Page 6 of Something Unprofessional

Strange, but a mystery for another day.

Gabe checked his calendar. He had back-to-back meetings until five and then a client dinner. Busy, just the way he liked it. It would keep his mind from drifting to other things. Things like New Year’s Eve.

The evening had gone so well, right up until it hadn’t. The boy had caught his eye early on. They’d met, had some frankly outstanding sex, and Gabe had been ready to see where they might go next. Then, in an obnoxiously Cinderella-like twist, the boy had disappeared before Gabe could get his name or ask if he wanted to meet up again.

Gabe wasn’t going to dwell on it. They’d had fun, and no promises had been exchanged past midnight. It didn’t matter how sweetly the boy had begged or how good he’d felt wrapped around Gabe’s cock. Gabe wasn’t in it for more than a good time. The uncomfortable twinge in his chest could be ignored by staying busy. Best-case scenario, they ran into each other again. Worst, he remained a sexy little memory that Gabe could dust off from time to time when he was too busy to hunt down the real thing.

Gabe’s feet pounded againstthe belt of the treadmill as he settled into his preferred speed. He liked this gym with its second-floor vantage point of the avenue outside. It gave him something interesting to look at that wasn’t the TVs mounted around the open space. It was a decent compromise when the weather was too much. Even he wasn’t running in the city with an inch of slush on the ground.

Gabe’s podcast was just starting to get interesting when the guy on the treadmill next to him finished his slow jog and a familiar figure took his place. Gabe hit pause and pulled out his earbud.

Jack reached over for a fist bump that Gabe grudgingly returned. “Hey, buddy,” he said with a grin that was somehow both boyish and wicked. “Long time no see.”

Three whole days. They’d been together New Year’s Eve before Gabe had ditched his friend for his boy, and Jack got busy behind the bar—one of the drawbacks of being part owner of the club.

“You’re here early. You have some holiday indulgences to work off?” Jack asked with a saucy wink.

Gabe refrained from rolling his eyes, figuring that would end badly on a treadmill. “No more than you. Grant showed me the photos from Cabo, remember?”

Jack laughed. “Fucking worth it,” he said and tapped the button to start his treadmill. “Did he show you the spicy ones? Holy shit, that boy was bendy.”

Gabe huffed a laugh and increased his speed to match Jack’s. The guy had been a cross-country star in high school, and he hadn’t lost any of his stamina. “We’re still talking about your husband, right?” Grant wasn’t the exhibitionist that Jack was.

Jack made a dismissive sound. “I’ll show you later. Grant won’t mind. They’re too good to keep to ourselves.” Gabe wouldn’t turn down that opportunity. Jack had an eye for photography and excellent taste in hookups.

They ran in companionable silence for several miles before Gabe, in a moment of weakness, asked, “Did you see the boy I was with the other night?”

Jack glanced over, then slowed his treadmill. Gabe did the same, breathing hard. He’d been slacking off over the holidays. “How could I miss him, all those tattoos?” He whistled. “I would have made a play but Grant wasn’t feeling it, and I waslucky he agreed to come out at all. I wasn’t going to push things.”

“Any chance you know his name?”

Jack’s eyebrows went up.

“Don’t give me that look,” Gabe grumbled. He stopped the treadmill and grabbed a towel to wipe his face. “I planned to ask at midnight, but his friend was having a meltdown and I didn’t get a chance.” He gave Jack a dirty look when he laughed.

“Sorry, man. He must be new. I didn’t recognize him. Any chance he left a glass slipper behind? Or something more to theme, like a custom cock ring?”

Fucking asshole. Gabe gritted his teeth, a muscle twitching in his jaw. He should have waited and asked their other friend Max.

Jack clapped him on the shoulder as they headed for the free weights. “I guess Twinkerella made an impression.”

Gabe swatted at him and missed when Jack dodged out of the way. He couldn’t deny it, though. He’d barely gotten a glimpse of the boy after their masks came off and would struggle to pick him from a lineup, but he couldn’t get the feel of him, the way he submitted so beautifully, and the sound of his throaty voice begging “Daddy” out of his head.

Gabe relaxed back intothe soft leather of his sofa and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. He and Jack had gonehard, and he was going to be sore tomorrow. Still, it was worth it. There was no better way to unwind after a long day. Okay, there was one better way, but, barring a willing boy, working out was the next best thing.

After the gym, they’d gone to dinner with Spencer and Max, the other two co-owners of the Edge, for their monthly planning meeting and to go over the results of the New Year’s Eve party. They were good friends, and Gabe had known them before they’d opened the club. He handled their PR in exchange for a VIP membership that came with some additional perks. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Gabe did what he was good at and kept the club’s publicity positive, and in exchange, he got first dibs on tickets to both public and private events, reserved seating in the club, and, best of all, access to the more private areas that were typically reserved for the most VIP of their VIP clientele.

Dinner was fantastic, as it always was when Spencer chose the restaurant. They’d gotten the work out of the way first, then caught up with one another, talking until the server started nudging them toward the exit. Now Gabe was home, changed into comfortable clothes, and in something of a food coma.

He was sipping an old-fashioned and contemplating dragging himself to bed for an early night when his phone buzzed with an app notification.

It was an Exchange message. Gabe mainly used the kinky app to connect with people from the club when he’d rather not share his personal information. He still got DMs from peoplelooking for a hookup, but more often, it was friends and past partners sending him links to things they thought he’d appreciate.

The message was from a boy Gabe had hooked up with about six months ago. Felix was a firecracker, both in bed and out of it. His message was short, wondering if Gabe would be at the club that weekend. Since Gabe wasn’t sure, he sent a vague “we’ll see” and got a praying emoji in reply that made him chuckle.

With the app still open, he flicked over to the Connections feature. It was more hookup-oriented and what the app had started as before expanding into private social groups with messaging and event management, as well as subscription accounts that offered things like photography and camming. It was practically a one-stop shop for all things kinky.

Gabe wasn’t looking for anything in particular. He had his search set to the local area, casual encounters, and boys looking for kinks that he enjoyed. He had no plans to contact anyone—he was too tired for that—but sometimes it was fun to imagine the person beyond the list of likes and don’t-likes. This boy, for example, who said he was into primal play and CNC. What would it be like to chase a willing partner through some abandoned area, catch them, and have his way with them? The concept got him hard, but in reality, Gabe would be too concerned with their safety and well-being to follow through. You could only check for consent so many times before primal prey wasgoing to get fed up with you.

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