“Ah,” The Professor said with silver brows raised. Niko felt the tension in his gut coil with The Professor’s tone. “Well, tell Ethan Cohen he has a place to live and a job if he wants it. Don’t forget about the meeting tonight. The conference is in a month and we still have to organize rotations. Tattoo Monthly magazine wants to come by and do interviews.”
Niko nodded as he pulled the cell out of his pocket. “I’ll be here.”
“Niko?” He looked up and saw The Professor rub the long, manicured white hairs of his beard. “You can trust me.”
Niko didn’t need to hear it. “I know.”
The Professor tapped the frame and disappeared. Niko scrolled through where he’d entered Ethan’s number. Scarlet hadn’t given a glance when he’d asked for the digits, the way her bright red lips had tipped into a grin hadn’t gone unnoticed.
He pressed Ethan’s name and started typing.
Where are you?
He waited. Nothing. What was he doing? He should’ve let Scarlet make the call.
“Ethan? This is Frank, your four-thirty consultation.”
“Hey man,” Ethan said and tossed the phone on the counter on the way to the cabinet to pull the man’s file. “I started on the dragon you talked about on the phone. Have a seat.”
The phone vibrated, sending an echo over the counter. Niko was a little too quick to pick it up. God, he was turning into a total pussy.
Walking to catch a ride back to school.
Shit, the kid didn’t have a car.
Came back. I need to talk to you.
One second later.
It’s cool. Was it a moment of weakness on both our parts? No worries. Straight guys hit on me all the time. See you in two weeks.
The throb vibrating his veins was back. I wasn’t hitting on you. Get back here. Now.
Have to get to school.
Niko didn’t have time to dick around. His client was staring across the table with thick, bushy eyebrows raised.
Now.
Fine. Bossy. Be there in fifteen.
Niko slipped his hands over his face, feeling the tight expression underneath. The fact the upstairs apartment wasn’t furnished posed a problem. No bed equaled no place to sleep. Maybe Ben would let Ethan crash on his couch. No. Ben was too private. There’s no way in hell Knox was an option. He’d probably come home bleeding or end up in the ER and not make it home at all. Ethan didn’t need to deal with that. Seth, hell, no. Ethan would end up in handcuffs.
Niko’s jaw ticked.
One night. Ethan could sleep on the couch in his apartment for one night then tomorrow he’d call in some favors to get furniture.
What in the hell was he doing?
CHAPTER FOUR
“Are you serious?” Ethan stood in the lobby of The Tattered Social Club with his mouth open unable believe total strangers would be willing to help. “Why would you guys do this for me? You don’t even know me.”
The Professor leaned against the front of the leather couch, mustache parted with a smile and dress shirt cuffs folded to reveal several colorful tattoos covering his forearms. “Because you remind me of someone. Niko said you were a stand-up young man. I trust you’ll be respectful and not destroy the place. Besides, any funny business and I’ll send Seth up there. Trust me, you don’t want him pounding on your door. So, what do you say? Rent can be negotiated.”
Ethan stared wide eyed then looked over at Niko who had rounded the couch to sit down. He’d gone to bat for a kid he barely knew. Did people this nice still exist? Apparently so, even for a tattooed, strong willed bad boy like Niko.
“I’d be grateful. I have a part-time job at The Coffee Bean. They’ve cut my hours because a new place opened on campus, but I have online applications all over. I should hear something soon.” Ethan wanted The Professor to know he wasn’t looking for a handout. “If you’re willing to work with me, I can take on two jobs. Where’s the apartment? I’ll apply for jobs nearby.”
Sleeping in the library had sucked. Hiding the two rubber tubs of what few belongings he’d taken from Charles’s was getting down right ridiculous. He should’ve went back, brought the police or something and gotten the rest of his things. But then what good would that do? Charles had contacts all over the city and Ethan feared he’d do anything to keep the affair secret.
