LOATHING WAS not an emotion I felt all that often. I really liked to think I was a nice guy who tended to get along with others, but some days were trying beyond belief, and right at this moment, I found I couldn’t stand to be in the office for a single minute longer. My boss had made me angry, but I didn’t really loathe the man—that was way too strong a word. There was one person on earth who I could definitively put in that category, and my boss didn’t come close to him. Not that I’d thought about that asshole in years, so why the hell was I going down that path? I needed to get a grip.
I had dreamed of a career in show business. I hadn’t figured it would be on the theatrical-agent side of the curtain, but what could I do? I had just been hired and relocated from central Michigan to New York. A dream come true, or so I had thought at the time. I loved New York, and the job I’d landed was a very good one. I’d even managed to sublet an apartment in the Village through a friend of a friend for surprisingly reasonable rent.
“Payton,” my friend Val—short for Valentine—called as he bounced down the street in my direction, while I stood huddled in the doorway of the gym to stay out of the gale-force cold wind blowing from the East River toward the Hudson. I clutched my gym bag in my hand, hoping like hell my hand didn’t freeze and fall off. “You made it.”
“Yeah,” I grumbled. “I thought I’d landed a new client, but my boss, the dick from hell, decided that even though I’d done most of the work, it was really Garren’s find, so he got the client and I’m out in the cold… again. How was I supposed to know Garren had already approached him?” I followed him inside and checked in at the desk before heading to the locker rooms.
“Let it go, Pay,” he chirped in that way he had that made the worst problem seem stupid and overdramatic. “You’ll get ’em next time. Did your boss give you any credit at all?”
“Yeah, he did,” I answered, letting go of some of my anger at the man. “He said I did a great job with follow-up and determination. Then he handed the client over to that sleazeball Garren.”
“Was that shudder drama or real?” Val teased as he pulled open locker after locker until he found the one he wanted. Val had this ritual where he never took the first locker available and always had to open the empty ones until he found one that seemed just right. Not that I could ever tell the difference. I asked him last week about it, and he’d looked at me like I was crazy. I actually didn’t think he realized was doing it. “Because if it’s drama, knock it off. This is a gym, not a theater,” Val went on as though he hadn’t paused. “If it’s real, get over it. This is New York, and you got to be tough here or you’ll get chewed up and spat out.”
“So what’s your advice, all-knowing sage?” I quipped as I took the locker Val designated as mine and began pulling off my tie.
“Honestly?” he asked. “Get the client to sign the contract and specify in it that you handle the account. Who cares then if Garren or anyone else has approached him—you’re in.” Val hung up his coat and shoved his shoes in the bottom of the locker before shucking his clothes faster than a stripper on a deadline. Val was a nice enough looking guy; most would say he was cute. He had the “floppy blond-haired twink” look down pat, and he was trim enough to pull it off, regardless of his actual age.
“Hey, Val,” a guy said suggestively as he passed the bay of lockers wearing only a towel. I was half surprised he didn’t decide it needed straightening, just to give Val a look at the goods. But given the look, Val had probably already done more than just see the goods already. Val did little more than wave slightly before pulling on his workout clothes. I finished getting my suit off and hung up, then pulled on my workout shorts and an old T-shirt. I sat on the bench to put on my shoes while Val talked briefly with another guy.
“You ready?” he asked once I had my shoes on. We went back out into the lobby to take the elevator up to the workout floor. What always surprised me was that even in a health club, no one took the stairs.
“Do you know everyone?” I asked once the doors opened and we got into the otherwise empty elevator.
“I grew up here. Everyone thinks New York is huge, and it is, but it’s also neighborhoods with people you see every day. The club is like that. You’ll see once you get used to it.” My real friendship with Val began the first day I moved to New York, as I was moving into my teeny ground-floor apartment. He lived upstairs in a comparative palace. He’d been raised by his grandmother, and when she passed away, she left Val the apartment, which she’d owned. I’d originally met Val when he’d come to Mount Pleasant to visit relatives who lived down the street from me. He spent the summer with them, so we got to know each other pretty well, but only for that summer. Still, Val was pretty unforgettable. So when I got the job in New York, I called him and he took me under his wing, for which I would be eternally grateful.
The elevator doors opened at the weight machine floor, and a huge guy got on wearing the smallest shirt I had ever seen. It had to be made out of dental floss.
“Hi, Val,” the man said as the doors closed and the elevator started up again. I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing.
