by Kamisa Cole
Maybe Shay would be good for him after all. Shay was a flirt and, if Savage was right and he was going for guys, I was sure he’d be able to make Alec happy.
Frankly, that thought didn’t sit well with me, but I pushed it away because in the end it didn’t matter. We’d part ways and glimpses of Alec would be all I’d get. It would have to be enough.
ALEC
I should’ve been worried about the cooking, but the moment I’d stepped into the kitchen to help Cam I’d realized Gage knew that I had exactly no experience in a kitchen whatsoever, and he’d told Cam as much.
Cameron Murphey was a small guy, a head smaller than me, and I wondered how he managed to not be overlooked among his group of friends. Then again, he was a bright one, dancing through the kitchen as I entered. He’d given me easy tasks like peeling potatoes and cutting some herbs, and I was thankful for it.
Meanwhile he’d been dealing with meat and other vegetables I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen.
“I thought this was a bar but being in here I can’t help but think it’s also a club and a restaurant,” I stated. “And in case you’re wondering, I’m not twenty-one yet, so I didn’t exactly get a chance to get in here before. I’ve just heard about it online and from friends…” Guys who thought they were straight and really weren’t because they let me to suck their dicks or had sucked mine in return. They pretended they came here because it was the coolest place in town, but I knew it was so they could tell everyone it was because this was a mixed bar.
“A lot of bars serve food now. We do during lunch and from six to nine. On the weekends we only do the lunch crowd and a reduced menu, meaning finger food and burgers as well as a salad or two. It’s good for business. However, it’ll mean if you get to stay you and I will be together a lot. During lunch there are two more people here, Ange and Ben… Actually, her name is Benedicta, but don’t ever call her that. She’ll have your ass. They’re two of the three women working here, but the accountant you’ll hardly ever see. Gage tried to do the accounting himself, and Cade helped crunching numbers before he was old enough to be co-owner of the bar, but… Well, we can be glad Cade’s sister came on board, too. Blue is…family. In fact, that’s what DiverCity is about. Once you’re in, you’re in. It’s family. We take care of each other.”
He brushed his knuckles across my chin, faking a punch like a brother would, and I pressed my lips together. There was so much I wanted to say concerning family, but I swallowed it down. Cam was my ticket in, and I knew whatever he chose to tell Gage would make or break my career at DiverCity. “So, why don’t you have a woman serving the bar?”
Cam stirred the sauce he’d been prepping, and then licked his lips. “We did. We had two. One was Daryl’s girlfriend, and clearly she doesn’t want to work here any longer. The second had a baby not too long ago and, while she promised she’d be back, she decided working a bar like ours with a child a might get her in trouble with child services. She was upset, but, well… Gage understood.”
And I could too. I’d seen enough, read enough, about how the LGBTQ-community was treated, and if you were a mom, or rather a good mom, your child had to come first. “So, you wouldn’t mind some women working here again?” I couldn’t keep my thoughts from drifting to Nina. Sadly, she wasn’t old enough to work here.
Then I remembered the fight we’d had the day before and dismissed the thought anyway.
“Okay… You know, since we’re now tight and all… Kash… I mean… Holy shit, is that guy hot or what?” Cam gushed, and I blinked, caught off-guard by the subject change.
He was what? Five years older than me? Six? “How old are you?” I hadn’t intended to ask that question, but now needed to know.
Cam cocked his head. “Why is that important? You don’t wanna talk about Kash? Oh wait… Are you laying claim to him? Isn’t he straight? I mean, I figured he was straight. Would explain why…” He trailed off, the tips of his ears turning read in embarrassment.
“Would explain what?”
He gritted his teeth, his jaw working for a moment, then he put down the wooden spoon, meeting my gaze.
It was so much better since the swelling to my eye had gone down even further.
