9.11 - 10. Chapter 10

Will is back. 

July 4, 2001

“Morning!” Gathan said cheerfully as he walked into the kitchen.

“’Sup,” I said casually.

“Going to the festival today,” he said, all excited. “What about you?”

“I’ll probably do that,” I said, with a lot less fervor than he did.

“What’s wrong?”

I sighed. “I’m bored shitless. The only people I know here that I can hang out with are Harry and Barry. I’d rather sit in my room and beat off,” I said.

“You can hang with us,” he offered.

“You and Kristin seem to be doing great, and you’re having fun together. I don’t want to get in the way.” I didn’t tell him that being with them reminded me of being back at Harvard-Westlake with Ryan and Shiloh, where they were so into each other I was irrelevant.

“We are doing great, but we’re hanging out with friends today. Come on. It will be fun.”

“When are you leaving?” I asked.

“In about half an hour,” he said. “Maybe longer, depending on how long it takes Kristin to get ready.”

“Fine. I’ll go get ready,” I grumbled. I went upstairs, took a shower and threw on some shorts, a T-shirt, and my flip-flops. There was no ceremony today, and no one I needed to impress. I went back down to find Gathan eating, still waiting for Kristin.

“You’re looking good,” he said, and winked at me.

“Not doing me any good,” I said. He frowned at me for being so negative. I realized that I was being very grumpy and bitchy, and I resolved not to be the group buzz-kill.

“So you didn’t have fun with Harry and Barry?”

I rolled my eyes. “Harry is so fucking pathetic. College hasn’t done him any good at all. He looks at every hunky dude with these puppy dog eyes, all but begging the dude to fuck him. And Barry is all into this chick he’s dating. He’s so not fun.”

“Well, you’ve got one more day here, and then you can head home,” he said.

“Nope, I’ve got two more days to kill before I go to St. Louis to see Tony,” I corrected. “But maybe I’ll get the fuck out of here and go somewhere else until then.”

“Zach and his friends are around,” Gathan said cautiously.

“Dude, his friends are skeezy,” I said. The guys he hung around with looked like gangbangers.

“So is Zach,” Gathan agreed. Stef came breezing into the room, his cheerful mood making mine brighter.

“And what are you up to today?” he asked.

“I’m hanging out with Gathan and Kristin,” I told him. “Then I have to figure out where to go tomorrow before I go to St. Louis. If I stay here, I’ll die of boredom.”

“Maybe I can help you with that,” he said. I gave him my full attention. “I am going to Chicago tomorrow morning, and leaving the next morning. You are welcome to join me. I can drop you off in St. Louis on the sixth when I fly home.”

“That would be the bomb!” I said, so glad there was hope to leave this place behind. “When do we leave?”

“When do you want to leave?” he asked.

“Right after the fireworks are over tonight,” I said. Gathan frowned at me, because he loved his city, while Stef chuckled.

“I think we must wait at least until tomorrow morning.”

“That works for me,” I said. Kristin came down, grabbed a few bites to eat, and then we left, walking down to the festival. It was a pretty big deal, with all kinds of people and shit going on. There was a tent for Crampton Construction, so we went and got our bracelets that gave us access, and snagged some more food and snuck some drinks from the open bar. Gathan wandered over to talk to the mayor, leaving Kristin and me alone.

“You’re bored?” she asked unnecessarily.

“Duh,” I said, making her smile. “This would be so much better if JJ or Darius had come out. JJ is so pissed off; he’s not doing family shit, according to him. He says he’s not even going to the Bastille Day party. And Darius doesn’t want to run into Ella.”

“She’s not here anyway,” Kristin said.

“He didn’t know that. He’s doing pretty well with their breakup, but if she showed up with some other dude hanging all over her that would probably really make him lose it.” Darius was pretty good about avoiding situations that would make him look uncool.

“Let’s go wander,” she said. We grabbed Gathan and walked around, making fun of the people we saw who were rednecks or idiots, although the rednecks generally fell into the ‘idiot’ category too. We finally ended up with a bunch of their friends, although I hadn’t met them before except for one guy. There was this friend of Gathan named Jake who was probably the hottest guy in Claremont. He was fucking beautiful, with blond hair, light blue eyes, and a body that was as perfect as the rest of him. The other people with us mostly seemed to be Kristin’s friends. They were nice to me until they found out who I was, and then they were even nicer, only it was faked, and that kind of bothered me. More people who just liked me for my money. I had to work to be cheerful and not get all moody.

