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Larkin was waiting for me in the parking lot once again when I arrived back at the office. After my shower, I’d agonised over what to wear for a while, before defiantly pulling on my regular jeans and sneakers. Holt liked them, and I liked them. They were comfy.
During the week, I’d washed the T-shirt he’d left at my place on Sunday, so I decided to put that on. It was a little tight, which made me excited for Holt’s reaction, and I had a brief moment of feeling self-conscious about the tassels painted over my nipples as I got out of my car, but a couple of guys making their way toward the line gave me approving grins when they saw it.
“Awesome Tasselled Tussler merch, bro,” one of them said, while the other eyed me up and down in a way that made my cheeks flush.
“You wanna stand with us in line?” he asked, stopping to flash me a big grin as his friend chuckled and rolled his eyes.
“He’s Holt’s, fellas,” Larkin drawled as he sauntered over. “Wanna get blacklisted for hitting on the boss’s hot dadbod boyfriend?”
Boyfriend? Good lord. I didn’t know if we were there yet, but my chest went warm at the word.
“Damn.” The guy chuckled, casting me one more appreciative glance—for some unknown reason—before he and his friend walked off.
“Sick shirt, bro.” Larkin held out his fist for a bump, which I hesitantly returned. “You been playing Moth Simulator? I’m up to forty fucking moths to one lightbulb. I am killing it, dude. Did you know when you reach fifty, it unlocks a giant moth that you can try and fly to the moon?”
I blinked as we started walking to the entrance, once again bypassing the line. “Oh, wow. Uh, no, I didn’t know that. I’m not great at it.”
“I showed it to Kit. They’re obsessed with it now. They wanna hang out with you sometime. Said you have impeccable taste in games.”
“Oh.” I flushed with pleasure. “C-cool. Yeah, I’d be up for hanging out with them.”
With an actual mothperson. Wow.
“I think they’re a little too into it, though.” Larkin pushed the door open. “Walked past their dressing room yesterday and heard them in there saying, ‘That’s right, baby, fly toward that lightbulb. Fuuuuck, you’re a dirty little bogong moth, aren’t you?’ I mean, I guess they could’ve been talking about an actual moth in the room, but still. Kinda hot in a weird way, I guess?”
“Um—”
“Back again, huh?” Ludo chuckled when we reached the door to the stairwell, already crossing my name off the list. “You really worked your magic on the boss, sweetheart.”
“Ugh, yeah. Holt’s all, like, perky and shit.” Larkin rolled his eyes. “He keeps smiling at me. It’s gross, dude.”
I gave Ludo a nervous smile as Larkin opened the door and ushered me through. As it shut behind us, I whispered, “What, um… is Ludo?”
“Werewolf, like Seb. And Brian.”
I side-eyed Larkin. “Are they friends?”
He shrugged jerkily. “Guess so. Holt told me Ludo recommended Seb for the job when he decided he wanted a bodyguard, even though it’s not like anyone’s trying to freaking hurt him.”
I already knew that Holt only had a bodyguard to look cool, so my mouth twitched.
“Well, maybe there’s a rival wrestling league manager out there,” I said solemnly. “Trying to poach the wrestlers. Or the mob is trying to muscle in on Holt’s turf.”
Lizard Granny Mafia. I was convinced that was a thing now, despite seeing no evidence. Yet.
Larkin shot me an adorably wide-eyed look as he opened the door to the basement. “You think?”
“Could be.” I nodded seriously. “The business world is cutthroat.”
“Do you think Seb would, like, dive in front of a bullet for Holt?” Larkin asked me in a hushed voice. As we made our way down the stairs, his skin melted into its pale blue, wings unfurling through the discreet slits on the back of his suit jacket.
“Oh yeah. Without a doubt. Beat people up for him too.”
“But he’s so… quiet. He just does crosswords all the time.”
“So? It probably relaxes him. You play Moth Simulator all the time.”
Larkin’s cheeks flushed a darker blue. “I guess. I just can’t imagine it. You know… Seb beating someone up.”
