Then last night we’d had dinner and a movie. We hadn’t had sex afterward, although I’d gotten the impression Nick would’ve been up for it. But I wanted us to be friends too. He was a friend of Tony’s and a regular at the club, and it would be really shitty if after all this was over we weren’t on speaking terms. The thought of the end brought me down, but I reminded myself we were just starting out.
Ellis sighed, bringing my thoughts back to her and our conversation. “Dating is hard, especially when you’re gay.”
“It can be,” I said. “But once you build your friend circle and become more comfortable, meeting girls you might want to date will happen on its own.”
“You seem so sure about that,” she said, sliding the last game onto the shelf.
“I am. Trust me. I’ve been around the block more than a few times.”
She chuckled and got to her feet. “G’night, Jeo.”
I watched her climb the stairs, the combat-style boots she always wore thumping loudly on the steps.
I cleaned up the area, picking up paper cups and crumpled chip bags, then turned off the lights and checked the locks.
Stretching out on my double bed two floors up, I dialed Blaze.
“Hung, hey, what’s up?”
“Hey. Just checking in. Anything new?”
“That asshat Kilbourne from the Sinners came by last night looking for Mick. I told him I had no idea where to find him and to get off my property before we beat his ass into the ground.”
Mick was staying with Isaac and Dante, as he hadn’t felt safe in his apartment after Kilbourne started coming around there looking for him.
“Did Mick file a restraining order?” I asked. “Even living at Dante’s, Kilbourne could get to him when Mick’s going to and from work.”
“Yeah, but the police were less than helpful. Bunch of homophobes in Henry.”
“Not surprised, small town like that.”
“I know, man. Axel and Dante are keeping an eye on him though.”
“Good. Next time, the fucker might kill him.”
“How’ve you been? How’s the new place?”
“I like it. It’s weird being alone, but then again, I don’t have to hear anyone snoring. Or fucking.”
Blaze laughed. “I figure pretty soon it’ll just be me and Lake in the clubhouse. We’ll chase them all out of here. I’m surprised Cane and Tony haven’t gone yet, what with that nice building they could be living in.”
“I think Cane feels like he’d be deserting you,” I said.
“That’s bullshit. I’ll have to have a talk with him.”
“How’s Adam?” I asked.
Blaze sighed. “The results of the last scans came back. They showed scar tissue built up from the injury to his brain. The doctor said it’s what’s causing the zoning out and dizzy episodes. They’re partial seizures.”
“Fuck. Poor guy.”
“Yeah, I feel for him. Worst thing is they told him he can’t drive anymore. Not until he’s gone three months without having a seizure. He misses his bike.”
“That’s gotta be rough.” We talked for a few more minutes before disconnecting. I felt shitty about Adam and couldn’t sleep. On impulse, I called Nick. He sounded drowsy when he picked up.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” I said.
“I’m good.” Nick yawned. “What time is it?” I heard him turn over in bed. “Only eleven-thirty? Jesus, I must be getting old.”
I chuckled. “No, you’re not. You’re a working boy. You have to get your Zs. I just thought I’d call and say goodnight.”
Nick was silent a moment. “That’s sweet,” he finally said, sounding pleased and also sort of suspicious.
“I can be sweet.”
“I’ve noticed. You’re not really what I expected, to be honest.”
“I keep telling you, I’ve cleaned up my act over the past year.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “I guess I just didn’t believe it.”
“Isn’t this what you wanted all those mornings you railed at me like a drill sergeant?”
“Hey, I didn’t sound like a drill sergeant!”
“You were pretty shrill.”
Nick laughed quietly, and I smiled.
“Anyway,” I said, “Why don’t you decide what we’ll do this weekend.”
“Yeah?” He paused for a minute.“How about the zoo on Saturday?”
I scratched my head. “You wanna go to the zoo?”
“Yeah. I love the zoo. Why? Don’t you like animals?”
