“Bak kua. Barbecued pork jerky.”
Colt grimaced. “You eat this stuff?”
“You’ll be surprised at what you learn to eat here.”
Colt’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Oh?”
“Food.” Nick shook his head. “I was talking about food.”
Jordan raised a hand. “I’ll try it.”
“You’ll try anything,” Max scoffed.
Colt tossed Jordan the box of pork.
“Try the salted salmon egg skins,” Nick said. “They’re better.”
Colt held up a small bag of Irvin’s with its distinctive diagonal black stripes. “These?”
“Yeah. Sounds vile, but they’re actually pretty good.”
“Guess your tastes change when you have no choice.” Colt opened the mini fridge. “What are we drinking?”
“Not what’s in there.” He pointed, grinning. “Check that cabinet.”
With a matching grin, Colt pulled the door open to reveal the bottle of Weller C.Y.P.B. Nick had been saving. “Sweet!”
“Glasses in the other one,” Nick said.
With a nod, Colt set about lining up the lowballs and pouring.
Jordan ripped open the bag of Irvin’s and cautiously took a sniff. “So, how are things?”
“Fair to shitty.” Nick accepted the glass of limited-edition wheated bourbon from Colt. He took an appreciative sniff and sipped, savoring the flavors of toffee, nutmeg, and oak.
Jordan took out a chip and turned it, scrutinizing it before popping it in his mouth with a loud crunch. He chewed, tilting his head. “Strange, but not bad.” He swallowed and helped himself to another chip. “Why are you still here if things are shitty?”
“Big bonus on signup that I couldn’t pass up. The contract stated that I had to stay for five months, or I would forfeit the money. Besides, there are only two of us. I didn’t want to leave my FO hanging.”
“Enough about your work life.” Max swirled his bourbon. “How’s the pussy here?”
Jordan snorted. “Well, hello, instant whiplash fromthatchange of topic.”
Max grinned. “Need to steer the conversation toward what’s important.” He fixed Nick with a questioning stare. “Well?”
Nick shrugged.
Max smirked. “You can’t tell me there’s a shortage of decent pussy here.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Now Max’s eyes widened. “You mean you haven’t checked out the clubs?”
“They don’t have those clubs here.”
“Officially, no. But I hear the private events here are more than worth exploring.” He looked at Nick incredulously. “Seriously? You didn’t even try to score an invitation? Not once, out of curiosity?”
Nick shook his head. FaceTime with Jannie and jerking off were his sole releases these days. Not his preferred method, but he had zero interest in pursuing anything else.
