Luke had been right. By the next day gossip about his supposed closet life was spreading as fast as wildfire in drought. He got quite a few calls from his closer company members, to whom all he confirmed the alleged stories. He got quite angered at the cold and/or hostile reactions from people he had considered close and I had to sympathise. It really was ridiculous how people tended to look at other people's sexualities.
After a handful of calls he shut off his phone and went for a much lengthier run than usual, so much lengthier that for a moment I wondered if he'd even come back. Coming back he didn't even bother to shower before pulling me into bed and begging for love without any words. And boy did he want it deep, slow and passionate... but on the bright side, we actually lasted more than five minutes for a change. We actually lasted a nice sensual half an hour.
We stayed cuddled in bed, his head in the nook of my shoulder, an arm and leg draped over me. It still surprised me that he wasn't stuck in the alpha-beta male roles. I was glad he wasn't. I mean some days I wanted to cuddle, some days I wanted to be cuddled, so I guess he was the ying to my yang. Anyway, people focused too much on labels and too less on love.
I worked that evening, though I'd have very much preferred to stay in bed with my sweet man. At least he stayed at my place, using the universal excuse of keeping Jemma company. Well she did love him, so it was a good excuse and I did want him there.
Should I ask him to move in? Okay, maybe give it a few weeks... And tell him you love him first, maybe?
I quit that day, sorta'.
My direct manager "gently" reminded me to keep my horrendous lifestyle private and not to flaunt around the town with it - apparently a regular, who might had seen us last night, had made a comment about the bars tolerant work environment and the bar had a reputation to take care of, which was not being that tolerant as it turned out. I broke his nose. I had no idea I had it in me. I never hit anyone in my life.
Higher management got involved and for the first time in my life I called Kathrine as John had made me promise that if I'd at any point ran into any legal hustles, I'd call her, and that definitely seemed like a legal hustle. A good old dance of the pot and kettle, sorting out who was the dirtiest.
With Kaths arrival the situation very quickly turned from me having to pay them compensation into them having to compensate me. I knew Kath was, well, simply put, the meanest and baddest of them out there, but jesus... she had them down even before she flashed her name and her name was almost as big as it got in our town. I have no idea how I figured that out just a few weeks ago...
We agreed upon a deal that they'd give me an epic letter of recommendation, pay out all the benefits I would have been entitled to, plus my three months wage and let me leave by the moment if we'd all let the matter drop.
Actually I was glad it ended. With everything Luke, I'd momentarily forgotten how much I disliked it there - I did like my work, but not that environment. And before Luke, well, I had Luke there, the impossible conquest of a man whom I now had in my bed. No fucking idea how I managed that.
I gathered the sparse belongings I had there and didn't even give a single room a second look, just wondering how I'd survived there for so long. The only demanding part of working there was maneuvering around regulations, otherwise you could just lay back and pretend you were brain dead. Maybe I was just too ambitious for them? Ehh, getting that leaving package Kathrine forged for me might have just been the very best thing that happened to me in that building. Besides Luke of course.
"David," Kathrine prompted for my attention as I left the staff entrance for the last time in my life. She was casually smoking a cigarette and I had to note she did have a certain appeal to her, I'd known her for years, but I hadn't really ever considered her a person with whom I'd exchange more than a few brief sentences with. "You're up to concert season now aren't you?" she asked.
"Yeah, starts in a week, goes for three months." I answered as I wondered over her agenda. Kath was not a woman to small talk. Ever. There had to be an agenda, a goal for the conversation, a reason to even open your mouth and spend energy on talking.
At a time I considered her a bitch for submerging herself into work and essentially ignoring John throughout her "projects'', but that's how they rolled, they both needed their independence. Now I saw how they constantly challenged each other, pushed themselves further and further and jesus... the dedication to each other was admirable. They might have fucked through half of the town, but one had to envy how they looked at each other.
