Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Why me?”
“Because I need someone I can trust.”
That made sense, but I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that he was opening a bar and wanted me to move to Atlanta to work with him.
“Shit’s pretty fly out here. There’s a good gay scene. It’s not nearly as expensive as LA. You should see the apartments you can get for less than what you’d find in Los Angeles for double the price.”
“I…” Didn’t know what to say. Part of me wanted to jump at the opportunity, but then I thought of my family. Mom thought I was too far away already. On the other hand, I was trying to figure out who I was. Hell, I couldn’t even afford my own place in Santa Monica. “Yes,” fell from my lips before I could think about it too much.
“Fuck yes! I knew you’d be down.”
Archer gave me a little more information on what he planned and what I would be doing. It was a whirlwind of him yammering in my ear while I tried to make sense of what just happened. Before I knew it, he was telling me to expect an email with the details, then ended the call.
I was going to be someone’s right-hand man to run a new gay bar.
I was moving to Atlanta.
I’d have to tell my mom…
And then, for whatever the fuck crazy reason, I thought of Marcus, of spending time with him and the things he’d shared with me. How I wanted to get to know him even more, and yet I also knew he only let me stay with him out of some misguided hero complex. It would probably be a relief for him to know he wouldn’t have to share his house with me for long.
* * *
“So…is this what we husbands do every week while our men are recording their podcast?” I teased Sebastian and Elliott, who were sitting in the living room. I’d just woken up a little while before and came downstairs to find Marcus gone and these two here. I’d forgotten they recorded every Sunday, and this would be my first one here for it.
I’d listened to a few episodes of The Vers, but I wasn’t a regular. It was popular as fuck, though, and I’d always thought it was cool that my boss was a part of it. But I’d also planned on talking to Marcus about Atlanta today, and this threw a wrench into my plans. Strangely, I wanted to talk to him about it before I told Declan, which made no sense, considering Declan was my boss and I’d known him longer.
Elliott chuckled. “Yep. They’ll be in there for a while.”
“We usually hang out for a bit afterward,” Sebastian added.
“This is the spot, huh?” I asked, not at all surprised. Declan had mentioned they used to spend a lot of time in Marcus’s childhood home, and every time they spoke about hanging out now, it was almost always here.
“It is,” Sebastian said. “Oh God. I remember the first time I came here. I was scared to death. I was falling for Declan and worried they wouldn’t like me. I knew how much they meant to him.” Sebastian ran a hand through his dark, wavy hair.
“Well, at least you didn’t drunk-marry their romantic in Vegas the night you told him you couldn’t see yourself ever really falling for someone and wanting forever,” Elliott chimed in.
“Good point,” Sebastian agreed.
“I worried Marcus or Declan would kill me, and they’d never find the body.”
“They almost did.”
Watching Elliott and Sebastian go back and forth, I felt a stab of…hell, I couldn’t place it. Longing? I didn’t have a lot of friends. I had acquaintances. I could always find someone to fuck or party with, someone to go out dancing with if I wanted, but not real friends like The Vers guys and now their partners. People didn’t tend to stick around a lot with me.
And then I thought about Archer and Atlanta. Maybe I could find there what The Vers guys had. Maybe that would have been me and Archer if he hadn’t moved.
I smiled when I saw my hazelnut creamer sitting by the coffeepot. Marcus didn’t use it, so unless one of the guys did, he’d taken it out for me. That didn’t make me special to Marcus. I understood it was just the kind of man he was, but it still felt good.
I doctored my cup while they chatted, then made my way over to the couch. I heard laughter from the studio, Marcus’s deeper than the rest. They had fun together, and I liked hearing or seeing him have fun. I also wanted to have naked fun with him, so yeah, that was still a thing.
And now there was a timeframe in place for that.