His hazel eyes were filled with regret. “I thought he was straight because then it would make sense why Gage hates him. I mean, he talked to the guy once and calls him K-ass. There’s so much venom in his voice when he talks about… Never mind. You’re probably taking his side in this. Kash’s, that is. I mean… I’m rambling, but you make me nervous. You shine with innocence and trust. It makes me want to tell you everything and I so shouldn’t. I mean…”
I couldn’t help the laugh escaping me. “Sorry, you’re handsome and all with those pouty lips, but you’re not my type, so… Don’t get nervous. I do appreciate you talking to me though. And concerning Kash… I need this job, so I’m loyal to whoever gets me that.”
Cam smirked, his eyes clouding with sadness for a brief moment. “I’m not giving up. I can be everyone’s type,” he joked, but then sobered. “You’re staying at his place, and that means—”
“I didn’t have anywhere else to go, exactly. It’s what happens when you…run.”
His eyes softened. “I get it. Listen… I live in a shared apartment. A girl just moved out like two weeks ago and we’ve been trying to find someone new. There’s a girl there, Dory, and a guy we hardly ever see. His name is River. And don’t ask. Anyway… It has a bed and a closet, and if you want it, it’s yours. Rent is dirt cheap because it’s not exactly the best area to live in, but…”
“It’s a place,” I whispered in happy disbelief.
He grinned. “Unless you wanna stay with Kash…?”
As much as I wanted exactly that, I didn’t think it was what Kash had in mind for me, or him, and maybe it would be best not be that close to him. There was too much about Kash that I could see myself falling for, and that was something I wasn’t sure I wanted to risk just now.
KASH
Between my team and Gage’s we filled a handful of tables. Cade, Xane, and Nash were his main crew. If I got it right, Cade was Gage’s business partner, and had bought into the business the moment he was old enough to. Xane had been a regular until Gage decided with his flirting and handsome looks he’d be better off behind the bar.
Nash… I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something about the guy made me wary. Savage’s comment about Nash reminding him of me stuck with me, but where I was wide he was almost willowy, and his hair was longer than mine. He wore it slicked back and a shirt hugged his muscular yet slender frame. He stood as tall as I did, but that did was where the similarities ended.
“K-ass, you and your team—”
“His name is Kash. Never realized you were an ass, Gage,” Sav jumped in before I managed to say anything.
Gage didn’t seem impressed and, instead of doing me a favor, it was obvious Sav had just made it easier for Gage to pick on me. “Too weak to defend yourself?” he asked.
I rolled my shoulder in a careless shrug. “Adult enough to not argue with a child. So…” Before I could go on the kitchen door opened and Alec came in, carrying a tray of different meats. Some of the waiters and waitresses had gone to help him and the other guy, Cam, in the kitchen. Now they all filed in with more plates and platters, bringing in chicken and beef, different vegetables, and potato wedges that smelled heavenly.
“I made most of the wedges,” Alec whispered as he stood next to me. I glanced up at him, giving him a soft smile.
“See, all your worries were for nothing.” He’d confided in me this morning, saying that he’d never cooked before, and I’d assured him there was nothing to be afraid of because with practice everyone would get there.
He nodded, then his smile fell a little. “I can also tell you that you have your apartment back now. I’m moving in with Cam. They have a room and I know you didn’t really want me at your place.”
A stabbing pain in my stomach made me want t
o rub it, but I refrained. Instead I reached for a spoon and started piling potato wedges on my plate. While I’d meant to have him move somewhere else, I’d somehow been stalling on talking to either Nyra or Shay about it.
“Need that spoon still?” Dan asked next to me. He’d been the last to join our team and I realized in the eight months he’d worked with us I’d never really spoken to him. I knew some of Nyra’s background, some of Shay’s, but with Dan it had never come up. Leon and Savage were closest to me, and I knew all about them—or so I liked to pretend.
They knew a lot about me too, but the more I thought about not realizing that every member of my team wasn’t exactly straight, the more I realized I’d omitted things to them, too.
Like how I was adopted and didn’t know anything about my parents.
“Spoon, boss?” Dan nudged me from the side and I shook my head, realizing Alec had moved on and was sitting as far away from me as possible, next to a dark-haired guy with full lips and an easy smile. The waiters and waitresses sat down, and Gage stood.