“Hi, Jerry. This is my friend Pay. He moved to the city a month ago.”
Jerry turned to me, and I shook hands with the guy.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Same here,” Jerry said, and the elevator doors opened, letting in some fresh air. Jerry stepped out, lumbered to the nearest treadmill, and started it right up.
“Jerry’s a nice guy but….” Val blew out his breath.
“He sounds like a girl,” I whispered.
“Yeah,” Val nodded. “He’s competitive. I don’t know what he’s on, but the ‘see Tarzan, hear Jane’ thing is kind of sad. The stuff also makes them sweat like crazy.” Val strode around the cardio floor until he found two step machines next to each other. Val always insisted that we start with those because of what he claimed they did for his ass. Granted, Val had a great backside, so I didn’t argue and got on the machine. I started stepping and set the machine at the level I wanted, then settled in to watch the people around me.
“Aren’t you glad I talked you into joining?” Val said from next to me, and I turned toward him. “There’s a lot to see.” He smiled and I nodded. “A lot of the guys are gay, which tends to make the place a little cruisy, but the equipment is awesome and people are pretty friendly.”
“I guess.”
“There’s no need to be shy,” Val chided and chuckled when I blushed. He’d noticed I did that and seemed to enjoy it when it happened. I blamed it on my Midwestern upbringing. Things like sex and being gay were rarely talked about. The few times my mother had ever mentioned sex to me, she’d done so in a whisper, as if the angels might hear her and punish her for it. She used the same tone whenever she mentioned what someone died of or was in the hospital for, as if those same angels would give her cancer if she said it loud enough. Sadly, maybe she had something there, because that’s what she had died of just a few years ago.
“Please. With my luck I’d look at the one straight guy here and get my face beat in,” I countered and went back to my workout as Val laughed at me and then struck up a conversation with the attractive, slightly older but built man next to him. I ended up watching the countdown clock on my machine until the elevator doors slid open and a man stepped out in a light blue tank top and black shorts that hugged his thighs and accentuated the curve of a Greek statue butt.
“Val,” I whispered, thankful he was no longer chatting up the guy on the other side.
“What?”
“Do you know who that is? The guy in the black shorts.”
Val grinned over at me. “No, but damn you got good taste.” He giggled and we both followed him with our eyes as he moved around the floor. John Travolta had nothing on this guy when it came to strutting, and I watched those glutes shift up and down with each step. Of course, as soon as he turned to where he might see me, I looked away and did my best not to stare at him. But dang he was hard not to look at: tanned skin with just a hint of olive tone to it, legs I wanted to climb to get a glimpse of where they led, and shorts that hinted, loudly, that everything on him was perfectly proportional. My mouth went kind of dry for a few seconds, and I licked my lips, nearly faltering on the damn machine. I caught myself and pulled my attention back to where it needed to be. He passed by right in front of me, and I turned to Val just as I thought he might have actually glanced in my direction. By the time I turned to see if he had, I was treated to another view of his retreating backside as he made another circuit.
“He checked you out,” Val whispered and nudged me with his elbow.
“He was probably looking to see how long I had left on the machine,” I said logically. What did I have that could catch the attention of a smoking-hot guy like that? The place was packed and every machine was in use. In fact, some people looked as though they were getting ready to pitch tents rather than give up their machines. I was getting thirsty and wished I’d remembered a water bottle, so when my time ran out, I asked Val if he’d guard my machine so I could get a drink. I stepped off, and the guy I’d been watching made a beeline across the floor and jumped on the machine before I could open my mouth.
“I’m only getting a drink of water,” I explained, but he paid no attention and started climbing.
“I need to keep my heart rate up,” he said emphatically, like it was the most important thing in the world. Then he turned toward me, and I felt myself pale and then grow hot. I instantly turned on my heel and marched away, trying my best not to punch the fucking wall as I approached it.
“What’s wrong?” Val asked as he hurried up behind me, pushing my wiping towel into my hand. “We were already done.”
“Screw that. I know that guy,” I forced between my teeth.
“From where?”
“High school. He’s one of the pieces of shit who made my life miserable senior year.” I tried to push away the absolute loathing I had for the man. I’d been angry at my boss, but this was deep hatred. “I thought Beckett was my friend. You know, not a close friend or anything, but we had some classes together, and unlike all the other kids, he was fairly nice.” I stepped out of the aisle to give others room.
