Page 2 of Approved (The Dapper Duck #1)

Chapter two

TYLER

West pulled into a parking spot behind some high-rise buildings; the sun had set, and I wasn’t sure where we were, but I knew it was the nicer area of the city.

He got out of the van and locked up.

“Come on, booze awaits you.”

With a harness and leash on Earl, I followed him into the building and looked around.

We were in a small kitchen, and some people made chicken wings and other bar foods.

Earl spun on my shoulder and watched while they cooked.

I could tell immediately he was interested in the fried snacks.

West walked through the kitchen into a gorgeous bar, where all the wait staff were in black ties, the men in slacks, the women in skirts or slacks, everything was clean and modern.

I could see from the logo that we were in The Dapper Duck, and I knew that it was one of the most prestigious bars in the city, often mentioned as one of the best in the country.

I grabbed West’s arm.

“Your bar is The Dapper Duck?” I said it quietly.

“What? I can’t hear you.”

“The Dapper Duck is your bar?” I said it louder this time, and I watched as a smile lit up his face.

“Yeah.” He looked proud.

When he said his bar, did he mean he owned it, or maybe he was just the manager?

This place was the very definition of classy.

After spending the day with West, I would say he was cool and funny, but I wouldn’t use the term classy—I had seen and heard him swear.

I knew managers of places got attached and referred to the business they ran as theirs.

“How long have you managed it?”

He chuckled.

“Owned.” He responded quietly.

“It’s going on five years.”

I willed myself not to look surprised.

His house was in a nice suburb, but certainly not fancy.

He drove a middle-grade SUV, and he was very easy to be with—certainly not what I would have imagined the owner of this bar to be like.

“Have you ever been here?”

“I can’t afford the drinks here, West.” He smiled, put his hand on my lower back, guided me to a table in the corner, then grabbed a bar stool and had me sit.

My skin was still warm where he had touched me, and I wanted him to do it again.

One of the bartenders walked over to West.

“Glad you could join us tonight, boss. We’ve been swamped.” She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder.

I didn’t like that she touched him.

What the hell was that about?

“Did you actually need me, or are you just busting my balls?”

She laughed.

“It’s so rare that you aren’t here before us all, I thought I would bust your balls a little. Everything is well under control. What kept you away from us on your favorite holiday?”

“I was helping my friend here. It was much more fun than spending the evening watching people trying to get laid or crying because they can’t get laid.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Friend? He’s cute. I wouldn’t mind spending time with a friend who looked like him.” He nudged her shoulder.

Then West turned to me.

“Is your heart set on a martini, or would you like a specialty drink?”

I’ve seen some specialty drinks from here on YouTube, and they all looked amazing.

“Surprise me.”

“What about Earl?”

My heart fluttered at the thought that he had included him.

“He is a big fan of coffee, so you can just get him an espresso with lots of whipped cream since he only ate a few flowers today. And maybe a chicken wing or something?”

“Perfect. I’ll be right back.” He started toward the bar.

“I can make it West, “ the bartender said.

“Nope. I want to make it for him.” Then he turned to me and winked.

“Don’t go anywhere.”

He walked away, chatted with a few other staff on his way, and shook hands with patrons.

He was in his element here, you could tell.

I looked around the room at all the details, which included a huge saltwater fish tank.

West returned with a tall glass that had layers of color.

“I think you will like this. It's blackberry, raspberry, and some rum. Can I give this to Earl?” He held a coffee cup with a mountain of whipped cream on it while he waited.

“Yeah. You might want to put a napkin down.” Earl had spotted the drink, and his eyes were locked on it. Somehow, he knew it was for him. I watched West put a cloth napkin on the table, then put the coffee treat and some boneless wings down.

“Will that work for you, Sir?” He smiled at my dragon.

Earl looked at me, behaving exceptionally well for him. “Go ahead.” Earl put his entire face inside the cup, and I could hear him slurping some of the coffee before he took a mouthful of whipped cream. He looked up at me, his face covered in the sticky topping.

“Do you have another napkin?” West laughed as Earl enjoyed his treat. I reached across West to wipe off the dragon’s face, and I could feel his heat on my back. It took a lot of willpower not to lean against him.

“Can I give him some chicken. I made sure it’s mild and no bones.”

“Of course.” He picked up one of the chunks on the plate and offered it to Earl. If a dragon could look pleased, this was one of those moments. Earl took the chicken and chomped happily. I liked how West interacted with my companion; he seemed excited and in awe.

