“Perfect. Just winding down a work dinner.” Clayton waves for Kay to take a seat next to him. Kay probably planned this, and I was too clueless to catch any hints that he was planning on crashing the dinner. His hand slides right along my thigh as he settles in.
Clayton starts to introduce us. “Have you met?—”
“Dallas and his assistant Hayden? Yes. They’re delightful.” Kay gives me another wink and a squeeze on my thigh.
“In fact,” I start and swallow. Am I ready to tell someone about us? “We’re dating.”
Clayton’s eyes go wide. “You snagged Merrick, the Merman. Good for you. He’s been dodging my advances for years.”
Kay’s mouth drops open and he full bodily turns to face Clayton. “Wait, what? You’ve been hitting on me and I didn’t even know it?”
Clayton just gives him a grin. “Yep.”
“You’ve always been pretty clueless,” Clayton’s assistant Bella says. “It’s been pretty obvious to bystanders. Kind of in a cringey way.”
Kay opens and closes his mouth, then starts to laugh. “Omg, I really had no idea. You kind of have to bonk me over the head with things sometimes.”
Clayton’s lips twitch. “It’s all good. Just sad I missed catching you.” He looks at me. “Congrats.”
Hayden snorts. “They only started datingyesterday. They haven’t even been on a date yet, just boot?—”
I kick my best friend under the table. No one needs to know that many details.
Kay chuckles and leans into me. “It’s been a very fast adventure. But he did bonk me on the head by directly asking me to go exclusive.”
My cheeks flame and I kind of want to sink into the floor. No one at the table needs so much detail.
“No one is going to see this coming,” Bella waves between us. “Everyone thinks you’re so straight. Or are you keeping this under wraps?”
I shake my head. “We’re not hiding. It’s so new, we just haven’t had time to enjoy us or do anything.”
Bella nods. “I get it.”
“As do I.” Clayton swipes his hand over his mouth with his napkin. “Sometimes it’s hard being so out there with our lives. We’re afraid to disappoint someone rather than live our truths. I’m happy for you.” There’s a bit of sadness in his eyes, but he shakes his head and he’s back to his cheery self. “I’m glad you came in, Kay.”
“Me, too.” Kay bats his lashes and I kinda want to kiss him right here in front of everyone, but I chicken out. The fact he still has his hand on my thigh sobers me, too. My cock chubs and I know this meeting is starting to wrap up. Fuck. And I’m sure Kay knows exactly what he’s doing.
Clayton scratches his scruff and leans in. “You know it’d be fun if we all got together and did something at Influencer Con, too. If you’re interested.”
Hayden’s eyes light up. “Send us your ideas. We’ve got a couple we’re floating around.”
I nod. “Yeah, like…” I look to the ceiling. Why the fuck is it so hard to talk about this? But Kay’s hand squeezes again, this time more reassuring than sexual. I breathe out. “I want to do an official coming out kind of celebration post? Get a couple of the LGBTQ+ creators to join. We could do a fundraiser. I’m no good at this, though.”
Clayton gives me a soft smile. “You’re doing just fine. It’s hard to put yourself out there, but there’s a whole community ready to welcome you to it.”
“Exactly,” Kay says. “I told him I’d be interested. So would Ken and I’m sure a bunch in the mer community. We always have fun with everyone.”
“How is Ken?” Bella asks.
“She’s wonderful, as always. I can give you her number if you want?”
Bella’s face turns red, and she shakes her head. “Oh, no. I couldn’t.” Kay’s eyes narrow, but Bella continues. “Ken is too amazing for someone like me.”
“Ken fuckingadoresyou.” Kay holds out his hand. “Gimmie, I’ll add her to your contacts and you can message her whenever. She’ll be thrilled to hear from you, I promise.”
Reluctantly, Bella hands over her phone. Her face keeps getting redder, but she seems to be much happier when she gets her phone back. It’s as if she’s settled into her chair, more relaxed.
Clayton looks to his fancy watch. “We’ll definitely do something at Influencer Con and we’ll work on this collab, too.” He points to the printout on the table. “But we need to head out. Got another meeting to attend. It never ends.” He sighs and chuckles at the same time.
