Making it Personal (10 page)

Rick flushed, his cheeks a delicate shade of pink. He let out an exaggerated sigh. “Oh well, I had to ask.” He touched his cheek briefly and then stepped back. “We still mates?”

“Hell yes.” Will grinned. “It’s good to know I’ll have at least one person in my corner around here.”

Rick returned his grin. “Oh, more than one, mate. We like you. Okay, so Karen might have it in for you for a while. She looked bad, I have to say. You hit her pretty hard.”
Will nodded, chagrined. He could have done it differently, but it had been a knee jerk reaction.
That’s what a lack of sleep and misery will do to you.
“I’ll have to apologize.”

“Good idea.” Rick gestured toward the door. “C’mon, let’s get out of here. You’ll have them all thinking something’s going on in the gents.” He winked. “No such luck.”

Will laughed and ruffled his tousled hair. “You’re a bad boy.”

Rick’s brows shot up. “You’re only discovering this now?
How
long have you worked here?” Both men chuckled and then left the bathroom. The kitchen was empty. Will grabbed another mug of coffee and after giving Rick a warm but brief hug, he went to his office and closed the door. Sitting down behind his desk, he took a drink and gazed at the still closed door. His one consolation was that at least he was out now. Unfortunately it might have made things more awkward for Blake. And judging by Blake’s reaction, his boss was distinctly unhappy about this turn of events.

Oh well. It looked as though Melissa was going to get her way after all. Maybe it was time he started looking for another job. It looked as though he was going to need one.

Why the hell wasn’t he drunk?

Will couldn’t understand it. He sat at a corner table in the club, staring at the empty shot glasses with tired eyes. The music boomed out and the air was filled with chatter. G.A.Y was his favorite club, and tonight it seemed to be the rest of the world’s favorite, too. He’d never seen it so packed. Of course, the go-go boys on stage might have had something to do with it. He watched them gyrate around their poles, clad only in the skimpiest of silver lycra shorts which showed off their equipment
very
nicely, thank you. Will was hiding. He’d glimpsed a few people he knew, but he was in no [ he but mood to talk to anyone. Erroll, his waiter for the evening, sashayed his way past Will’s table and gave a quick glance down.
“Another, Will?”

Will hesitated. It was tempting. He’d come out tonight with the express intention of getting drunk, but the alcohol didn’t seem to be working. He couldn’t understand it.
So a fewmore shots can’t hurt, then
. To his malfunctioning brain, that actually made sense. “Yeah, same again, thanks, Erroll.” The boy nodded and waltzed off toward the bar. Will sagged back into the padded seat. Seems like this wasn’t his day.

“Where’ve you been, you bitch? Haven’t seen you here in ages!”

 

Will’s head jerked in the direction of the voice. “Oli!” His face broke into a smile.

Oli grinned widely. “Whatcha doin’ stuck in the corner, Will? You hidin’ from someone?” He winked and Will laughed. “Can I join you?”

“That depends. Where’s the wife?”
Oli pursed his lips. “Watch it, bitch.
I’m
the wife.” His eyes gleamed. “Ben’s at the bar. He’ll be here in a sec.” Will gestured toward the seat which ran around the table and Oli plonked himself down with a dramatic sigh. He leaned across and kissed Will exuberantly on the lips before sprawling out across the seat. “My feet are killin’ me. I swear, he’s had me on the dance floor for
hours
!” Will laughed. He knew how much Oli loved to dance, but his passion was fully matched by that of his partner, Ben. The pair could be found at the club most weekends, usually surrounded by a large group of equally gorgeous young men.

“How long have you two been together now?”

Oli’s face stretched into a wide smile. “Two years this September.” His mouth dropped open. “Ooh! You don’t know, do you?” Will was puzzled. Oli held up his left hand and waggled it in front of Will’s face. A white gold band adorned his ring finger.

Will grinned. “That’s great! When did this happen?” Oli beamed. “During our trip to New Zealand and Australia.” He gave an exaggerated sigh. “It was magical.”

“You chatting up strange blokes again, babe?” Ben appeared with their drinks. He winked at Will.