“Get your drink and then we can do some of the machines. We need to work on more than cardio,” Val said. “The gorilla isn’t worth getting upset over.” I couldn’t help smiling at the way Val glared at Beckett on my behalf. “Some people are just rude,” he said loudly enough to make sure he could hear. Then, when Beckett turned in our direction, Val put his nose in the air, turned his back, and walked away, doing a dang good impression of a model walking a fashion runway. Half the guys in the place took notice. Val pushed the call button for the elevator, and by the time it arrived, we had to cram in along with the four other guys who’d answered Val’s “call of the wild.” Not a single one of them looked twice at me.
Val was in his element. He talked with the guys a little, soaked up their compliments, took their phone numbers when offered, and then led me out of the car and onto the floor with the weight machines. It was quieter here, and we each took a chest machine and got to work.
“I really hate that guy,” I said as I sat down.
“What did he do that was so bad?” Val asked.
“Okay. It was the beginning of senior year. I was in the drama club and I liked photography, but I stayed away from the yearbook people because I didn’t want to add to my nerd credentials any more than I already had. Word got to the head of the yearbook that I could take pictures.” I set up the weights and began pushing the handles forward, clenching my chest muscles to get the most from the workout. Val did the same on the next machine, and when we were done, I continued. “They asked me to take pictures at one of the football games. Beckett, the gorilla upstairs, was the star quarterback, of course.” I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, I went to the game and took the pictures they wanted. Then I decided I wanted to get some of the empty stands before they shut off the lights. There were some really interesting shadows,” I added when Val looked at me like I was insane. “To make a long story short, I heard noises and caught Beckett getting a blowjob.” I leaned closer. “From a guy. And it wasn’t a ‘close your eyes and imagine a girl’ blowjob either. He was into it, telling Peter that he was going to fuck his hot little ass once they got home and that Peter wasn’t going to come until Beckett swallowed his beefy cock. Stuff like that.”
“Did you join in?” Val asked with mesmerized interest.
“No. I tried to get out of there, but Beckett saw me. I got away anyhow, and that’s when he really started coming after me. His favorite taunts were ‘Gaydie Paydie’ or ‘Pay-ton’ because I was, like, five foot eight and weighed about two-ten at one point. I was big and clumsy, with a double chin and everything.” I sat back and increased the weight, jamming the arm forward on the machine. My anger seemed to have taken over. When I was done, Val stared at me.
“You should put that energy to good use. How about kick the asshole in the nuts? If you could find them.” Val was being catty on my behalf, and I really appreciated it.
“Beckett doesn’t have grapes—more like grapefruits,” I retorted, and then I looked at the floor. “I saw him, remember, in all his spit-slicked glory.”
“Okay. So he saw you. Did you say anything?” Val asked.
“No. I pretended it never happened. I mean, I was gay too. I didn’t need to make myself an even bigger target.”
“So to speak.”
“Shut up.” I lightly smacked Val’s shoulder. “Anyway, I figured it was his business, and I didn’t want anyone to go through what I had, so I kept quiet and stayed away from him. Then a week later it’s all over school that Beckett’s gay. It was a big deal for a while, and he took a bunch of flak, but he was still the star player and he just played harder.”
“You have to admire the guy for that,” Val said, and I turned and growled at him. “What? You do.”
“Yeah, except Beckett made my life miserable as soon as it came out. I guess he had to show everyone there were still some things worse than being gay in the high school world, like being fat. It didn’t matter that at Thanksgiving I went to the doctor and they changed my asthma medication, and the weight melted away like crazy. Mom was a nurse. She helped me devise a diet I could live with, and I dropped, like, fifty pounds in four months. The old meds had apparently been messing with my metabolism, and after that I had energy and never stopped moving. The weight came off and I felt better about myself, but the teasing only got worse.”
The elevator was right across from where I was sitting at the machine, and when the doors slid open I half expected Beckett to come striding out. I actually held my breath and released it when the doors closed again.
“Why?”
“I came out as gay, figuring that since people had accepted Beckett it would be no big deal. To my friends it wasn’t, but Beckett only made me hate school more. He was a real piece of work.” I decided to end the story there. No use going into all that right now. The elevator doors opened again, and this time Beckett strode out and around the rows of machines. I got up, found one to work my back, and got to it. I needed to keep busy and blow off the tension and anger that increased the longer he was in the room.