“It looks like we have a deal. Above the club, I’ve remodeled two small studio apartments. When my grandfather owned the place, they were used for well...no ladies were allowed downstairs. That meant wives, but upstairs was for...well, wives weren’t welcomed up there either.” The Professor laughed. Those days were filled with cards and booze. They’re nothing fancy, but you’ll have everything you need. The apartment isn’t furnished.” Ethan’s heart skipped. How was he going to furnish an apartment when he barely had enough money for food? “But, don’t worry about that. Niko’s going to help out and I have a few things to donate. I’m sure the guys will chip in. Hey, don’t look so shocked. No strings attached.”
Ethan had no idea how he was ever going to pay back such a debt. With Charles, everything was cut and dried. A bed and spending money meant bruises and a mouth on his cock. What cash he’d saved would go towards first and last months’ rent so he had no cash to spare. “I don’t think...I don’t think I have the money to pay you back, at least not yet.”
Niko stood and started toward the counter. “He said no strings attached. That means keep your money.” Scarlet was typing on the computer and stopped to watch Niko grab a piece of candy from the glass dish. “Where’s your stuff?”
The Professor gave a side glance in Scarlet’s direction. What was that about? “It’s at the library.”
Niko spun around, swallowed. “At the school?”
Ethan felt the heat in his cheeks blaze. Either he could cower and expect pity or raise his head and be proud he’d left an abusive situation. He lifted his chin and looked Niko in the eye. “Yes. I’ll go back and get it. Would it be okay if I moved in over the next couple of days? I have two exams on Monday and it’d be helpful if I had a place to study.”
“A couple of days?” Niko smirked, before reaching behind the counter to pull out a black duffle bag. “Come on.”
Niko started down the hall and Ethan barely had time to thank The Professor and throw Scarlet a smile before racing to catch up with the guy who apparently had decided to taken him on as a personal crusade.
They excited the door at the back of the shop. Ethan’s gut twisted with doubt. Experience hadn’t been kind and strings had always been attached when it came to accepting help. “Why are you doing this?”
Without looking over his shoulder, Niko stuffed his hands in the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out a set of keys. “Because I can. Get in the car.”
Three cars and one black truck were parked in the small lot. Niko shoved the key in the lock and turned, releasing the door locks. “This is your car? It’s really nice. What is it?”
Niko slipped onto the grey leather driver’s seat. “Nova, 1972 with modifications. Are you hungry?”
“I could eat,” Ethan mentally counting the cash in the envelope in his backpack and clicked the seat belt. The engine roared to life and they started down a side street to hit the highway that would take them back in the direction of the university.
The car rode smoothly and, to Ethan’s surprise, quietly. The silence kept his mind returning to the way Niko’s wide shoulders had loomed above him as they kissed. Niko kissed every bit as hard as he spoke, with intent, control, and on his own terms. But, was the passion an experiment, a way to tease the edge of what could be? What he was hiding from his girlfriend or wife?
Looking out the window, unable to let Niko see the vulnerable expression on his face, he asked, “Will your girlfriend be mad that you’re bringing me home to sleep on the couch? I assume you don’t pick up strays every day.”
The car slid through traffic with Niko never taking his eyes off the road. “I don’t have a girlfrie
nd.”
Ethan fought the urge to do a mental fist pump. The guy was still straight, but at least the fantasy was legit. He wasn’t trying to deceive a girlfriend or, God forbid, a wife. Ethan never wanted to play that game. Charles was a lying bastard for putting him in that situation when he’d lied about being divorced. Ethan had been blindsided when Mrs. Callahan had showed up on the doorstep one night demanding Charles sign some papers.
Charles explained Ethan was an exchange student for an inner city project, which was ludicrous considering his father was a financial competitor. In Ethan’s eyes, she’d believed the story just as Ethan had believed Charles’s story. The man was incapable of caring about either of them. Looking back, he’d been a complete idiot for starting the damn affair in the first place.
Burying the disgust, Ethan tossed the thought. “Do you live in the city?”
“No, I live in the old Palace Theater. It’s a few blocks from the shop.”
Ethan peered over, “You don’t talk much, do you?”