I couldn’t believe that he was doing something so big, so official, and I was glad I hadn’t started eating before having piled anything else on my plate. I had a tendency to eat the sides before I had the main dish.
“Thank you, everyone, for being here today. I know this hard. Many of you were close to Daryl, and although when he and his team came in, most likely thinking of us as weird and extra, they protected us fiercely. So much so he lost his life over it.”
Sadness settled over the table and I wasn’t surprised to hear a few sniffles, too. It wasn’t hard getting attached to a work place and the people within if you were constantly there.
“I’d like to take a minute of silence for him,” Gage continued, and every head bowed. The silence was screaming louder than any words ever could, and I suddenly wondered if maybe we should take part of Daryl’s team on as well, just to make sure the DiverCity crew was going to start trusting us. I glanced around the table and found Alec’s eyes on me. The moment he realized I’d caught him staring his eyes flickered back to the table.
The swelling around his eye had gone down, and I knew he had taken some minor pain killers for his shoulder, but nothing had been able to deter him from coming here today. Either he was used to pain or he was exceptionally stubborn, because even peeling and cutting potatoes must have hurt like a bitch.
“We’ll miss Daryl but, as you can tell, we have a new security team. K-ass, would you like to intro you and your ream?”
Nyra cleared her throat, but I gave her a small nod to remind her to stay calm. Gage wasn’t hostile because of us but because of whom we had replaced. I stood, too, and almost smirked because I liked all eyes on me. “We’re not here to become a second Daryl-team. We knew Daryl, I worked with him a few times on different events, and his leading style isn’t mine. My name is Kash Matchington, but really who needs last names? Certainly not my team. Working the door with me will be either Leon, Dan, or Shay. We’ve manned doors more often than not. I will also have two people inside on busy nights. Fridays and Saturdays are a given, the rest are on call. Meet Nyra and Savage.” I pointed them out just like I’d done with the other three before. “Nyra is my girl for everything. We’re here for you as much as for your patrons. If there’s anything wrong, tell one of us.”
I waited for everyone to acknowledge me, and when the waiters and waitresses did, but not the cook or the guys serving with Gage, I knew I had my job cut out for me.
ALEC
Kash looked impressive with his scruff, his black jacket pushed up to his elbows again, and the tight black tee underneath it vanishing into the waistband of dark denims. He looked every bit the powerful bodyguard, and next to me a blond guy with a man bun and light blue eyes sighed in appreciation. He was handsome in a classically beautiful way, and I gritted my teeth as jealousy wormed its way through me.
“I don’t care if you’re set on hating me because I’m the new head of security. Do it. Be hostile. I can handle it and will prove to you that I can do my job as well as anyone else, but do not act that way toward my team. It’s my fault Daryl’s team has been removed because I always work with my own people.”
Kash rubbed his thumb across his bottom lip, leveling the four sitting next to me and across from me with a hard stare. Gage had introduced them briefly earlier, and I remembered Nash, who had the same mouth and dark eyes as Kash, but that was it. I knew the blond model next to me was either Xane or Cade, but I wasn’t sure which one. I also didn’t remember the name of the servers, and I wouldn’t have been able to recall Kash’s team, either, had he not introduced them again.
Nyra had her blonde hair braided neatly to her head, her eyes framed in black while she wore all black clothes and high-heeled boots. I had a feeling she wouldn’t wear those on the job. Savage, who Kash had introduced as his best friend earlier, was a guy with cropped black hair, long lashes, and tattooed sleeves. I’d have thought him to be an inmate rather than security, but it didn’t matter because if Kash trusted him, I knew the rest could, too.
“So much handsomeness to stare at, huh?” Cam asked in a low whisper, clearly having caught my drifting attention. I glanced at him.
“Any preferences?” I couldn’t help but be curious because the interest in his voice was palpable. On the other side of the table Kash droned on about what he’d planned to implement, but I couldn’t care less as long as he kept us safe.
