Page 16

Story: Hitting the Jackpot

Lake giggled. “It’s settled then.”

“Is there anything in particular you’d like tonight?” Jesse asked.

“Just…” Lake shrugged. “You know.”

“I do. How about something light and yummy?”

“Yes, please.” Lake was sort of curious about what Jesse would pick on his own. There were a lot of good restaurants that catered to the vegan lifestyle.

“This is for you. I had it made the other day, but this is the perfect time to give it to you.” Jesse held out a black keycard.

“What is it?” Lake took the card.

“That will get you into my private elevator and office. You can come up at any time,” Jesse replied.

“I have a key to the Batcave!” Lake gave a little wiggle. “Dom is gonna be so jealous!”

Jesse chuckled as he stood. “Well, I trust you not to leave googly eyes on all the office staff’s equipment.”

Oh! Lake had forgotten about that. Dom had even videotaped his sneaky trip to Jesse’s office. “I would never!”

“I know.” Jesse kissed Lake’s cheek. Oh! That was wonderful! “You are a good boy. Dom needs more time spent over his Daddy’s knee.”

Lake nodded in agreement, trying to ignore the tingling where Jesse’s lips had been.

“I’ll see you later then.” Jesse sat Zeb back on the bench. “You both be good.”

“We will!” Lake promised.

Once Jesse was out of the locker room, Lake picked up Zeb and twirled him around. Carter had left when he’d been talking, leaving Lake the entire locker room to himself. Well, him and Zeb. He danced along the bench, spinning and wiggling. They had a dinner date with Jesse!

That was so cool!

Normally Lake just ate whatever he packed for dinner. Remi loved to feed him. Lake didn’t think that Remi would be mad if he didn’t eat the food and spent the time with Jesse. Should he text Remi just in case?

Lake picked up his phone. There were no phones allowed in the club, so he had to lock it away until his break. He had a radio to communicate with the rest of the security team and his manager while on shift.

Noticing the time, Lake nearly panicked. He was late! Lake was never late to work. He hurried to stash everything in his locker except Zeb and raced toward the front.

“Hey! You’re fine. I asked Johnathon to watch the front until you came out,” Carter said, stopping him. “He was happy to help.”

Lake blew out a breath. Then another. The adrenaline made his pulse beat rapidly. It was okay. No one would be mad at him.

“Breathe for me,” Carter said. One hand gripping Lake’s bicep. “Johnathon said you’d covered for him last week when his mom was sick, and worked the floor during your break. He was grateful he could help you out even if it was for only a couple of minutes.”

Carter was right. Lake went out of his way to help his coworkers. Even though Lake didn’t enjoy working security on the floor as much as the front desk, he always stepped in when needed. Everyone needed help sometimes.

“Thanks.” Lake smiled and gave Carter a quick hug.

“We’ve got your back,” Carter said. “Always. Don’t forget that.”

Lake was a little confused by the sudden serious turn of Carter’s words but unless he wanted to be even later, then he couldn’t think about that now.

“Now go ahead. I’ll bring you a glass of water with extra lemons in a minute. “

“You’re the best!” Lake declared. He loved lemons!

“Go!” Carter waved him away.