Page 26 of Vesper Martinis

“Hiya,” she wiggles her fingers at him, and I look down at the floor. “You guys have a nice chat?” she asks with a sly smile.

I narrow my eyes at her, but she continues. “Not that I heard anything. You two were just in there for a long time.”

“Yes,” Pierce stutters. I can feel him looking at me. “Our… chat took longer than expected. But we’ve finished now.”

“Was it about your crush?” she asks.

What. The. Fuck. Minnie.

“Crush?” Pierce asks, intrigued.

“Yeah,” I look at Minnie, who sets her drink down because she’s a girl who likes to talk with her hands. “It was mentioned once or twice. I figured since you were his boss, maybe you knew and were… telling him off or something.”

Pierce can’t see the face I’m making at Minnie, miming for her to can it.

Then he turns to me, and I quickly put my hands down so he doesn’t see me running my thumb over my neck.

“I had no idea you had a crush on me, Wesley,” he says, smiling.

Is there some sort of a hole I can jump into and never return to?

It’s one thing to have a one-night stand with someone. It’s another for them to know you have a crush. That implies that you think of them a lot. And Minnie’s tone suggests I’m very close to being the guy who writes Mr. and Mr. Donnelley in his notebook with hearts. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but if we’re to maintain a professional/sexual relationship, I can’t be seen simping for the guy. Even though I kind of already am.

“Yeah, well. You say things when you’re drunk.” I lead Pierce to the front door as Minnie calls out, “You told me at like nine in the morning, dude!”

I roll my eyes, vowing to deal with her later.

I practically throw Pierce out, which makes me wince.

“Sorry,” I say as I shut the door behind us.

“Don’t worry about it. Your secret is safe with me.” Pierce is still smiling, which makes me feel a little better. He isn’t making fun of me, which I didn’t think he would, but you never know.

He steps towards me, my back against the door and his lips close to mine. His eyes seem to search mine for something, and once he's satisfied with whatever he’s looking for, he smiles and says, “It’s been a slice, Wesley. Thank you for accepting my apologies. See you tomorrow.”

And with that, he leaves me leaning against the door with a smile and a hard-on.

Chapter 9

Pierce

My thighs burn as I near the end of my run, but I try to push past that to get to the end. I’ve been at the gym for over an hour. Earlier today, I found out Wesley had a crush on me, and the smile that seems to have tattooed itself on my face still hasn’t gone away. I mean, yeah, we had sex, but a crush is different. It means he thinks of me with connotations other than the physical. Doesn’t it? I mean, when I had crushes as a boy, I thought about marrying them and what our babies might look like.

I kind of love that he has an affinity for me. And the fact that it seems to have been there for a while means he never really hated me. Relief comes off me in waves. Knowing he likes me makes me feel better about myself and my actions. Plus, it’s very flattering.

The thing is, I’m not a relationship guy. Or at least I don’t think I am, but from the lunch to the apology and what happened after, I may need to reconsider. That’s why I’m running longer and at a higher speed than usual, hoping I can avoid this existential question by tiring myself out.

A man and a woman walk into the gym and starts stretching next to the treadmills. They are in matching grey tank tops and shorts and they smile at each other every once in a while when their eyes meet. The man even reaches over at one point when they are doing that stretch where you have your legs open and you reach to one side then the other and he taps her shoe. She giggles in response.

I try not to stare but it’s hard. Not only because they got up and are now running side by side on the line of treadmills in front of me but because I like it. How… lovely they are with each other. They run at different speeds and once in a while check in on each other.

I feel my knees about to buckle so I stop the treadmill and get off.

I hear the woman laugh at something her man said and my fist clenches. I’m not mad. I’m… fuck. I’m jealous. What I wouldn’t give to have something like that with someone. To have someone that can make you smile just by looking at you. Someone to share your life with.

Having it with Wesley would be incredible.

But I’m afraid. I’m afraid of being rejected. Ending up like my parents. Falling out of love with someone. I don’t want to be but it’s all those things that are holding me back. Plus, the fact that he’s my employee but I do have that job offer that could get rid of that barrier.

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