"Good," she noted as she exhaled smoke, reached in her pocket and handed me a card, "We'll be done with the construction and set up in two months. I want you, so do stop by one day, I'm usually there every noon." she told me, sucked on her smoke again and walked away without another gesture or word.
I checked the card she gave me, if I wasn't mistaking then the address was of an old distilleries that had been in the ruins for most of my lifetime, that'd definitely make an interesting venue. Ah, the fuck, might as well check the place out, but I seriously doubted I could work under Kath and John, no pun intended. I mean to work for your ex-lover and his wife? Like damn, how complicated can you go?
I asked Luke to meet me in Wolfies. I just didn't feel like going home, I guess I wanted to "flaunt" around my lifestyle. Plus Wolfies was the kind of a bar where all the business folk and hipsters, vegans and omnies, gays and straights could come together and drink as one. The owner, Nate, didn't put up with any form of hate, literally one hateful look and you were out. I always liked him, he was just such a simple man with amazing values. There was a time I had a little crush on him, but it was rather the type of a crush that I wanted someone who was like him, but not him-him. To think of it Luke had quite a few quantities that matched Nates.
"What the hell did you do kid?" Nate asked me the minute I sat down in the bar. He kind of had a right to call me kid, in the end he was twenty something years older than me. I hadn't even realised that my hand had bruised up fairly and I gave Nate a quick overview of the events. He too noted that he didn't think I had it in me, but was glad I did. He said he'd given me a job without even a blink of an eye, but he'd just hired a new bartender. He offered to check with his buddy bar owners, but I told him off, I had the concert season anyway and in a way I needed to reboot. And spend all the time I could with Luke. Nate insisted in making it a standing offer and left me with my drink.
Luke joined me not too long after and I gave him the run over as well. He was displeased to say the least with my former manager and a little too happy about me smashing his nose, but noted that I could have just ignored him.
"Hell no, I'd rather move to fucking Sweden or Germany or where ever the fuck people act as grown ups, I'm not hiding, I'm not letting anyone push me into hiding and anyone who has a problem with that can go fuck themselves. No one who's in a fucking consenting relationship between two adults should be shamed into hiding. I love you Luke and I'm NOT going to hide it."
As I finished my bottled up rant, it took me a few moments to realise what'd I said. Well, shit, I guess I got that off my chest...
I shyly glanced over to Luke, who stared at me with raised eyebrows and a smirk I couldn't decipher. "You love me?" he asked as if to confirm what'd he heard.
I blushed crimson, but then decided to shrug it off, the fact's a fact, I loved him, I wanted to love him and everything that came with love. "Yes, yes I do." I said with the calmest and most content tone I could manage.
"Well, that's just... thank god." he said and smiled widely before pulling me in for a kiss, "I love you too."
"You better." I grinned at him and kissed him again.
"You two better stop before Nate kicks you out," snickered a female voice I didn't recognise. I leaned away from Luke and found a gorgeously beautiful woman on the other side of the bar, like magazine/TV beautiful. "Some ice for your hand." she said, offering me a towel full of ice.
"You're the new bartender?!" I gasped at the sight in front of me. I didn't usually check out women, I mean never, but damn... how did Nate get such a woman to work for him? Jesus F, she just... looked like a piece of Hollywood in my local bar.
"Yes, Alex," she noted amusedly and moved her hand in a 'you taking the ice or not' way.
I took the ice from her and said "David, Luke," as I pointed to us correspondingly, "sorry for the gawking, I just... Wolfies seems a little out of your league."
"I'd like to make that decision for myself." she said, rolling her eyes at me with a smile, and backed away, "Though I'll take a compliment when it's served like that."
With us back to ourselves Luke teased me a fair amount over checking out Alex, but it was all good natured. He too had to note that she seemed a little out of place there, but enh, none of our business. He asked if she was kidding about Nate kicking us out, but I had to confirm that as the truth, he did not appreciate making out at his bar, a few kisses were fine, but no almost foreplay style making out - no matter gay or straight.