We kept going back to the Crampton tent to get drinks, so by the time the fireworks finally shot off, I was fucking wasted. I’d been at the festival for a long time, and now that I was drunk, and the fireworks were over, I was ready to call it a night. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, Gathan and Kristin were already gone. I shrugged, and was about to walk back, when I saw Jake talking to this friend of Kristin named Taylor. She was really pretty, a smoking hot brunette, who was Kristin’s best friend, or at least it seemed that way.

“You’re drunk,” she said to him, in a playfully accusingly way.

“Maybe,” he said, and burped loudly. I thought he was funny, but she acted annoyed. “You want to take me home?”

“I can’t,” she said. “I’m riding with someone else.” She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, giggled, and took off, leaving him standing there, confused. I watched him fumbling in his pockets and then he pulled out his keys.

“Dude,” I said, determined to keep him from driving. He looked at me, confused for a second.

“You’re that dude from Cali, right? Will?” He blinked as he said that, as if his mind was processing things at a slow speed.

“Very good,” I said, giving him shit. “What are you doing?”

“Going home,” he slurred.

“Dude, you are too trashed to drive,” I said.

“I’ll be fine,” he argued.

“There’s traffic and shit,” I said, even though it was thinning out. “Come hang out for a while, and then go home.”

“Where?”

“I’m staying at the same place Gathan’s staying,” I said. “Come on.” I nudged him with my shoulder to get him walking, and then he started staggering along with me. “Dude, you are majorly wasted.”

“Like you’re doing any better,” he accused.

“I’m doing better than you,” I said, then ran into a garbage can, cracking both of us up. We made it through the Commons and all the festival stuff, and were finally walking along the tree-lined streets on our way to Grand’s house. There were still a lot of people around, since they’d parked along the streets in this neighborhood.

“Dude, I thought I was gonna nail her,” he said.

“Taylor?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“No,” I said. “She was just playing you.”

“Dude, how the fuck would you know?” he asked, laughing. “You’re gay.”

“So. Doesn’t mean I can’t figure chicks out. She was playing you. She got you to pay attention to her all day, but then it was over.”

“Maybe I didn’t work it hard enough,” he said. Then he stumbled over a raised slab in the sidewalk, only barely managing to catch himself before he fell. I laughed at him for stumbling.

“That’s not it,” I told him. “You were trying hard. She just isn’t into you.”

He gave me a dirty look. He wasn’t used to people not being into him. “Whatever.” Jake was really attractive, and pretty good at macking on chicks, but he wasn’t all that smart. Once you talked to him, it was pretty easy to figure that out. Taylor wasn’t the sharpest tool either, but smart enough to figure Jake out. He’d do well with pretty, dumb girls.

We got back to our house and I led him into the kitchen. There were sandwiches laid out for us, in case we were hungry, so I snagged some of them and dragged him up to the room I’d commandeered on the second floor. “Here,” I said, handing him one. We sat there and wolfed down some food.

“That sobered me up,” he lied.

“Right,” I said. “You want to leave, I can take you home. You want to crash here, you can.”

“With you?” he asked, and raised his eyebrows.

“Dude, I am not going to molest you,” I said firmly. I took out a joint and lit it, then passed it to him. We smoked up, until we were really stoned.

“This is some killer bud,” he said.

“No shit,” I agreed. “This is different from the shit I normally smoke. I got this during my last trip to Hawaii. Maui Wowee.” Then we both started laughing. This weed made you laugh. We sat there, spacing out, when suddenly I felt really grungy. “Dude, I’m gonna take a shower. You can watch TV or whatever,” I said, and tossed him the remote.

“Sounds good,” he said. I went into the bathroom and stripped off my clothes, leaving them in a clump on the floor, and got into the shower. Stef had done a really nice job with them, and they were similar to my shower at Escorial. I pushed the aromatherapy button and hit eucalyptus, then got underneath the cascading rainfall showerhead. I pushed a few buttons and the water panels on the side started working, spraying my body from that direction as well. I was really enjoying myself, relaxing while the water blasted the grime away, when the shower door opened, freaking me out.

“That looks good. Mind if I go after you?” Jake asked.

“Sure,” I said, even as I turned away from him. I wasn’t hard, but I wasn’t exactly soft either. “I’m almost done. You can go ahead and come on in, and I’ll show you how it works.”