Was that a smile? “I guess not. Do you want me to talk more?” He turned the car into the university library parking garage. The lot was usually full this time of the day. He took the ticket from the booth. “How about you talk? Tell me how a guy your age gets with an old guy—a rich old guy. I’m not a dumbass, but something pretty fucked up must have happened to put you in that situation.”
Ethan hoped Niko would quickly find a parking spot because he needed out of the car—out of his past. “Can we get something to eat after picking up my stuff?”
“Got it. And I’m the one who won’t talk.” He pulled the car into a slot and killed the engine. “Listen, I don’t care what got you here. I’m glad...fuck. I’m glad you’re safe. That’s all that matters. That guy is a bastard. He’s starting all these projects in the neighborhoods with the intent of getting rid of the families and move in the rich assholes to make the businesses into moneymakers. The Professor’s son, Mitch, is in the thick of it. I guess he’s an asshole, too. Your sugar daddy has been trying to close the club. He was quoted in the paper saying the shop is a disgrace to the city. The asshole’s never set foot in the place.”
Ethan was no stranger to shame. Hell, for the last two years he’d taken the easy way out because his father had been not only a money tree but treated him like a second-class citizen. With an older brother who’d followed in their dad’s footsteps and a sister in medical school, Ethan was the disappointment destined to never amount to anything but a party boy.
They climbed the few steps to the library doors and walked into the spacious lobby. Ethan remained silent, hoping Niko would get the hint and stop asking questions. “My boxes are downstairs. I moved them to one of the back corners where no one uses the desks.”
Ethan felt a warm palm spread across his lower back as a guy passed by in a blur saying, “Excuse me” over his shoulder. He didn’t move, waiting for Niko’s hand to pull away, but when the thumb just above the waistband of his shorts began an agonizing back and forth motion, he held his breath. The mumbling voices and rustling of people went silent in his head. The chaos in his brain calmed to a void.
“Niko, that feels—”
The feather-like caress detached, instantly making Ethan feel more exposed than ever. The fact he was gay had never been a secret, however he figured once Niko realized students were buzzing by and possibly saw his big hand caressing a man’s back, he’d probably flip him the middle finger and stomp out of the place.
Ethan grinned when Niko’s jaw tightened. “I’ll follow you.”
They dodged several cackling girls. “Down here.” Ethan headed downstairs. “It’s okay, you know.”
Ethan curled his hands when a young woman walked by gave Niko a too-slow once over. “What’s okay?” he asked, not noticing the woman giving him an eye fuck.
“That you want me.” Ethan flashed a smile when Niko almost tripped down the last two steps.
“What the hell, Ethan? I don’t want you. I’m not gay.”
“Hey, Ethan, what’s up?” Michael stopped at the edge of the stairs with the strap of a leather bag flung over his chest.
“Nothing, just came by to…to get some notes for lit class.”
His stomach trembled when Niko closed the space and brushed his arm against Ethan’s shoulder. Surprised, but grateful for Niko’s subtle gesture, he leaned in to steal the moment.
“So,” Michael said, a bit more cautiously than he had earlier in the car. “You want to get something to eat tonight? I can pick you up.” Michael’s gaze drifted to Niko and by the look on his pale face, he decided not to glance in that direction again.
Ethan knew it was wrong to push Niko, but damn if he wasn’t ready to see what his tattooed protector would do. “Sure, that sounds—”
“He can’t,” Niko said, pulling away as quickly as he’d leaned in. “He’s got plans, and he needs to rest. Come on.” Niko moved so fast, Michael stood motionless, obviously unsure of how to react.
“Sorry.” Ethan looked over his shoulder at Michael as he started to catch up to Niko. “You didn’t have to be rude.” Confusion didn’t cover half of what weaved through his head. Hot and cold, Niko road more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. “He’s just a friend.”
“I get that. You’re gay and having dinner is code for let’s have a fuck. I wasn’t running my mouth for nothing. You don’t need that shit right now. You need to get some real fucking sleep and eat some real food. The last thing you need to worry about is getting with some guy who doesn’t mean shit to you and won’t even take you out to breakfast after. So, forget it. Let’s get your shit and head home.”
