Page 80 of Just A Little Fling

“There are some loose ends that need to be tied up, but I’m not with the firm as of today.”

“You quit your job?”

“Oh no, I was most definitely fired from my job today, which is fine, I guess, but worse than that, my assistant was also let go too.”

“That’s…Jack, right?”

“Yeah.” I sighed heavily. “I demanded a twelve-month severance for him, which is about nine months longer than the usual severance package when someone’s let go involuntarily, but he’s a single dad and going to school. I know he felt blindsided.”

“That’s really, really awful.” Nico looked worried and heartbroken, all wrapped into one. “What are you going to do?”

“Don’t worry about it, Sweet Boy. It happens.” I was going to force myself to be okay with this right now, even if it killed me. The situation was too big to unpack, so for today, I was going to pretend it hadn’t happened. To make that happen, I focused on pulling weeds to take my mind off all of it. The only thing I had to ask myself was the perennial question—is it a weed or a plant?

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I gave him a questioning look and then listened to what my gut was saying. Nico was the Prince of Distracting Distractions.

“Yeah, actually, there is. Let’s get out of the house and not think about it?”

“You’re gonna need to get cleaned up first because you can’t go covered in dirt.” Nico gave me a piercing look, then added, “I think you need delicious food and a club so loud you won’t be able to hear yourself think.”

After a few minutes of pulling weeds with me, Nico would also be in need of a shower to get the dirt and grime off.

“Have I ever told you how important water conservation is to me?”

“I had no idea you were such an environmentalist.”

“It’s true. I’m very concerned about ensuring we have enough water in the Pacific Northwest. We could run out any decade now.”

“Do you have any ideas on how I can help you conserve water?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” With that, I stood and tugged him to his feet before dragging a laughing Nico into the house to take a shower together—in the name of conservation.

* * *

I’d never been one for clubs, but watching Nico in his element might be enough to change my mind. The pulsing beat of the music thudded through me, but I hardly noticed because I was watching my boy dance with abandon. It was a sight. His hot pants molded against his juicy ass and the mesh shirt he wore teased glimpses of his nipples and chest. He’d dusted himself with body glitter after our shower, and now he sparkled under the strobe lights of the club.

I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. The sharks circled him, looking for an opening, but he hadn’t entertained anything more than a friendly bump and grind. He twirled and swayed to the music like poetry in motion, but he was in a world all his own. With his eyes closed, there was only Nico on this island of his making.

I stood along the railing to watch the spectacle unfolding before me in the dim light. He’d invited me to the club, and I’d wanted to go, but I didn’t have any desire to join him on the dancefloor. The show was what I was here for, and it was worth every minute. The designated keeper of drinks and jackets was fine by me. My dancing was robotic, at best, and the last thing I wanted to do was interrupt Nico’s flow.

A stranger sidled up to where I was standing along the railing. It was my first time here, so I didn’t recognize him, of course, but it seemed like he was hunting down a specific spot on the dancefloor. I glanced up and did a double take when I realized I was standing beside a low-to-the-ground mountain. I gave him a nod of acknowledgment and then returned my attention to Nico on the dancefloor.

“He’s a pretty one,” the man shouted in as much of a conversational tone as you could have in a nerve-shattering loud nightclub.

“I’m sorry, who are you talking about?”

“The guy in the hot pants and mesh shirt you’ve been staring at nonstop for the last thirty minutes.”

“Do I know you?”

“Nah, we haven’t met. And I barely know him.” I looked closer at the man standing beside me, watching the dancefloor. Like Nico, he was in hot pants, but instead of a mesh shirt, he wore a leather halter. The guy seemed nice enough, but his tone was melancholy, which seemed odd given the circumstances.

“Then I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“Aways back, he was here, and we were going to hook up in the restroom,” he answered conversationally. He paused, glanced over at me, and gave me a hard look before continuing, “Don’t get pissy with him. He didn’t do anything.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. I’m just curious as to how you remember him.”

“It’s not every day a guy turns down a blowjob in the restroom because he’s hung up on his landlord.”

---