“Alright,” he said. The door closed, and opened again about a minute later. I turned to see Jake walking in. He was more beautiful naked than he was with clothes on. His body was perfectly proportioned, with just enough muscles to make him look strong and masculine, but not so much that he looked like a freakish body builder. My eyes moved across his smooth chest and down to his groin, where trimmed blond pubes and shaved balls seemed to recede in deference to his nice dick, which was plumping at about five inches. He smirked at me to tell me I’d been totally busted scoping him out.

“You, uh, push this button to change the fragrance, this controls the temperature, and this controls the jets,” I said. He moved up behind me, so close that I could feel the heat from his body despite the warm shower.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing to one of the shower balls.

“You use that to wash off,” I said. “You take this bath gel shit, put it on this ball, and rub it in,” I said, showing him how I did it.

“Wash my back,” he said, more of an order, and turned away from me. God, his ass was as magnificent as his front. I started washing his back, using the shower ball, but using my hand as well. I felt my dick rising as my fingers ran across his smooth skin. I got down to the small of his back and stopped. “Go lower,” he ordered.

I swallowed hard and moved the ball and my hands down to his ass, washing his cheeks, and then daringly running it along his crack. He moaned and spread his legs, so I knelt down and started running my fingers up and down with more purpose, spending a lot of time playing with his hole. This had moved beyond a simple shower a long time ago, so I really went for it. I let the water rinse him off, and I dove in with my mouth and started rimming him. He moaned loudly and thrust back into me. I started stroking my cock as I rimmed him, savoring the pleasure I was giving him.

He abruptly pulled away then turned around, his hard dick aimed right at my mouth. His dick was a lot like Gathan’s; a little over six inches long, but not as thick. I took him into my mouth until I felt his head lodge against the back of my throat, and then I started working him. This guy could put out some pre-cum, and even though the rest of him was perfect, he tasted pretty tart and unpleasant. But that was a small price to pay to blow a god like this. I blew him, keeping him on edge, while stroking my cock as I did. I felt my own load building up and all but screamed into his dick as I shot my wad. He grabbed my head and jammed his dick into the back of my throat, grunted, and started blowing his own load. I swallowed him even as I finished up my own orgasm, only now that I’d cum, his unpleasant taste became even more pronounced. I thought I did a pretty good job of finishing him off despite that.

“Dude, that was the best head I ever got,” he said, grinning at me.

“You were a blast,” I said. I grabbed the shower ball and finished washing him off, being less sensuous, then handed him a towel. We dried off and headed back into the bedroom. “You can crash here if you want to.”

“Only if you blow me again,” he said.

“Dude, I’ll blow you anytime you want,” I said. We played video games for a while, and then both of us passed out.

July 5, 2001

I woke up and felt a warm body spooning up behind me, and as I recounted my experiences from last night, I decided that this must be Jake. I pulled away from him and he sighed sadly at losing me, and then flopped on his back. There was his nice dick, sticking straight up, so I moved down so I was lying next to him, with my head on his pelvis. I touched it gently, watching it throb as I did, and then adjusted myself so I could take it into my mouth. I went slow, really enjoying him, and started to wonder if I could make him blow before he actually woke up.

“Fuck yeah,” I heard him mutter, even as he grabbed the back of my head. He obviously woke up first, I thought with a smirk. This time he was in charge, and he started fucking my mouth, really jamming his dick down my throat. I put my hand against his pelvis to regulate his depth, and while it didn’t bother him, it made all the difference to me. I could enjoy him without choking. “Ungh!” he grunted loudly, then blasted his load down my throat, which was a good thing, since that way I barely had to taste him. He collapsed back and lay there, letting me admire his body. I finished sucking the last drop out of him, and then smiled at him.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Dude, that was awesome. You have to come to town more often,” he said. I was stoked that he didn’t freak out on me, that he just appreciated my talents.

“You give me a pretty big incentive,” I said, and squeezed his dick. I got up and hopped in the shower, jacking off and cleaning off at the same time. When I got out, he was pulling on his clothes, frowning at how they smelled.

“Time to get home,” he said.

“You can have breakfast first,” I said. We went down to the kitchen to find Stef and Grand eating.

“You remember Gathan’s friend, Jake?” I asked, introducing them.

“Of course,” Grand said. “Welcome. Join us.” Stef raised an eyebrow at me, even as he lusted after Jake’s fine form.

“I was planning to wake you, but you have saved me the effort,” Stef said.