Will loved Ben’s Antipodean accent. He was originally from New Zealand but had lived in Sydney for a while before moving to London. He gave Ben a nod as he sat down next to Oli, draping an arm around his shoulder, Oli leaning into him immediately. They made a good looking pair. Oli was fair and Ben dark, but both men were lean. Will liked Ben’s muscled biceps and ripped torso, his dark blue T-shirt clinging to him. Oli wore his usual jeans and T-shirt, this one depicting two guys embracing. And of course there was the hoodie. Oli and his hoodies rarely parted company.

“Congratulations.”

Ben’s smile showed off his white teeth. “Aw, thanks, Will.” He took a sip of his beer. “We haven’t seen much of you around here. You been busy? How’s the ‘escort’ business?” He crooked his fingers into quotation marks and leered.

Will grimaced. “Sore point. I haven’t done a lot of work for them recently, to be honest.” He glared at Ben. “And I
am
a fucking escort, so watch what you say, bitch!” His grin made it clear he was joking.

“Wait a minute,” Oli interjected. “Didn’t you have a night of rampant hot sex with a guy? I seem to recall getting a text from you that you were about to have your first client—literally.” Hi [era rampans forehead creased into a frown. “Did I get that wrong?”

Will sighed. “No, you got it right. And it was only the once.”

 

Ben snickered. “Was it that bad?”

Will chuckled. “Oh, the irony.” Both men looked puzzled. “Actually, it was that good. In fact, it was probably the best sex of my life.”

Oli’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
Will shook his head. “I wish I was,” he said sadly.

Oli gazed at him with concern. “What happened, babe?” Ben’s face wore a similar expression. Will was suddenly glad of the opportunity to get the whole mess off his chest. For the next ten minutes or so, he related the story, finishing with the morning’s event.

Ben stared at him. “Let me get this straight. You finally told this middle-aged bitch to stop sexually harassing you, and outed yourself in the process?” He guffawed. “Only you, Will.”

Oli gave him a dig in the ribs. “Show him a bit of sympathy. Can’t you see he’s hurting?”

“Ouch!” Ben rubbed his ribs, frowning. “Aren’t you being a bit overly dramatic, babe? I mean, it’s not like it’s going to drastically affect his life there, is it?”

Oli rolled his eyes. “Oh, for a highly intelligent man, you can be so
thick
sometimes.” He kissed his partner tenderly on the lips. “Will’s in love with his boss,” he explained patiently.

Will gave a start. He hadn’t said that—had he? Oli was watching him intently, a sympathetic expression on his face. His beautiful eyes grew round as he saw Will’s reaction.

“Oh my God,” Oli said softly. “And here was me thinking
Ben
was blind.”

 

Will simply stared at him. In love with Blake?

Oli smiled. “Will, the way you look when you talk about Blake, the way you sound… Hate to break it to you, babe, but it’s obvious. You’re in love with him.” He gazed fondly at Will.

Will suddenly felt hollow. “It doesn’t matter,” he said dully. “He’s going to marry Melissa.”

 

Ben snorted. “And you’re just going to sit back and let that happen? Like hell!”

“Well, what the fuck should I do? Got any suggestions?” Will demanded. “’Cause from where
I’m
sitting, there isn’t a fucking thing I can do about it.” His cheeks grew hot.

Ben grinned evilly. “Get him within three feet of me and I’ll make him see what a complete ass he’s being.” His expression changed. He gazed earnestly at Will. “He’s about to make the biggest mistake of his life, Will. Can you imagine the horror his life will be from now on? Married to a total bitch who’s not only in it for the money, but also wants him to play it straight. No boyfriends in secret, either. And all because he’s afraid to come out.”

“Now, hang on,” Oli said, laying a hand on Ben’s arm. “I can totally see why Blake is doing this. I mean, there’s his company at stake.” He shifted his attention to Will. “But Ben’s right, love. Your Blake is about to ruin his life.” There was that sympathetic look again. “If you love him, you can’t let him do this —not without telling him how you feel about him.”

Will groaned. “Oh hell.” They were right, of course. “But what if I tell him and it changes nothing?” Ben’s voice was gentle. “That’s a risk you have to take. But think about this: what if telling him changes everything?” He locked [ at eyes with Will.

Will gazed back at Ben. It was a possibility he didn’t dare consider. It was too much like tempting Fate. Ben slapped his hand down onto the table.

“Enough thinking. Let’s change the subject before you go mad. I’ve got something else for you to think about. Want to come to Stephen and Darren’s place next week?” He leered. “It’s gonna be wild.”

