Page 75 of Free Fall

Henry: Leo is cuter than you will ever be. Don’t use them to curry favor. I’m coming to visit my grandson just after christmas since my daughter won’t come here now. I’ll see you then.

It wasn’t an all out rejection. I couldn’t work out how dangerous that ‘I’ll see you then’ should be, though. Was it said with friendliness, or was it a threat? Guess I should have 911 dialed on my cell ready. It made me smile despite the glimmer of a threat. Even the smallest bit of communication with my best friend was a winner. Fuck, I was turning into a sap.

“You okay?” Zelda questioned, appearing in the doorway, Leo on her hip. She studied me like she knew something was wrong, but didn’t want to push.

“Hey Leo,” I said, standing.

He looked at me, reaching his little arms out for me to snag him. I did, holding him in front of me. “Yah?” he said, his voice high and sweet.

“You wanna help me win Grandad over?” I teased, joking, dipping my face to his. His chubby fingers cupped my cheeks, and I nuzzled him, making him laugh.

“You spoke to Dad?” Zelda asked in a soft tone.

I shook my head. “Just a text. But Zel, it wasn’t awful.”

Zelda ran her fingertips through my hair and left me alone with our son. Things were getting there.

The last of the staff cleared out after our final meeting before opening night. Christmas had passed in a happy blur, with mess and presents and too much food, and now we were staring down the barrel of a club opening. Something neither of us had ever done. But it would be so worth it.

Zelda smiled at me from behind the bar as she finished packing the glasses under the counter. We had a staff of thirty, some dancers or waiters, some bar staff only. A good mix of ages, genders and styles. Zelda expressed how excited she was to see some of them dance, especially because Avery was going to be putting on the occasional show.

I would need to tell my oldest twin, he could never take his eyes off Avery when they were in the same room. The idea made me laugh, and I was still chuckling as I reached the bar, having locked all the doors.

“What’s got you tittering?” Zelda asked, leaning her elbows beside the empty garnish dishes.

“Avery and Cole,” I replied.

She grinned, her entire face lighting up like we were sharing a secret. “Ah, you’ve noticed too. It’s the only time I get to see Cole anything other than achingly cool.” She mocked him, dropping her features to a scowl and dipping her head to look moody.

I laughed, and we gossiped for a while as we continued setting up the bar. The last order of fresh items would be in tomorrow, then it was New Year’s Eve and things would kick off for real. Seren and Avery were keeping Leo at their place until it was over, and he was excited for his extended sleepover. I missed him, but having his mother to myself was a gift.

“We have the night to ourselves, you know,” Zelda said once she finished wiping down the draft taps. It had been a huge learning curve fitting those in below us. Tricky fuckers.

“Mm,” I agreed, ideas banging around in my mind. Since the time she’s stripped for me here, since she’d run just a few steps before I’d caught her, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about letting her loose for real. Hunting her down. “Remember the first time?” I asked, tilting my head as I studied her. She was oblivious to the plans I had developing, but they already had my cock thickening in my pants.

She laughed, carefree. “Like I could ever forget that, Luca, I think I’mstillwalking funny.”

I pulled her to me and kissed her head, wrapping my arms around her front. She sank into me with such familiar ease, sighing in satisfaction and contentment. Ah, it was fun to fuck with her, to exist in this tiny space just before she sensed where my mind was. She tried to step away and finish the work, but I tugged her back by her hair, making her gasp and stiffen.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice breathy, her body relaxing again as she realized what was going on. We were alone. The lights were low. This place was vast.

“Hmm,” I hummed in her ear, letting my breath tickle her, pulling her head to expose her neck for me. I ran my tongue up her shoulder to her jaw, grinning when she shivered at my touch. She pressed back into me, my erection settling between her ass cheeks. I thrust up between them and she sighed.

“Luca…” she breathed, her voice both a question and a beg. I continued running my hands over her, cupping her tits, stroking down her stomach and swirling around her belly button. My fingertips skated along her hips, round to her ass where I grabbed her, squeezing the flesh.

“I’ve not been able to get something out of my head,” I muttered in her ear. “You want me to tell you what it is?”

“Tell me.”

“The last time I chased you, back in that maze, you didn’t know who I was.” I let my mind drift to the image of her terror, her make-up streamed puppet costume, the way the strings fluttered behind her as she fled around corners. “You ran so pretty.”

“Why are you bringing that up?” She remained relaxed, letting me touch her, but her voice was more strained.

I laughed. “This time, you’ll know who’s chasing you.”

She twisted to look at me, both shock and lust on her face, as she stayed in my grasp. “That’s what you want?” she asked at just a whisper. “To hunt me down again?”

I nodded and hummed, toying with a strand of her hair, running my touch over her cheeks, her chin, painting imaginary marionette lines on her skin. “There are still rooms in this place we haven’t fucked, and I want them all ticked off before opening night.”

---