“Sure, I guess. Okay. The zoo it is. What time?”
“About ten? We can eat lunch there. I’ll pick you up.”
“See you then. Have a good sleep.”
I couldn’t stop smiling. Although I wasn’t sure the zoo would be as fun as Nick seemed to think, I was surprisingly excited about going with him. I’d wanted him for a long time—probably since the moment he’d dragged me out of my bed and screamed at me to get my lazy ass to work. I’d never had anybody tell me what to do since I’d been thirteen. Looking back, Blaze had been right to hire Nick to keep me on task; the bossman had to have been fed up with me. I’d been out of control, practically circling the drain, and Nick had taken me on like a pro.
The kid had balls, that’s for sure, but I was beginning to understand there was an underlying restlessness in him he didn’t know what to do with. He needed a firm hand—I’d sensed it at Lux, and his reaction to the spanking at had been the proof I’d needed.
****
“What?” Nick looked at me. “They’re gorillas.”
“I know what they are,” I said, staring through the glass at the big, hairy primates. “I just didn’t know they were so…human-like. And how come they’re not in cages? I thought zoos had cages.”
“Jesus, have you seriously never been to the zoo before? They haven’t used cages in years. They’re inhumane. Have you been living under a rock your entire life?”
I scowled. “Just because I don’t watch nature shows or go to the zoo doesn’t mean I’ve lived under a rock.”
“Weren’t you ever a kid?”
“Yeah, in Brazil, too busy raising my brothers to be going to the zoo.”
Nick turned back to the gorillas. “I know some don’t approve of zoos, but they allow people to see animals close up that they’d never get to see otherwise.”
“I think the animals would rather be free,” I said.
Nick huffed. “You’re ruining the zoo experience for me.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, looking so cute, I ruffled his hair. “Sorry.” I ambled over to the information screen and read. “Hey, says here these guys are unreleasable into the wild, so I guess the zoo’s doing them a favor.” I hoped he wouldn’t come read over my shoulder because I was totally lying.
Nick smirked. “See? The zoo’s a good place.”
Grinning, I shook my head and followed him to the next exhibit. The day promised to be a hot one, making me glad I’d worn a tank top with my jeans. And I’d noticed Nick admiring my biceps and shoulders earlier—another reason to be glad I’d worn it. His eyes on me had made me want to take him into the men’s room and pound him, but then he probably wouldn’t be able to walk around the zoo after.
“What the hell is that?” We’d stopped in another alcove with a glass wall.
“A baboon,” Nick said.
“Is that a kind of monkey?” I asked, staring at the creature’s face. It looked back at me with almost as much curiosity.
“Yeah, I think so. Same family, anyway. Don’t they have baboons in Brazil?”
“Hell if I know. It’s not like I wandered around the rain forest. I lived in a city, for Christ’s sake.”
The animal abruptly turned around and lumbered away, displaying its bright red ass.
“Looks like you after your spanking,” I said in a low voice, cock stirring in my jeans. Nick’s breath caught in his throat, and I could see his pulse pounding in his neck
as he pretended to study the baboon, ignoring me.
“Hungry?” I asked a moment later, and he turned startled eyes to me.
“What?”
“Lunch. You ready for some?”
He blinked, slowly registering my meaning. Hell, my teasing must have taken him some place good. He frowned at me when I grinned.
“Yeah, sure. I could eat.”
I wrapped my arm around him, appreciating his slim build and the way he automatically went along with me like he trusted me to lead him. He was responding to me in a different way than usual, accepting me in the Daddy role both in and out of the bedroom. My jeans were getting pretty uncomfortable just thinking about it.
We got some food and found a shaded table to sit at while we ate.
“You’re gonna have indigestion if you eat that,” I said, referring to Nick’s footlong hot dog covered in slaw and onions.
He sent me an annoyed look. “You don’t get to tell me what to eat.”
“Don’t be rude,” I said, warning in my voice.
