Page 19 of Just Watch Me

The only thing about him that made me anxious was his impending departure by some unknown date since I still hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask how long he would be in town. I was confident we would stay friends or at least text occasionally about new book releases or the latest Marvel movie. Selfishly, I wanted more, so much more. After experiencing life a few feet away from the safety of my shell, I wasn’t sure I could go back.

“Have a fun weekend, then?” Ben grinned.

“Definitely. Have you been to theDoctor Whobar?”

“The one on Killingsworth? Yeah, it’s pretty dope.”

We chatted about the place for a few minutes while I caught up on emails. It was easier to nerd out on favoriteDoctor Whoepisodes than admit I’d spent a weekend with an amazing guy. That would lead to questions I didn’t know how to answer.

Eventually, my full attention drifted back to my work, but once my back grew stiff, I decided to walk around and visit the break room vending machine. I fixed myself a coffee. The caffeine was a necessity to surviving the rest of the day. It was barely ten in the morning, and I was already dragging.

After spending Saturday together, Skylar had invited me to work out with him Sunday. Then I’d spent part of the day cleaning my apartment and doing laundry. Every so often, I’d looked over at Skylar’s apartment and caught eyes with him while Skylar cleaned his own place. Something about it was comforting and domestic. Plus, the whole dick in my face while Skylar spotted me during workouts was a great perk. It had been so difficult not to reach out and touch him. My resolve had crumbled rapidly, and I was beginning to forget why having sex with him was a bad idea.

“Hey, Jesse. How’s it going, man? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

I smiled at Tommy, one of the rare few who had gotten a promotion from Chad’s team to a lead spot for another programming team. “Hey. Been busy. You know how it is.”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I remember what it was like to work for Captain Douchecanoe. How’s that going?” He grimaced.

Tommy had been the one person who’d always pushed back on Chad’s crap. I admired Tommy for getting out and wished I could make that happen for myself.

“He’s chomping at the bit for the new game. I think he’s eyeing a promotion.”

Tommy snorted. “He’s lucky he got his last one.”

I chuckled and leaned against the counter.

Tommy sat at a table a few feet away and rested his elbow on the surface. “I don’t understand why you’re still working for him. You have the patience of a saint.”

“What choice do I have? You know how protective he is about his team.”

Tommy’s eyes darkened. “I remember.” Tommy had fought tooth and nail for his promotion. “Wait. What do you mean what choice do you have? Chad said you weren’t interested in a promotion because you weren’t ready for more responsibility.”

I straightened. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Tommy frowned, and his lips pinched. “That fucker. I should’ve known he’d pull his tricks with someone else.”

My mouth went dry. I stumbled over to a seat at Tommy’s table and set my coffee down before it spilled. “I had a chance to get off his team?”

Tommy gave me a sympathetic look. “Not exactly. We had a team lead meeting aboutLegion of Tomorrowand went around the room to talk about our teams and potential reorganization. Someone asked about you since you’ve been here a long time and do great work. Chad said he’d talked to you about your interests, and you said you wanted more experience before moving up.” Tommy shook his head. “I should’ve asked you. I can put in a word with my supervisor to get you off his team.”

I fought nausea swirling in my stomach. “Thanks, but it’ll just piss him off, and he’ll give me the shit jobs as punishment if I don’t get moved.” I didn’t want another programming team. If I were to make any changes, I wanted it to be over to game design.

“It’s not right, man. You can’t let him hold you back. What do you want to do? Programming team lead?”

I chewed my bottom lip. I didn’t have a reason not to trust Tommy, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to share my dream with him in case it got back to Chad. Then again, if I didn’t tell people about it, it would never happen. “Well, um, I’d like to move to game design.”

Tommy’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah? I could see that.”

I blinked and buffered. “You can?”

“Absolutely. You always have great ideas beyond the code. I think your coding background would be an asset to game design. Did you hear they have openings?”

“I did.” I twisted my coffee cup back and forth.

“But Chad.”

“Yeah.” I sighed.

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