I knew I was being completely unreasonable. High school was six years ago, and I thought I’d moved beyond it. My college experience had been amazing—I made wonderful friends who were lining up to visit me this summer in New York. I’d made a lot of changes in my life and liked to think I had grown beyond the pettiness of adolescence. But maybe that was a little premature.
Once I finished my set, I looked around the sea of stainless steel, silver, and black, wondering where Val had gotten off to, and my gaze fell on Beckett. He was on the machine right across from me, leaning slightly back, legs splayed apart until he squeezed them together. Jesus Christ. I nearly swallowed my teeth. His shorts clung to his legs and hips so tightly they left nothing—not a single thing—to the imagination. It wasn’t some broad outline of his package—I swore I got detail, and fuck if he wasn’t half hard as he struggled to bring those beefy thighs together. I pulled my gaze away from the show he was putting on to find Val watching the same thing I was.
I got up, walked over to Val, and grabbed his arm. “Let’s go.”
“Why? This is better than porn,” he whispered. “I don’t care if he’s the biggest dick on earth. Oh… and it’s possible he’s in the running for that honor for real.”
“We’re going because you’re my friend.”
“Fine.” Val jammed the elevator call button. “But you owe me more of an explanation, Pay-ton. I want to know exactly what this guy did to piss you off so badly.” Val turned back to watch, leaning against the wall next to the elevator, clearly enjoying the display. When the elevator arrived, I grabbed Val and stepped inside, thankful when the doors slid closed again. “Where are we going?”
“Free weights.”
“Good idea. We can spot each other and check out the guys in there. But if one of those big guys asks me for a spot, you’re on your own.” He licked his lips dramatically on our ride down to the basement. The door slid open to black rubber floors, dark walls, the scent of sweat and testosterone, and the clang of weights dropping to the floor. I wasn’t sure this was the best idea I’d ever had, but I went right over to the dumbbells, picked up a pair, and started doing bicep curls.
The man next to me was between sets, and he watched. “Hey, slow down, little dude. You’ll get more out of it if you control the weight, like this.” He lifted a dumbbell that I’d need both hands to get off the rack and curled it with no problem, slow and easy. “Slow adds resistance and builds the muscle faster.”
“Like this?” I asked, and I did it slower. The guy nodded. I watched myself in the mirror. Val came to stand next to me, and he did the same thing, looking over at the gargantuan man like he was a huge meal.
“Thanks,” Val told him when he set down the weight. “What’s the best way of working the triceps?” The man showed him how to do triceps extensions bent over a weight bench and then proceeded to watch every move Val made. I moved away from their mating dance and found my own place to finish my workout.
Val was having the time of his life playing the “dude-sel” in distress. I half expected the big guy to strip Val down and take him right there. Hell, if the room had been empty, he might have done just that. By the time I was done, I had worked out all my anger at Beckett and felt like a fool for reacting like that in the first place. Val finished about the same time. When we pushed the call button for the elevator, Val’s new friend, Rod, decided to join us for the ride up to the locker room floor.
“This is my friend Payton,” Val told Rod. “He’s new here in New York. Do you live in the area?” Now that he’d done his social duty and made the necessary introductions, Val was all about Rod, or more accurately, getting access to Rod’s rod.
In the locker room, Rod just happened to have the locker a few doors down, and he kept watching Val like he was dessert. I let the two of them be, got undressed, slipped on shower shoes, and headed to the shower area with my dark blue towel wrapped tightly around my waist, using it as a shield against whoever might be lurking in the showers. Usually Val and I went in together. It always reminded me of the way ladies went to the bathroom in pairs. Now I understood—it was for protection. As soon as I turned the corner, I saw the guy who was always there, taking eight showers in hopes of catching the eye of someone who might be interested. I went right to the first open shower, not looking at anyone. Once I pulled the curtain closed, I took off the towel and hung it away from the spray before turning on the water. I washed well, but as fast as I could. Plenty of others were showering as well.
Once I was done, I dried off and wrapped the towel around my waist before pushing the curtain aside. I stepped out and saw that the drape on the stall across from me was jammed to the side. Beckett stood in the stall in all his glory, running his hands through his shoulder-length black hair, the definition of strength and power in a package that I couldn’t take my eyes off of.
I reminded myself about everything he’d done to me, and my hatred made a reappearance. I took a step toward the locker room and was bumped hard from behind. I went sprawling forward and managed to catch myself on the tile wall so I didn’t go flying headfirst onto the floor.