“I’m pretty much ready to go,” I told him.

“Thanks for breakfast,” Jake said. I walked him out and got his phone number. “Call me next time you’re in town.”

“Bet on it,” I said, and then went back in to finish eating.

“He is very handsome,” Stef said.

“You should see him with his clothes off,” I said, and winked at him. Grand gave me a slightly disapproving look. “You didn’t think he looked hot?”

“I didn’t say that,” Grand said grumpily. Stef giggled. “So what are you two doing in Chicago?”

“Shopping,” Stef said. “And sightseeing. Or perhaps we could just stay here and look at Jake.”

“Dude, he’s hot, but Chicago’s got to have more talent. Didn’t you find Cody there?”

“I did,” Stef confirmed.

“I want one of those,” I said. Grand shook his head.

“Did you tell your father you were leaving?” Stef asked.

“I told him at the festival yesterday,” I said. He’d been pretty preoccupied and kind of drunk, so it probably didn’t register. “I’ll call him again when we’re at the airport and it’s too late for him to whine.”

“A good decision,” Stef said. We got our bags, said goodbye to Grand, and got into the limo for the drive to the airport. “Have you talked to Tony lately?”

“I talked to him yesterday,” I said. “He didn’t break up with Dana.”

“Did he say why?”

“He said that it was pretty rude to dump her when she came all the way to St. Louis to visit him,” I said. “That may be true, but it’s a lame-ass excuse.”

“You knew he would have a hard time doing that,” Stef noted.

“I did, and I didn’t bust his balls about it,” I said. I thought I’d been pretty calm about the whole thing, and the way Tony had seemed surprised by my reaction told me that I must have pulled it off. “It bugs me because of how she is, and that she’s going to make this really tough for him.”

“You will pardon me for being surprised at how patient you are being about this,” Stef said.

I shrugged. “What can I do about it anyway? If I freak out, he’ll just be nervous around me. So all I can do is try to be supportive. I told him, though, that I didn’t want to be around her. I made him promise that she wouldn’t be there this weekend.”

“Some time without her around may help him build the courage he needs to dump her,” Stef said.

“I don’t know. I almost think that unless something happens to force him to do it, he won’t. He’ll avoid it. He’s like that, where he’ll dodge an unpleasant conversation.”

“Unlike you, who seem to seek them out,” he teased.

“I’m wrong for not putting up with shit from people?” I challenged.

“I did not say you were wrong, I merely noted you were different from Tony.”

“Right,” I said, to tell him he was full of shit. “I’m going to call Dad.” He nodded, while I dialed the number. It went to voicemail, so I hung up and called back.

“Hello?” he asked, and sounded out of breath. I started laughing.

“Call me when you’re done with your orgasm.” Stef laughed at that.

“What do you want?” he asked, and not all that nicely.

“I’m going to Chicago with Stef. I told you that yesterday, but you were kind of fucked up, so I decided to remind you.”

“I wasn’t fucked up,” he said.

“Did you remember?” I asked. There was a brief pause.

“Have fun in Chicago,” he said, and hung up. Stef and I made fun of them until we got to the plane and settled in for our brief flight to Chicago. “So what made you decide to go to Chicago?”

“In addition to shopping, I promised Max that I would meet with a man who is trying to lease space from him.”

“What kind of space?”

“The J-Bar in Chicago, the bar that is in a building that Max owns, has been acquired by a new owner. He wants to renew the lease, but Max wants to make sure he is maintaining the property and seems reputable.”

“So we’re going to go check out this bar?” I asked.

“I am,” he asserted.

“You’re going to a gay bar for a meeting and you’re not taking me? Seriously?” I challenged. He frowned at me. “Don’t worry. I’ll find something to do while you’re gone.”

“You are making me wish I did not bring you,” he grumbled. “You are not old enough to go into the bar.”

“What if I have an ID that says I am?”

“You have a fake ID?” he asked.

“Maybe,” I said.

“We will see how pleasant you are, and then I will make my decision.”

“I’ll bet I’m very pleasant,” I said, smiling at him.

“Your father will kill me if I take you there,” he said.

“Who would you rather have pissed off at you? Him or me?”

“That is an unenviable choice,” he said. We dropped the topic and enjoyed the rest of our brief flight. We landed at Meigs Field in downtown Chicago and found a limo waiting for us, just as it was supposed to. Stef had a guard with him, a large black dude that was probably in his early 30s, but he sat in front to give us some privacy. We didn’t need it; we chatted about the festival and the people there.

