Page 10

Chapter Ten

Tobias

As I pull open the door to the bar, “APT” by Bruno Mars and Rosé hits me like a smack to the face.

I stop once I step inside, staring at the group of guys doing some dance that must go along with the song.

I’m up-to-date with music enough to know artists and titles, but not enough to know dances.

My dancing days are long gone, and I’m not even sure why I danced with Theo when we were here together.

It’s not really my thing anymore, and I can't remember the last time I danced with someone like that. It's been years.

The music stops and Jacob runs to the cell phone perched on the bar top. He’s an employee of Foxy’s. I’m not surprised to see a few of the guys from there, since they come here often enough to hang out. This is a safe and accepting place. There should be more of them.

“What the fuck are you guys doing?” I ask, taking note of who’s here.

Kingston and Beau also work at Foxy’s, and I give them a little head nod when we make eye contact because it’s been a while since I’ve seen them.

We don’t work an office job, so we don’t run into each other at work.

In fact, we hardly go by the office at all.

Not unless Foxy has important shit she needs to tell us in person.

Even paperwork is done electronically now.

“Hello, to you too, Mr. Grumpy Pants,” Luca says with a smile.

I roll my eyes, looking between them and waiting for someone to answer me.

“We’re making a Tik Tok,” Benton finally answers in a tone that says I should have known that. I've heard of the app, but I'm too old for that shit.

“Why the hell would you do that?”

“Foxy suggested it may help,” Jacob says with a shrug.

“Okay, everyone back in their places!” He watches them get into a pyramid formation, presses the button on his phone to record, then jumps back into the group.

Nathanial presses something on the remote in his hand, and the song starts playing again, just a few seconds before the chorus.

I make my way to the bar, keeping my eyes on them. Nothing has ever made me feel so old…

Once the chorus starts, so does their dancing.

It’s ridiculous and exactly what you’d expect their generation to be doing.

If they’re doing it for Foxy, I can’t complain.

It’ll make me money too. I’m not sure how dancing to this song will help that, but I’m not on Tik Tok, so what the hell do I know?

Pete comes over, bobbing his head and mouthing the words .

“Not you too,” I mutter.

“It’s catchy,” he says defensively. “What can I get you?”

“Whiskey.”

He brings it a moment later then walks off with my card to swipe in the machine before handing it off to me.

“You haven’t been here in a couple weeks,” he says.

Not since I was here with Theo. Honestly, not sure why I’m back today. Maybe because Thanksgiving is coming up, and I decided to go to my mother’s even though I don’t want to, and I need a way to cope with that. Going there is always hell and I don't know why I haven't cut ties yet.

“Yeah,” I say as more of a question because it’s a weird statement.

“So, you haven’t heard the news.”

“News?”

The music cuts off. “Okay, that one was so good!” Luca says, clapping excitedly. “Let’s try a different one.”

“Like what?” Nathanial asks, staring at his nails. “I don’t know many dances. I’m better at singing.”

“That’s why we’re practicing,” Luca responds with so much sass it makes me laugh.

“Can I get a drink first?” Mario asks, but he’s already at the bar.

Pete makes him a drink and slides it over. Luca and Jacob are swiping through the cell phone, sharing quiet conversation. Plotting something, no doubt.

“So, news?” I say when Pete returns .

“Big Joe sold the bar.”

“Wait, what?” I pause with the drink halfway to my mouth.

This bar isn’t a super special place to me, but it’s special enough. It’s a place I hang out with friends and can be myself. One of the only bars I can do that in. I’m comfortable here, as are many others.

“Don’t worry,” Pete says with a wave of his hand. “The new owner is cool as shit. Met him the other day. His name is Emmet Durant. He’s moving here from California. Guess he ran a bar out there for years.”

“Why did he stop running it?” I ask, feeling defensive over this place.

Everyone who comes here often knows all about Big Joe.

The guy was cool as shit, but his health hasn’t been great lately and we hardly see him anymore.

Back in the day, he was closing down the place with us.

It was only a matter of time before he sold it, but I thought Pete would buy it or something.

Not some stranger from fucking California.

“His father owned it and ended up selling it to help pay for treatment costs for the mother.”

“Damn,” I say. “That’s fucking sad.”

“Guess his mom died and his father moved to Florida. Apparently it all happened so fast. He seems kind of lost, but they’re good people. Fostered a ton of kids. Emmet is cool. I don’t think he’s going to fuck the place up.”

“That’s good. ”

“Hey, Tobias!” I look over at the group of guys. Jacob is smirking, while Kingston and Beau are behind him with grins. Jasper is lurking far in the back, outside of the video, shaking his head. “Come be in this video with us.”

I chuckle, shaking my head. “No fucking way.” He pouts. “Not going to help!” I say, taking a mouthful of whiskey.

“It’s for Foxy!” he sing-songs.

“Yeah, come on, Tobias,” Kingston adds. “It’s for our boss.”

I purse my lips, watching him carefully. I can’t believe I’m about to do this.

Getting to my feet, I point a finger at Jacob and say, “I’m not dancing.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he says in a tone that tells me I should have offered to dance instead.

An hour later, after standing in the background with my shirt off and letting the other guys take turns dancing on me while someone was close up in the camera lip-syncing words, I order another drink. That damn song is going to haunt me in my nightmares for years to come.

