Page 30 of Gin & Sin

“Oh, come on, Low,” Bane says, grabbing Lowen’s hips from behind. “You’ve never had a quickie?”

“As a classless youth, maybe.”

Ridley cackles, sweeping up discarded peanut shells from the floor. “I can’t even imagine you having messy hair, much less walking around with dried cum in your underwear.”

Lowen visibly shudders. “Gross. It’s so itchy too. How do you deal?”

Smiling, I shrug. “It’s easy. I just remember how I got like that. Tonight was worth a few uncomfortable hours.”

“Yeah?” Salem asks, helping Florian restock liquor bottles. “You like the guy?”

“He’s sweet. Eager. Delicious.”

“Ew,” Lowen says again.

“When did you get so squeamish?” Indy asks.

“I’m not squeamish.” Lowen’s tone is clipped. “I’m a fan of cleanliness. So sue me.”

“So you’d probably hate knowing how often Indy eats my ass on the desk in the office?” Salem teases, making Indy cackle.

“Oh god. Please tell me you wipe it down after.”

Salem shrugs. “Maybe.”

Lowen visibly blanches.

“At least I leave to take care of business,” I say.

Lowen glances at me. “It’s something, I suppose.”

“Are you officially dating now, Kit?” Jerryn asks.

“Nothing like that. It’s a physical arrangement. Works fine for me.”

Wren comes out from the back carrying a bucket of clean silverware. We all gather around the bar, rolling them into paper napkins for tomorrow’s service. Wren looks exhausted, with heavy bags under his eyes.

“You okay, man?” I ask.

Wren glances up. “Yeah. Late night and early morning. I’ll be alright.”

Salem rubs Wren’s shoulder and gives him a sympathetic smile.

“Are we missing something?” Lowen asks.

Wren’s jaw ticks but he nods. “A fight with my boyfriend. It’s not affecting my job though.”

“We know,” Indy says. “We’re worried about you.”

I glance at Ridley, who looks like he’s about to crawl out of his skin.

“We could handle it, you know?” I offer, drawing Wren’s attention. “We’d be happy to have a talk with him.”

“Yeah, we would,” Ridley mumbles. “You deserve better.”

“Do I?” Wren chuckles, darkly. “Thanks, guys, but I can handle it.”

“Just remember we’re here for you,” Salem says. “We’ve got your back.”

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