We went to Michigan Avenue, and Stef was like a kid in a candy store, even though the stores here were not all that much different from the stores in the City, or at least they didn’t seem like that to me. I was really helpful and cooperative, and I didn’t bitch once, not even when he made me try on my twelfth pair of pants. I finally made him stop so we could get something to eat, and that seemed to take away his momentum.

The limo took us up to the northern part of the city where he still owned a condo, the one he’d given to Marcel but then bought back from him later on. As soon as he opened the door, he got a big smile on his face. “This was JP’s condo. The first time we made love was here.”

I smiled back at him. “Was it like this back then?”

“No,” he said. He showed me all the changes he’d made before he gave it to Marcel. It had been the typical 1960s style condo, with walls separating off all the rooms. Stef had blown out most of them, so the kitchen, living room, and dining room were all one big open area. He’d made some changes to the bedrooms too. And of course, after he’d bought it back from Marcel, he’d felt the need to redecorate it all over again. The place looked great, and the views were spectacular.

“This place is the bomb,” I said when we were done with our tour.

“You have been a wonderful companion today. I guess that if I am to honor my word, I will have to take you with me tonight,” he said, pretending to be severe.

I rummaged through the bags of stuff we’d bought and found the ‘club clothes’ he’d gotten me, although I’m sure he didn’t think of them as club clothes when he bought them. “I’m wearing these,” I said.

“A good choice,” he said. “We leave in two hours. Time for a short nap, and a shower.” I went into the guest room and crashed until forty-five minutes before we were supposed to leave. I got ready, really working my hair to get it right, then went out to find Stef waiting for me. “Let us go,” he said simply. When we got into the limo, he put his hand on my leg. “Be careful.”

“I brought condoms and lube,” I said seriously. He rolled his eyes at me. “Did you?” That got a frown, so I laughed at him. “You look like Grand.”

He let that soften his mood, and ended up laughing with me. “I will no doubt get a lecture from him on this as well.”

“Tell him to come argue with me instead,” I joked. We got to the J-Bar but instead of going into the bar, we went to the restaurant.

A waiter came up and took our drink order, making sure he carded me. He was a cute, short guy who reminded me of Julian. My fake ID was good, so he didn’t bat an eye. Stef gave me a reproving look, which I ignored. The waiter returned with Stef’s wine and my beer. “I am looking for Jerome Blonski,” Stef said to the waiter.

“He’s probably in the bar,” the waiter said. “I’m not sure if he’s available.”

“I will bet he is,” Stef said smoothly. “Please tell him that Stefan Schluter is here to see him.”

It was funny to see the waiter freak out about that, because as soon as Stef mentioned his name, the waiter recognized him. “Of course, Mr. Schluter. I’ll get him right away.”

“Thank you,” Stef said.

“You’re very popular,” I said, teasing him.

“I am very rich,” Stef corrected, making us both chuckle.

It took almost no time at all for a large guy to appear at our table. He had a big, hooked nose that looked like it had been broken a few times, and was wearing a short-sleeved shirt that bulged from his muscles. This guy looked like a total gym rat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Schluter,” he said, and shook Stef’s hand.

“It is nice to meet you as well, Mr. Blonski. This is my grandson, Will.” He shook my hand too, with a firm grip, just like you were supposed to. He should teach Hank how to shake hands.

“Call me Romey,” he said.

“Not Romeo?” I joked.

He smiled at me. “Romey,” he said firmly. “I’m not that suave.”

“I’ll bet you are,” I said, flirting shamelessly as we all sat down.

Stef gave me a patronizing look, and then began to ask Romey about his past, focusing on what he knew about running a bar. Watching Stef interview him was an experience in and of itself. He had a way of drawing people out, and it worked with Romey, who seemed pretty sincere to me. He talked about how he’d been a boxer, one with pretty big aspirations that didn’t quite pan out. He’d saved up his money and bought a small bar that did well, but then this one became available, and it was bigger and better, so he was grabbing for the brass ring. I ordered dinner and ate while they talked. The food was OK, not great.

“We’re going to work on our menu,” Romey said to me, as if reading my mind.

“It could use a little help,” I said, but smiled.

“I hope you do not mind my coming here and putting you through the third degree,” Stef said, now that he had finished grilling the guy. “With the lease up for renewal, we were hoping to avoid problems like we had with the last owner.”