I turned and glared at Beckett, who looked at me, squinting like he was trying to figure something out. “Sorry,” he said insincerely. “You should watch where you’re going.”
“Yeah, me,” I called. I grabbed my towel so it didn’t end up down around my feet and stalked out to my locker, muttering.
“What was that?” Val asked. He was just now getting ready to go into the shower. Apparently he and Rod had been talking—or maybe making out somewhere, judging by how swollen Val’s lips were.
“I said they should shoot the stupid people to put them out of our misery.” I yanked open the locker and started getting dressed.
“What happened?”
“Gorilla Boy nearly ran me over and then said I should watch where I was going.” I pulled on my underwear and then the old comfortable jeans from my bag. “I wonder if he’s capable of watching out for anyone else other than himself, or if he simply feels that he’s the center of the universe.” I was working myself up good and needed to calm down, so I shut up, turned away, and finished dressing.
“Wait for me,” Val said as he went toward the showers.
“Aren’t you meeting your friend?” I teased. I was rewarded with one of Val’s haughty looks.
“No!” he said louder than necessary, his voice thick with indignation. “I’m not that kind of guy.” Val’s serious expression lasted about two seconds, and then he broke into a grin. “He’s meeting me for dinner at La Maison at seven. Then I think I can be happy tomorrow is Friday and I don’t have to go into work until noon.”
“Slut,” I whispered.
“Prude.”
“Bitch.”
“Tightass.”
“God, I hope so. It has been a while,” I countered, breaking the line. Val burst into peals of laughter that made a lot of the other guys look our way. I ignored them. “Go get cleaned up. I’ll meet you in the lobby.” I gathered my things, placing my dress shirt and tie in my bag along with my good shoes. I draped my suit coat and pants over my arm, grabbed my bag, and left the locker room, grateful not to be knocked off my feet as I avoided Beckett entering my bay of lockers.
The cool thing was that he’d looked at me more than once and didn’t seem to recognize me. That was fine, as far as I was concerned. Hell, I hoped he was in town for some gorilla convention or something and I’d never have to lay eyes on him—or get out of his way—again.
Val met me in the lobby a little while later, practically bouncing as he joined me. Yeah, I was jealous, but that was the story of my life. I wasn’t cute the way Val was, and I didn’t have his sharp wit or ability to talk to anyone. He always seemed to know what to say to everyone to make them like him. My younger brother, Henry, had that same ability, but I never had and never would.
I carefully set my coat and pants over the arm of one of the chairs, put on my coat, and then picked my clothes back up, along with my bag, before following Val outside. The wind had died down, and the city felt just a little warmer.
“Come on, let’s go home. We can have a drink or something if you want before I meet Rod for dinner,” Val said.
“He actually asked you out?”
“Don’t make me hit you. I’m not a slut, and, yeah, he asked me out. I’ve seen him around, and he said he’s seen me. The guy’s pretty shy.”
“Not that shy. Where did you make out, anyway?” I motioned to his lips, which I had to admit looked a lot less swollen than they had before.
“He kissed me. It was pleasant, and then he asked me out for dinner. Believe it or not, he acted like a gentleman, and it’s been a long time since I dated one of those. The guy’s huge, but nice.”
“Sorry for being snarky,” I said as we stopped at a street corner and waited for traffic to part. “I guess I lump all the muscle-headed guys like that in the same bucket—”
“—as Beckett. Yeah, I get that now. See, I could never figure it out. You’re a good-looking guy.”
“Not like you.” The light changed and we crossed the street with a throng of other people.
“What do you mean?” Val asked. “You’re cute. You certainly don’t look like Pay-ton any longer.” Val paused and turned. “You have great eyes and a good body. Guys notice you, but you don’t see them because you assume most guys act like the gorilla at the gym.”
“So you’re Freud now?” I countered defensively as we turned down a quiet street and continued walking the couple of blocks to our building.
“Don’t have to be. You’re my friend, and I always wondered why you were so quiet. You should be more assertive and outgoing. Guys would pick up on that, and you’d be the belle of the ball.” He did a little twirl on the sidewalk, and I couldn’t help laughing. Val was good for the spirit—at least, he was good for my spirit.
“Come on, Valerina, let’s get home before we freeze to death.” I picked up the pace, and Val went along with me. We had to stop at the light near our building, and when we finally stepped inside, the warmth felt amazing on my hands and face. “Let me drop my things in the apartment and I’ll be right up.”