“Ooh, yeah!” Oli bounced on his seat. “Come with us. It’ll be like old times.”

Will knew without being told what was taking place at their mutual friends’ home. Stephen and Darren were famous for their sex parties. Ben and Oli had actually met at one of their parties just over two years ago.

“The mood I’m in, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

Besides, it wasn’t something that particularly interested Will. He’d been once, as a guest of Oli and Ben, but group sex wasn’t really his thing. He knew the couple played, often sharing a third, but they only played together.

“Aw, please?” Oli shifted along the bench and stroked his hand down Will’s chest, before cupping his cheek and kissing him on the lips. “We haven’t played with you for ages.” His eyes glittered with lust. Will hesitated. He didn’t want to offend them, but he wasn’t sure he could do that. It felt too much like betrayal.

“It’s only cheating if you’re actually in a relationship, babe.” Damn Ben’s intuition. Ben nodded knowingly. “Don’t deny that’s what you were thinking about. I know you too well.” That was true. He and Ben went back longer than he cared to remember, before Oli had come into his life. Ben tilted his head. “Is it something that might interest Blake?”

N o w
that
had Will thinking. “Possibly.” He remembered Blake all those weeks ago, watching the orgy on his computer. “When is it?” Not that he was going to attend. But it couldn’t hurt to know when it was happening. Just in case.

“Next Wednesday.” Ben met his gaze. “If by some miracle you
do
get him to come along, you’d better make sure he knows how it works.” Oli was nodding next to him.

Will knew what he meant. Anyone who attended a sex party had to know what was expected of them beforehand. He wasn’t sure he could go through with it. But if it was something that Blake wanted to do, Will would suck it up and go along. It might be a nice parting gift, their last time together before Melissa got her claws into him. Oli’s idea of telling Blake how he felt was romantic, but this was real life, not romance. There was no way Blake was about to give up his company. And it didn’t matter if Will was in love with Blake. Blake didn’t love him. He couldn’t. Because if Blake loved him, he wouldn’t be about to give Will up.

Will gazed at the couple. “I’ll think about it.” That was as far as he was willing to go. Besides, it was a moot point. For him to invite Blake, they’d have to talking to each other, and based on his experience this past week? Wasn’t gonna happen.

Chapter Nine
I miss him
.

For about the umpteenth time that Monday morning, just like every day for the past week, the thought flashed across Blake’s mind. He missed Will so much, he ached. And just like every other day, he berated himself constantly.
Why the fuck didn’t you stand up to Melissa
? Well, duh.
If you’d told her where to get off, you could be with Will right now
^

But it’s not just the sex you miss, is it
? God, that was so true. Blake missed Will’s smile, his sense of humor, the way his eyes lit up when Blake walked into his office. He missed the easy way they used to talk, the way Will anticipated him. He missed the man’s efficiency, his confidence. He missed his voice, that rich, deep voice that made him grow warm inside.

Oh fuck.
What have I done
?
What you needed to do
.

Blake wasn’t so sure anymore. This past week had really brought home how much Will had come to mean to him. With each new day, the pain increased. He watched Will surreptitiously, noting the dark circles under his eyes, the pallor of his cheeks, the careful way he held himself when Blake was there. Will was hurting. And that was Blake’s fault.

And it was beginning to dawn on him the magnitude of what he was agreeing to do. Was the company worth so much to him that he was prepared to be miserable for the rest of his life? He couldn’t even comfort himself with the idea of divorcing Melissa after a convenient period of time had passed. Once she got her claws into him, Blake doubted she would be willing to let him go. There would forever be hanging over him the threat of telling his father.

One thing was certain. He couldn’t take the cold silence that he’d let build up between them anymore. At first he’d blamed Will. It was all Will’s fault. If he hadn’t gotten it into his head to fuck Blake in the office, then Melissa would never have caught them out and none of this would be happening.
He’d
started this ball rolling. And then he’d come out to the entire office staff. What the fuck?
All this because I can’t be certain if my father is a homophobic asshole
. What if he’d got it wrong? What if Justin Davis turned out to be a perfectly reasonable man who would be delighted to know his son was happy being with a man? Some pretty big ifs there, including the one he didn’t dare to voice, as if the mere act of saying it might in some way jinx it. But this was a time for honesty. Fuck it.