“Head of security would definitely be up my alley if the boss man didn’t hate him. I mean… Look at him, he’s a walking, talking security poster boy. Plus, I’d be all small next to him, and he could be all protective… People wouldn’t mess with me anymore, and can you imagine bringing him to his knees with passion? I mean…”
I didn’t realize the sound of disapproval had slipped from my lips until Cam interrupted himself. “Not for you?” he asked, and I pressed my lips together, glancing around to distract him with false interest.
I spotted Shay at the end of the table and nodded toward him. He was my height, but probably had a hundred pounds on me, all pure muscle. Contrary to the rest he wasn’t tattooed, at least not that I could see, and seemed less serious than the rest. “Shay. I’d let him manhandle me.”
Next to me Cam winced. “Don’t say that while you’re all bruised,” he muttered.
“Done talking, boys?” Gage’s voice cut in and my head snapped up to my boss.
I blushed crimson. Kash had sat down and was arching a brow at me now, his jaw set. I wondered what he was thinking, but knew I couldn’t ask just now, and most likely not later, either. “Sorry, boss. I was just…”
“Telling Cam Shay would be allowed to manhandle him,” the Man Bun explained not so helpfully, and I wanted the ground to open up.
Shay coughed. “Look, Baby Boy, you are adorable and quite handsome, but I’d never touch you that way. I’m more the gentle kind, you know?” He waggled his brows. “The one who kills you with passion instead of his hands.”
My eyes flicked to Kash. I wanted him to look angry at Shay’s obvious flirting but, instead of finding his eyes on me, I saw Sav had leaned in and they were talking.
“This,” I stated, wanting to get rid of any rumors instantly, “wasn’t done by a boyfriend. It was done by my father when I finally came out to him. He didn’t take it well. I grabbed my shit and left. This is why I look the way I do, and while you all probably think I’m too young to be here, I’m not. Stop calling me Baby Boy. All of you.” I nailed Kash with a hard stare, but he didn’t even seem affected. Instead he turned his eyes away from me and started to play with the fork next to his plate.
I sighed. “Anyway, now that we’ve solved all that, we should eat.” Realizing I’d just ushered an order, I blushed furiously. “I mean… Right, boss? Because the food is getting cold.”
Gage cocked his head and then nodded. “New boy is right. Dig in everyone, and on Friday we’ll open the bar again because no hate crime is gonna stop us. Ever!”<
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Everyone slapped the table top and then the sounds of people eating permeated the air. I forked up a potato wedge and forced it in my mouth even though I wasn’t hungry. No, instead I was absolutely excited because I was out and away from my father who’d always made me feel as if I wasn’t enough. I also had a room now, one I’d pay for with my own money, and a job. Granted, I’d have loved to study art at college, but just because the dream didn’t happen now didn’t mean it wouldn’t ever happen.
“Welcome,” Cam whispered next to me, sounding genuinely happy to have me.
“Yeah, welcome. And get used to the ribbing. It’ll always happen. Also, if you ever want to talk about your naughty fantasies, come and find me. I’ll give you even more to think about,” Man Bun explained with a grin.
“Shut it, Xane. You’re too damn vanilla to even know how to spell naughty,” Nash teased across me, and Gage shook his head, smirking into his beard.
I exhaled slowly, thinking that yes, I could definitely see myself here long term and damn if that didn’t give me a sense of belonging that I’d never felt before.
KASH
The food had been delicious—or so Savage had assured me—because for me it had all tasted ashen after Alec’s attention had been on every guy in the group except for me.
And it was better that way. We helped with cleaning off the table, but before I could enter the kitchen, Gage nodded me over.
“K-ass, Baby Boy is no longer your responsibility,” he announced. “My team, my job to watch out for them, and I will. So… Good thinking on taking him in last night, but now he’s out of your hair.”
Gage went to turn away, but I held him back. “He doesn’t need a bunch of horny men around him.” It wasn’t that I wanted to take him back to my apartment because that would be torture in its cruelest form, but that didn’t mean I wanted him sharing an apartment with someone who very obviously couldn’t take his eyes off Alec.