Pete slides me my drink and I take a seat, swiping my phone from the counter. This isn’t the kind of place you have to worry about your shit going missing. Not when all the regulars are here, anyway. Since it’s a Sunday night, that’s all who’s here.

As I sip my drink, rolling my eyes at the guys’ choice of music—Lady Gaga now—I scroll through my notifications, and tap on the one that says I have a new date request. I can’t help but smile when I see who it’s from.

There’s no denying Theo is a cool guy. I’ve been on a lot of dates with a lot of people, and it took time for me to keep business stuff business. There is a learning curve when working closely and intimately with people. It's hard to not get attached. I have the same problem at my other job.

At first, I tried to befriend everyone, but that’s not how you make it in this line of work.

There isn’t a single person who's rented me that I’ve stayed friends with over the years, no matter how much I tried to nurse those relationships.

This won’t be any different. Yet, I’d be lying if I said Theo feels like any other business transaction.

There is something about him that I can’t quite pinpoint, but it’s something different that I’ve never felt before.

I feel for the guy, and we have enough in common that it was easy to hang out with him and forget that it was just a job.

Which is why I invited him out. I shouldn’t have done that, but I didn’t hate it.

I was worried it gave him the wrong impression, but since he’s paying for another date and not trying to get a free one, maybe I did everything right.

This isn’t the type of work where you try to get repeating customers, but it is the type of work where you want to leave a lasting impression, so they tell their friends.

Most people only need us for a night or two.

When their family is in town or they need to impress their new boss.

Some just want to be taken out by someone who knows how to treat them.

Repeat customers are strange, and I say that even though I have a handful of them.

It makes you wonder if they’re right in the head.

People fabricate things in their mind all the time, and it’s possible some people think this is real.

It’s kind of scary sometimes, knowing what people are capable of.

Thankfully, I haven’t had to deal with anything like that.

Theo doesn’t give off those vibes, but I don’t know the guy.

Nothing other than what he told me, and he could be making all that shit up.

Though, I don’t think that’s the case. He’s a genuine guy.

There’s something in his eyes that tells me he’s just a normal person trying to live his life.

Only he doesn’t really know how to do that.

I accept the date, and because he’s got me feeling all weird, I start an email to him, completely crossing the line with what I type out.

Miss me already?

I shouldn’t send it, but of course I do. I've had a few drinks already.

The confusion about his life, questioning whether or not he’s doing the right thing, has had me wondering about my own.

Would settling down be so bad? Do I want to date people for the rest of my life?

I like my job. Both of them, really. I’m happy with my life, but would it be better with a family?

For the first time, those thoughts don’t have a definite answer.

It was a solid no before meeting Theo. Now, as I’m getting older, as I see Theo struggling with where to take his life, it’s got me wondering .

Maybe if I found the right person to settle with, I could settle down. Maybe I wouldn’t hate the idea. Guess I just haven’t been so lucky, because no one has made me consider it yet.

I get an email in response rather quickly.

If I say yes, will you cancel the date?

I smirk, finishing my drink and gesturing for another from Pete, who is at the end of the bar. He nods and holds up a finger.

I glance down at my phone, wondering how I should respond. But the way I should respond and the way I do respond aren’t the same.

If I wanted you to say anything other than yes, I wouldn’t have asked.

I click off the screen, but it lights up a moment later with an email, so I open it.

Are you flirting with me?

As if this email conversation isn’t inappropriate enough, I do something that definitely crosses the line. I go into his info on the portal and find his phone number. This could get me in a lot of trouble, but… I just need to know.

I don’t remember the last time I dated someone for me. The last time I liked someone enough to consider something personal. It's not that I’m thinking that with Theo. He’s engaged and has too much baggage for me to want to deal with, but testing the waters to see how it feels isn’t so bad, right?

I type in his number then tap in the bar to type out a text.

So what if I am?

It takes just a second for the little bubbles to dance. Then his text pops up.

I think this is breaking the contract.

So complain to my boss about it.

Maybe I will.

You won’t.

You’re right. I won’t. But I have to ask… why?

Pete puts down the glass in front of me, and I look up. He’s talking over his shoulder to Mario and Luca who are pointing to something on their phone. I take a sip of my drink, looking at my screen and wondering how I’m supposed to answer this.

Why am I taking a risk just to text him?

Sure, we have access to their information to reach out to them, but it’s for dating purposes only. Texting him because I’m trying to test something out is definitely breaking the rules, and if he complained to Foxy, I could get fired. Misuse of personal information is illegal.

Unable to come up with a suitable answer, I deflect.

I should ask you that first.

Why another date?

Meet up with me and I’ll tell you.

I smirk at him being so ballsy. To think he was so nervous when I first saw him.

He could barely get words out. I shouldn’t meet up with him tonight.

It’s wrong for so many reasons. Why is he going to pay for dates when he can get them for free?

Why would anyone? This is why I had to keep my personal life separate.

I can’t fall back into old habits just because one guy has me questioning my life.

That’s something I need to figure out on my own.

I can’t tonight. But I expect an answer on Thursday.

It’s a cheap answer, and I don’t get a response back. I think maybe I upset him.