Home. This was going to be his first time to have a place of his own. The butterflies in his stomach revved into overdrive with the thoughts of sleeping in a bed and not having to worry about what would happen when he came home from school. He’d get to eat when he wanted and walk around in his underwear. If he could take a shower at two in the afternoon without a man staring at him while he washed his balls, he would be a happy camper.
He’d be free. The heat from the ink on his side seemed like a medal of honor. Survival was his ticket to independence and finally living his life on his own terms.
“My birthday’s next month.”
Niko stopped and glanced over. “Okay?”
Despite knowing what was unhealthy, like getting his hopes up that a guy like Niko would even be remotely interested in a young college kid, he said the stupidest crap. “I don’t know why I told you that.”
Niko looked to his left. “Which way do we go?”
God, he was a loser. This wasn’t anything personal, just a guy helping another guy out. “Down here.” They walked for a few minutes and made a couple more turns until he spotted the two small plastic tubs shoved under one of the corner desks.
He leaned down and pulled them into the narrow path. There were only a handful of students in the study wing. It was musty and lit with shadowed lamps. The creative writing majors and gamers mostly met down here to discuss whatever it was those brilliant kinds of people discussed.
Ethan stacked one tub on top of the other and hoisted them against his chest. He started down the hall. “Are you coming?”
If Niko wasn’t going for the boyfriend scout badge then Ethan wasn’t as gay as a Pride parade. The hundreds of students scattered at desks, hiding behind laptop screens, took notice as Niko strolled by as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Two men walking together that looked like they did offered the contrast of a skyscraper looming over the lapping surface of the ocean. Niko, the skyscraper, tats scrolling along both arms, forearms roped with veins, carried the boxes with ease.
Ethan adjusted the strap on his shoulder. He carried his laptop stuffed in his bag everywhere he went. He wasn’t about to leave the most expensive thing he owned in a tub in the university library.
“They all notice you,” he said, alluding to Niko’s stark handsome looks, but instead it sounded
like an insult. “What I mean is—”
“I get it, man. I’m the freak show in this revival tent. You think this is the first time people have stared at my tats? Every time I pay for something people stare at my hands. Let them look. I don’t give a flying fuck if they like them or not. They’re me.”
Ethan wanted Niko to dump the tubs so he could hug his arms around those stoic shoulders, or maybe jump into his arms and wrap his legs around Niko’s lean waist. Not getting punched in the face sounded like a good plan, too.
“I think your tattoos are great.” He smiled a toothy grin, feeling proud he’d sat through the pain. Every moment was worth it—from having Niko’s art permanently on his skin to having those rough fingertips slide over his body. “All because of you.”
Niko stood to the side of the heavy glass door waiting for Ethan to push it open. “Don’t get sentimental on me, skinny jeans. Let’s go home before you get gayer than you already are.”
Ethan would’ve been offended if he hadn’t caught site of the wicked grin Niko sported as he walked onto the sidewalk. “Gayer? Like when I wear my rainbow tutu and dance to Madonna? Is that the gay you’re referring to? You seem more like a Vogue man than a Lucky Star kind of guy.”
Niko snorted, broad shoulders bouncing up and down. “Neither. Damn, I’m a straight-up Seether kind of guy. Seriously, you like Madonna?”
They walked the short distance to the parking garage. “Yeah, I do. So, maybe that’s a cliché, but Madonna is seriously awesome.”
The sound of their voices echoed between the cars. “If you say so.” Niko stopped by the Nova and set the boxes on the pavement before unlocking the trunk. When Ethan leaned down to lift one of the tubs, Niko waved his hand away and tucked both boxes inside.
“Where do you want to eat? We can grab something on the way home.” Ethan’s stomach rumbled, calling out like a wolf stuck in a trap. Niko’s lips tightened. “Do you want Chinese?”
At that point, anything sounded edible. “Sure.” Ethan latched the seat belt.
Savior: A Tattered Club Story (Tattered Social Club Series Book 1) Page 6
