AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fuck, he’s perfect. “Okay.”
I grab my clothes and hurry to throw them back on, keeping my eyes on the ground.
It’s not until I step into the hall that he says, “Sweet dreams, angel.”
15
SEBASTIAN
I expectthe world to change. New colors, new smells. Anything to reflect how the axis of my existence has shifted. But everything appears to be the same. The only one different is me.
Despite the chill of the morning, it’s a nice day. The sun is out and most of the locals are using the excuse to venture outside. I wish I could say I’m taking it in, but I’m not. I’ve barely said two words to Aiden since we left for our run.
What the hell am I supposed to say to him? How’s work? Oh, by the way, I had the best orgasm of my life with your sister last night, and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same.
Fuck.
And look. It’s not that I think Aiden is going to beat the shit out of me for desecrating Bee or anything. He’s been pissed off at guys who treated her badly before—we both have; some assholes shouldn’t be allowed to date, honestly—but he’s not unreasonable.
At least, I hope not.
Luckily, he’s picking up the slack, keeping the conversation going by talking about his work at A Hire Love, Elmsford’s answer to event planning. As factory manager, it’s his job to make sure inventory goes in and out on time.
“And there’s a company that will deliver all the food?” I ask.
“I know what you’re thinking. It’s just like that idea you had when we were working at the bar on 79th. Jerry’s or, uh, Jimbo’s.”
“It was the Quarry. Wow, your memory is awful. Seriously. They let you run an entire warehouse?”
“It’s a long con.”
“Maybe this is why you can’t get a second date.” Aiden flips me off, but I spend the rest of the run stuck on what he said.
Ten years ago, I talked to Aiden about an idea I’d had based on my days tending every campus party I could for spare cash. At the time, I’d considered starting my own business. I’d seen mobile bartending services start to take off and knew we didn’t have anything like it locally. Maybe we could even put a spin on it and offer a mixology class or partner with craft businesses in the area and offer a “cosmos and crochet” kind of deal. I knew plenty of skilled bar staff from a decade of working in the industry, and Aiden had the tip on every baby shower, birthday, and bachelorette party in town. But if I was serious, I’d need to quit my day job and we’d need some capital behind us. Both were risks I wasn’t sure I could afford to take.
Not anymore.
“You look like you need breakfast and a longer talk, but someone refuses to quit his dead-end day job.”
“Yeah, yeah.” We’d had this conversation before. Many times. “Someone has to babysit the boss.”
My boss is a twenty-six-year-old economics post-grad who has only worked with us for a year. I trained the guy, and now he’s my boss. Look, credit where credit is due—he learned everything, played the management game, and got ahead. It’s not like I want the job.
Working forty hours a week for a company whose prime directive appears to be “how many employees can we stiff out of benefits?” is a never-ending source of frustration. Depending on the day, I wake up angry and reminded that this is how the world works—forced into a system built by and propagating capitalistic, white supremacy. It convinces people that working hard, hustling, doing more, more, more is a reward. For what? To still be beholden to someone else’s rules?
It’s a shit system. But what’s the alternative?
There’s something about seeing a guy a decade younger than me know what he wants and get it that really makes me take a hard look at my life.
“Achieved all that, and he’s only twenty-six. What the fuck am I doing?”
Aiden rolls his eyes. “We’re in our thirties, not dead.”
“Oh yeah? How’s the knee?”
He flips me off. “Fuck you. That’s how it is.”
We round another corner, and I can’t hold it in anymore. This is my best friend. If I’d kissed anyone else last night, I wouldn’t hesitate.