Nick glared at me before taking a huge bite of his hot dog, bits of onion falling onto his chin and the table.
I kept my eyes on him as I bit into my own dog dressed with a little mustard and ketchup. As he shoved the end of the footlong in his mouth, it occurred to me it was the same length as my cock and was glad when Nick started chattering about some exotic bird and my hard on subsided.
Finished eating, I sucked mustard off my thumb. “That was a damned good dog for the zoo,” I said.
“I know, right? I’ve always thought they were the best. I was looking forward to having one. I haven’t been here in a long time.”
I lifted a brow. “Royce didn’t bring you here?”
He huffed. “I don’t need someone to bring me, but no. Royce took me on a lot of cool trips, but he didn’t get into stuff like this. Everyday fun, you know? And it isn’t the same going to the zoo by myself.”
“Well, I like it,” I said, a little surprised at myself. “It’s…educational.”
The smile Nick gave me with the deep dimple in his right cheek made my heart jump.
“Just wait until you see the reptile house,” he said.
****
I had to admit the reptiles were pretty damn cool, especially the snakes, which had always fascinated me. Well, until that asswipe Karl Bruder had locked Tony in a car with a venomous cobra. As soon as I started thinking about that, I suggested to Nick we look at the iguanas. Thankfully, he seemed to get it, and we spent the next forty-five minutes admiring the lizards.
By the time we were ready to leave the zoo, the sun hung low in the sky. I couldn’t believe how quickly the time had passed.
“I had fun,” Nick said, practically bouncing on his feet while I was fucking worn out. “The zoo is great, isn’t it? Thanks for agreeing to come.”
“It wasn’t exactly a hardship,” I said. “I had fun too.” We’d gotten into Nick’s car and were still sitting in the zoo parking lot. Tired as I felt, I wasn’t ready to end our date. “Want to see my new place?”
Nick’s eyes met mine. “Sure. Above Rainbow House, right?”
I nodded, and he started the car.
I hadn’t considered how I’d feel taking Nick into my tiny apartment above the LGBTQ center. I’d never given much thought to social standing until I’d started noticing Nick back when he was my assistant, and if I were being honest with myself, that was the biggest reason he’d been able to piss me off so much. I wasn’t sure about his background, but I’d known he’d been dating a very rich man for a long time. Initially, he’d flirted with me outrageously, calling me Daddy Big Dick, but after Blaze appointed him my assistant, he’d started looking at me like something he’d found on the bottom of his shoe. Granted, he’d definitely seen me at my worst. That’s when I’d started taking a good look at my life.
“It isn’t much,” I said when we entered my small apartment.
Nick looked around the two-room space. “It’s nice.”
The sound of voices carried from the rooms below.
“Not much privacy, though,” I said.
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
I frowned. “You kidding me?”
Nick paused at the small window that looked out over the busy street. “It’s really quiet where I live. You think that’s something you want until you experience it and realize silence is pretty damn loud.”
“You know, when Cane and Tony offered you that apartment, they were trying to help you, not torture you.”
He gave me a half-smile. “I know. And I appreciate it. It’s much nicer than my old place. I just haven’t gotten used to how quiet it is after everyone’s gone.”
“Want a beer?”
Nick wrinkled his nose. “No, thanks. I don’t like them much.”
Remembering the strawberry coolers I’d bought for Mick when he’d visited, I nabbed one from the back of my mini fridge.
Nick’s eyes lit up as he reached for it.
“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a guy who drank these,” he said, twisting off the cap.
“That’s ‘cause I wouldn’t be caught dead drinking one. I bought them for Mick.”
I watched Nick’s throat move as he tilted the bottle and swallowed the cold drink. Lips glistening, he glanced at me then looked away. “He visit often?”
“Only the once,” I said. “Of course, I haven’t lived here long. But he’s staying at Isaac and Dante’s, so he’s not in the city much.”
Nick wandered around. “I would expect someone your age to have more stuff.”
