your seat, I’ll assume you’ve gone for a walk in the dark!”
Edward chuckled. It would be great to relieve some tension, but he didn’t like to leave things to chance, and therewas a strong likelihood that whoever he met in said back room would not be compatible with his tastes.
He opened one of the apps for a quick scan. They were all hidden in a secret folder on his phone. There were a couple of messages from guys he had spoken to before, but he’d not been online for a while, so there was no point in trying to revive any of those. Edward chuckled at the number of men who were within a few feet of him. Nothing grabbed his attention until he spotted a younger-looking guy who was hot as fuck. He had bleached-blond hair and gorgeous dark eyes. He was showing a defined chest, and holding a towel like he’d just got out of the shower after a workout. There was something about him that made Edward instantly hard.
His profile name,TwinkTop8,had Edward’s heart racing. There was a smirk on the guy’s face, rather than a smile, and Edward could only imagine the dirty thoughts that went on in his head. He checked his stats and saw he was five feet six and twenty-eight, although he looked younger. Many guys lied about their age online, but they rarely put it up. Perhaps he just had a baby face. Edward’s biggest turn on was younger, big-dicked short guys who liked to dominate, and this guy checked all those boxes. Edward noticed the distance between them was getting closer, so assumed he was travelling. Could he be coming here? Edward didn’t want to miss the opportunity, so he sent a message.
SilverFoxSubDL:Hello handsome!
Not his best work, but you just had to shoot your shot sometimes.
TwinkTop8:Hello yourself. You got a face pic?
This was often when he’d be blocked by guys, but he couldn’t take the risk of it getting out, especially not like this. Hopefully the twink would understand.
SilverFoxSubDL:I’m DL. Are you a total top?
It was important to get the introductory questions out ofthe way first. That was the gay version of “do you come here often?”
TwinkTop8:Yes. Packing eight inches.
SilverFoxSubDL:Would love it inside me!