“You mean Bruno,” he said, and got irritated. “He’s a piece of shit.” His reaction was genuine, but he seemed to regret it.

“I would share your assessment,” Stef said with a grin. “We should probably let you get back to your bar.”

“It was truly an honor to meet you,” Romey said sincerely.

“The pleasure was mine,” Stef said.

“Here are VIP cards for you guys,” he said, handing each of us a card. Stef seemed alarmed that I got one. “If you want, I can show you the rest of the place.” Romey was giving Stef his ‘I want to fuck you’ look. I was willing to bet it worked, I thought, chuckling to myself.

“Go ahead,” I told Stef. “I want to dance.”

“Very well,” Stef said, and let Romey lead him off.

I went into the bar and checked it out, both the place and the dudes. Damn, there were some hot guys here. I went to the bar and ordered a vodka tonic, paid for my drink, then pivoted away from the bar to watch everyone.

There was a guy on the dance floor, gyrating against some twink who looked like he was tweaking out on something. The guy was tall, probably about 6’5”, and really muscular. He had dark brown hair and a long face shaped like an oval. His hair was short, but not so short to keep one of his locks from flopping down across his right temple. We went from glancing at each other, to watching each other, to all but staring at each other. As soon as the song changed, he said something to the twink, who gave him a pissed off look and stormed off. The guy shrugged, and then sauntered off the dance floor straight toward me.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” I replied.

“Wanna dance?”

“Yeah,” I said, and followed him out onto the dance floor. The music seemed to flow through me, and I felt myself moving to it without even thinking. It was kind of like my experience in Italy last year, when I’d gone to a club there. I was a pretty good dancer but I had no sense of rhythm. That seemed to change, and I was actually having fun. I was kind of surprised to find that I wasn’t nervous at all. The dude spun me around and moved up behind me, rubbing up against my ass. I responded by moving back into him.

“You’re fucking hot,” he growled into my ear.

“Dude, so are you,” I said back. It was hard to talk and hear over the noise, but his voice came through crystal clear. “What’s up there?” I asked, gesturing at some windows overlooking the dance floor.

“That’s the VIP area. Got to have a card to get in.”

“Wanna check it out with me?” I asked. I pulled out my card and he grinned.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” he said. I laughed, and we walked over to the stairway where a bouncer checked my card and let us pass. We went upstairs and the dude I was with seemed to know what this place was all about. He led me to a room and closed the door, clicking the lock as he did. “We’re alone,” he said, with his deep husky voice.

He grabbed me forcefully and pulled me to him, his lips locking onto mine. He wasn’t a great kisser, but the dominance he transmitted through his mouth made up for it. He pushed me to my knees and pulled out his dick. I almost laughed, because it looked so much like Jake’s. He jammed it into my mouth and started fucking my face, and I let him go for a bit then stopped him. I stood up, pulled out a condom, and handed it to him. “Fuck me,” I said.

I dropped my pants and bent over, pausing to hand him a packet of lube. He worked quickly, sliding the condom on and lubing me up so fast I was kind of surprised when I felt his dick pushing at my pucker. I forced myself to open up and pushed back into him. He popped past my ring, both of us sighing as he did, then sank his dick into me. He let me get used to him, and then really started to fuck me. I went along for the ride, letting him set the pace. He seemed like a player, so I figured he’d have some endurance, but he blew pretty fast. He pulled out slowly, and then ran his hands along my ass as I jacked myself off. After I blew, he tossed me a couple of paper towels, tossed the condom in the trash, and unlocked the door. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” I said. I put my pants back on, went into the VIP bathroom to make sure I looked alright and to spritz on some of the nasty cologne they had there, then went back downstairs. I hung out at the bar for maybe five minutes before Stef came up to me, looking pretty disheveled.

“You are enjoying yourself?” he asked.

“Dude, you look like a whore,” I said, giving him shit. “The bathroom is over there.”

He gave me a dirty look. “You are ready to go?”

“Fine,” I said, even though I could have stayed there a lot longer. We went out to the limo and relaxed into the leather seats.

“Did you have fun?” he asked.

“Yeah. Cool place. Did you have fun?”

“I did,” he said.

“So was Romey hung like a horse?”

He frowned at me, and then giggled. “He was not. But he was fun.” Sounded just like the guy I’d been with. “Thank you for not getting into any trouble.”

“No problem,” I said, thinking that his definition of trouble and mine were quite different.

Will is back.