Page 53 of Bull's Boy

“Did you need something?” he asked, standing too. He’d clocked out twenty minutes ago but had been hanging out in the office, wondering what he’d do while Bull was busy. It had only been a week, yet he felt aimless, knowing he wouldn’t be spending the night with him.

“Oh, yeah,” she said, slapping her forehead. “There are a few people here to see you. I put them at table three.”

“What?”

But she was already gone.

Who would be there to see him?

Grabbing his phone and shoving it in his pocket, he headed toward the floor, praying it wasn’t his brother ambushing him about the engagement party. He’d be shocked if Evan actually knew where he worked. Though he wouldn’t put it past him to track down the information just to come and yell at him about how Malcolm was ruining his life or whatever.

As he neared the booth in the corner where Dahlia had seated them, he smiled, wondering what on earth Ollie was doing at Bo’s. There were two other guys around his age, putting them all a few years older than Malcolm.

He didn’t remember telling Ollie where he worked last weekend at the party, but maybe he’d mentioned it in passing. They’dchatted quite a bit between drinks and dances and his friend Mason teaching Malcolm some new moves.

As soon as Ollie spotted him, he jumped up and hurried over, a wide smile lighting up his unfairly beautiful face. He was wearing a tiny pair of jean shorts and a crop top that saidEmotional Support Bottomin bright pink lettering. It revealed a few inches of his belly—and a tattoo around his navel—when he lifted his arms for a hug.

Malcolm accepted the embrace, a twinge of guilt pricking him that he was surprised by it. Ollie had been nothing but kind to him last Saturday.

“Hi!” Ollie chirped. “Lia said it was okay that we waited for you. You’re done with your shift, right?”

“Yeah.” Malcolm nodded slowly, trying to catch up with what was happening. “How did you know…?”

Ollie threaded his arm through Malcolm’s and steered him over to the booth where the other two guys were waiting. “How did I know you worked here, or how do I know Lia?”

“Both, I guess.”

“Six is at Marv’s with some of the others. When he texted me earlier, Igentlypersuaded him to give me some details about the two of you. He finally admitted you worked here with Bull after I promised to do that thing with my tongue and?—”

“Ollie!” One of the guys clapped his hands over his ears, cheeks flushing bright red.

“Whoops.” He winked at Malcolm. “Anyway, and I know Lia because I’ve been styling her hair for years.”

“Oh, right,” Malcolm said, snapping his fingers. “I totally forgot about that. She was so disappointed she couldn’t make it last weekend.”

“You and Bull should bring her and Becca next time,” Ollie said excitedly, rocking up onto his toes. “I’ve never actually gotten to meet Becca, even though she gushes about her at every appointment.”

You and Bull.

Something loosened in his chest at Ollie’s easy acceptance that the two of them were a package deal now. It felt different than Dahlia’s gentle teasing or Sally’s awkward conversation starters. Ollie was outside the Bo’s ecosystem. His assumption that not only would Bull and Malcolm be going to another clubhouse party but that, of course, they’d be together, made everything feel a bit more real.

A little scary, but mostly just exciting. Their isolated pocket of connection, where they had a chance to learn about each other and take things slow, was bursting. Their relationship was about to spill out in front of everyone they knew.

“I don’t know if you met these two last Saturday,” Ollie said, pointing at the two guys in the booth. “But that’s CJ, and that’s Emmett.”

CJ looked familiar, but Malcolm wasn’t sure if they’d ever actually exchanged names at the party. He had short, wavy hair and bright green eyes, and there was a small silver hoop on the side of his nose. Emmett had been the one to cover his ears when Ollie had nearly revealed what he’d offered to do to Six to get the information about Malcolm. His golden-browneyes were soft and welcoming, a deep set of dimples in his full cheeks.

“It’s nice to officially meet you guys,” he said, smiling warmly.

“Do you want to hang out here or go back to your place?”

Ollie’s question made Malcolm’s stomach dip. He hadn’t even wanted Bull to see his sad little apartment, and now, three people he barely knew were going to invade the space and know immediately he was dead broke and struggling? What if one of them sat in the red chair before he could stop them and they flipped over in it? What if… What if they didn’t want to be friends with him after seeing it?

CJ snorted and pinched the bridge of his nose. The movement shifted his shirt, allowing Malcolm to see that it saidI licked it so it’s minenext to a… neon eggplant? Where did they get these shirts?

Probably not Goodwill.

Right.

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