“Now your turn.” He turned to me and gestured to the glass.

I took a sip, and the flavors burst over my tongue. He smiled at me. “What do you think?” Before I could answer, a guy I recognized from the NFL walked up to West.

“Parker, what the hell are you up to?” West stopped, and instead of embracing his friend, he turned and looked at me. They started to talk while Earl buried his face in the whipped cream again, and I enjoyed the drink he had made.

“Hey, we were in the middle of something, do you mind?” He said to the guy.

“Oh, sure. Give me a call sometime, we will hit the greens.”

“Sure sounds good.” He had stopped paying attention to the guy. He pulled up a stool and sat close to me at the small round table. “I know you.”

I looked at him. “We’ve been together for six hours, but I hardly think you know me.”

“We went to high school together.” I froze. I had been bullied a lot, but I didn’t recall West being one of the people who gave me trouble. Memories flooded back to me. There were a bunch of football players giving me a hard time, calling me names, using slurs. West wasn’t one of the people saying things, but he watched in the background. There had been other times, too. He was an athlete; he might not have bullied me, but he didn’t stop it either. I gagged.

“I have to go.” Without saying anything else, I walked out the front door and started down the block while getting an Uber to take me home. Earl wrapped his tail around my neck for balance and flapped his wings, clearly thrown off by the sudden change in emotion. Flushed with disappointment in the man I had spent the day with, I had hoped maybe he would be a new friend. I didn’t have many friends because I didn’t trust people; here was another example. He might not have abused me directly in high school, but he was there and let it happen. While I waited for my car, I felt a stinging sensation behind my eyes as I recalled those difficult times.

On my way home, I leaned my head against the cold window. He was so nice and funny. I had really hoped to spend more time with him. The driver took me straight home, tired from the long day. I was glad I had completed the deliveries—thanks to West—but it was still a stupid holiday. The deliveries today would help to cover bills, and now I had another reason to hate the date.

“Jamie, he was so nice,” I whined to my best friend. She was also the only other employee at Flower Power and had been just as busy as I was today, but as my best friend, she got to hear how disappointed I was when I learned who West was. After I fed Larry, my cat, I had called her, and now, I lay on my bed, Earl and Larry curled on my pillow together, sleeping. “He never participated when his teammates pushed me around, at least.”

“Yeah, but he was complicit in what happened. Is he even gay?” She would take whatever side I was on because she was amazing.

“I’m not sure, but it felt like he had flirted with me today.” I was tired from the long day, so my being pathetic was in full swing.

“There are like a thousand articles about this guy and his bar. I am sure we can find out which team he plays for.” I heard her typing away.

“He is really hot, too. Jamie, I don’t want to dislike him.” I’ve never hoped so hard that a man wasn’t gay, at least it would dull my lust. “His bar was amazing. We could always go there if I were friends with him.”

She laughed. “Now you are friends? You felt you couldn’t speak to him a minute ago because he didn’t defend you.”

“I’m fickle.”

“Oh, here we go,” she said. “West Parker has dated a lot of the city’s elite. He doesn’t currently have a partner but does hope to have a husband and a dog someday. BOOM!!”

My stomach swooped. “Shit. I guess there are other fish in the sea and all that, but he sure is fun to think about.”

“This article is from last month, too.” I sighed.

“Alright, it’s been a long day. Thank you for your hard work today, we’ll catch up more tomorrow.” We said good night and hung up. A few minutes later, she sent a text message with a link to the article.

Why did he have to be into men? It would be so much easier if he weren’t. Even with how it ended, today had been an unexpectedly good day. It was a lot of work, but West had made it easier. When I crawled into bed, I was still sulking because if he were really a good guy, he would have stopped the bullying I went through. When that happened, he was young, a teenage brain isn’t fully formed, and he might be different now. I scrolled through the article, then looked at a few other stories about him. He did a lot of things for LGBTQ+ organizations and animal charities.

“Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?” I flopped my head back. I supposed the good news was that I wouldn't see him again unless I planned to go to The Dapper Duck. At least that was my reasoning. I knew it was a weak argument, but I thought it might help my resolve. He probably wouldn’t be interested in me anyhow, so all this wasn’t relevant. Plus, making friends and maybe dating meant trusting another person, and Jamie was the only one I’ve trusted in the last ten years, but there was something about West.