I raised a brow. “Someone my age?”
I glanced at me. “Don’t be so touchy.” He put down his drink and picked up a paperweight Matteo had given me years ago when he’d visited Virginia Beach. He tossed it from hand to hand like he was nervous.
I strolled over to the bed, kicked off my boots, and lay down. “I don’t have a lot of places to sit,” I said, a little embarrassed that it was either the bed or an uncomfortable straight-backed chair and hating that I felt that way. To be honest, I was still stinging from his “someone your age” comment.
“You’ve had your dick in my ass. I guess I can sit on a bed with you.” Nick put down the paperweight, shucked his shoes, and approached the bed, lying down beside me. “I’ll bet this bed has seen more action than a bordello.” He bunched up the pillow under his head.
I smirked. “Naw, it’s brand new.”
“And you haven’t christened it yet? You feeling okay?”
I took a long drink of my beer before shrugging. “I told you, I haven’t slept with anybody for a year.”
“Even Mick?”
Was he jealous? Interesting.
“Even Mick.”
Nick’s lips parted in obvious surprise, and we had a brief stare-down until Nick visibly relaxed and said, “Okay.”
I guessed he had good reason to think I might be fooling around with Mick since he’d pulled the guy out of my bed at the clubhouse on more than one occasion. As well as Mick’s sister. And a few others. But it bothered me he’d be so damned shocked that I would choose not to have sex for that long.
“When I said we were going to do this and be monogamous while we were, I meant it.”
Nick’s lips curved into a smile. “What happened to make you change?”
When I shrugged, he poked me in the side. “Come on. I want to know. Tell me, and I’ll tell you something about me nobody knows.”
That was a little too good to pass up.
“It’s nothing major. I’d already been thinking it was time I stopped doing porn and screwing everything on two legs when I’d been sitting around talking to Zeke and Morgan at their place one night, and Morgan mentioned Rainbow House. I was curious. I kind of wondered what it might have been like if there’d been a place like this around when I was younger and new in the city. So I visited, immediately got along well with Gabe, the guy who runs the place, and started volunteering. The
more I did, the more I liked it. So, here I am.”
I hadn’t meant to say that much, but Nick kind of looked impressed, so I didn’t regret it. On impulse, I added, “It might have had a little to do with you too.”
“With me?” he asked, obviously surprised.
“Yeah, well, you kind of pointed out more than once that I was a waste of air.”
“I didn’t say that!” he objected, but then looked uncertain. “Did I?”
I smiled at him and nudged his leg. “Your turn.”
Nick seemed to consider, and I got the feeling he had changed his mind about what he was going to divulge.
“I’m lonely.”
I waited, but he didn’t say anything else. I frowned. I’d expected something a little bigger.
“Okay,” I said, not sure how to respond. “I guess everyone gets that way sometimes.”
Nick sighed. “Thing is, I’m lonely even when I’m not alone.”
I struggled to figure out what that meant. I was in a little over my head, talking about feelings and stuff. Should I assure him he’d get over it? Offer to make him less lonely right now?
Evidently, not saying anything at all wasn’t right, because as the minutes stretched out, Nick huffed and sat up.
“Maybe I should go.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He shrugged.
“Oh, come on. Don’t play games.”
Nick looked at me sharply. “I’m not playing games!”
“Yeah, you are. You’re saying nothing’s wrong when clearly something is and you want me to guess. I haven’t been played like that since I took out a twenty-two-year-old.”
Uh, oh. That hadn’t made him happy, but shit. We were adults, and I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Well, I won’t sit here and torture you with my immaturity,” Nick said, scooting off the bed.
“You know that sounded equally immature, right?”
“Fuck you, Jeovanni.”
I couldn’t help but grin. I loved the way my name sounded rolling off his lips. It made me want to kiss him.
“What are you smiling at?” Nick snapped.
The Diva and his Daddy Page 7