“Sure,” Val called as he climbed the stairs. I got out my keys and unlocked the door. As soon as I was inside, I checked that everything was okay. I still wasn’t used to living in the city, and watching too many crime shows on TV had left me a little skittish.
The apartment only had basic furniture collected from a few secondhand stores. My one extravagance was the television, but even it wasn’t high-end. If anyone did break in, that was about all they would get. There was a bedroom nook, which was merely a small indentation off the single room, separated by a screen. It created the illusion of a bedroom, which was enough for me. But what I really loved about the place was the small courtyard I could access by way of a door in the kitchen area. It was small and surrounded by other buildings, floored with concrete, but I had the only access and there weren’t even other windows. So it was like a separate room of my own.
I wandered out there, immediately forgetting I was supposed to go upstairs. I went back inside and pulled open the door when I heard knocking. Val hurried inside.
“I figured you must have gotten distracted.” He walked through and out to the courtyard. “You know, this weekend we should find you some chairs, maybe with cushions. I was also thinking if we found a rug to cover this floor it could be nice out here. Maybe some candles and stuff.”
“But what do I do with it all during the winter?”
“It isn’t that much.” Val turned around. “Maybe some plants that like shade.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it,” I agreed and went back inside. “Do you want to have drinks here?”
“No, I have everything set out upstairs,” Val told me with an excited smile. “Come on, we’ll sit and talk a few minutes before I have to leave.” I followed him up after locking the door behind me.
Val’s apartment was the lap of luxury compared to mine. Much of the furniture was antique and had been his grandmother’s. Val had repainted the walls a light tan and covered the walls in his taste in ultramodern art, but other than that, the apartment was sumptuous with rich fabrics and pillows. It reflected Val’s personality perfectly. I sat on the sofa, and Val brought in a silver tray with glasses and a cocktail shaker on it. He poured the light blue concoction and handed me a glass before filling his own. “You owe me more of the story about the gorilla at the gym.” He held up his glass, and we clinked.
“You mean Beckett. I’d really prefer not to talk about it. I feel like an idiot for letting some guy who doesn’t even remember me get me all worked up like that. He’s some big, muscle-bound man with more body than brains.” I sipped from the glass and smiled. “So are you planning to bring Rod’s rod back here after dinner?”
“Of course not. This is just a first date. What do you take me for?” Val’s fake Southern accent was hilarious. “I don’t plan on doing anything other than having dinner.”
“Uh-huh.” I couldn’t help myself.
“What?”
“Don’t give me that. You’re wearing your ‘come fuck me’ clothes. The jeans are practically poured on, and the shirt is so short I can see skin already.”
“You do care.”
“Of course I do. If you want to go out and get laid, do it. But don’t play this game like you aren’t thinking about it. Be honest with yourself.” I drank some more. “You said he acted like a gentleman, so you should too. See if he really likes you before you jump in bed with him.”
Val got up and went to stand in front of the mirror. “God, you’re right.” He set down his glass and hurried through the apartment to the bedroom. “I need to change. He was nice, and I’m acting like some club kid who can’t keep it in his pants. Well, more than usual.” I stayed where I was, and Val came out a few minutes later in nicer slacks and a silk shirt that shimmered.
“Yeah. You look like you care what he thinks, but it doesn’t scream, ‘Take me home and fuck me.’”
“What does it say?” Val asked as he turned in front of the mirror, trying to see how his ass looked in the pants.
“It says, ‘Take me to dinner and we’ll see,’” I told him. “And stop trying to see your own butt. You look good.” I handed him his glass, and we finished our drinks. “Go on and get ready to go. Meet Rod and have a good time. Be sure to text me when you get home.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Of course it is.” I walked to the door and pulled it open. “Have fun, but not too much fun. My mom told me once before she passed not to give everything away too quickly. Always leave them wanting more and they’ll keep coming back.”
“I’m taking relationship advice from the guy who never goes on a date,” Val teased. He hugged me. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I left and went downstairs to my apartment, where I ended up spending much of the evening watching TV. Yeah, I was handing out relationship advice while I spent my free time stuck in front of the television. I was really pathetic and needed to get out, have some fun, and find a life of my own.
At about bedtime, I got a text that I thought was from Val, but it turned out it was from my boss. Great. First he’d taken away the account I’d worked for, and now he wanted me to come in early. I went to bed wondering what that was about.