I couldn’t deny my interest in his milk. And my overall attraction to him before I even knew about that was evident by the tent in my pants that just wouldn’t go away. When I got home, I’d have to try to take care of it, but I wasn’t even sure I knew how. I’d never really masturbated before. Once or twice, I accidentally ejaculated when I was in middle school, but then everything kind of turned off and it was never a problem again.

I could look up some adult videos online, but that brought up a whole new level of stress. What if somebody found out what I was doing? Was it even legal to watch pornography? I didn’t think it was illegal, but it had been pounded into my head for my whole life that it was definitely immoral.

My mood was suddenly dropping, and I just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear for a little while.

“Hey, there, Freddy.” Saber was somehow beside me with his hand on my knee. “Are you okay?”

“What?” I realized I was holding my head in my palms and was breathing fast. “Yeah, sorry. Just…tired, I guess.”

“Are you sure that’s it? You were fine one second, and then you just kinda shut down.” His hand went up and cupped my shoulder. “Do you want some water or juice?”

“Juice, maybe?” Sugar sounded good. That would perk me up. “I can get it.”

“No way.” His voice was stern, and he nudged me back into my chair. “You stay right there and I’ll go get you some juice from the break room.”

It was surprisingly easy to just do what he said. I relaxed into the chair and took slow, deep breaths until he returned and placed a bottle of cold apple juice in my hand.

“There you go, Freddy. Take a few drinks and see if that helps.”

No one ever called me Freddy, and I kinda liked it. Ralph and some of the executive team called me Fred now and then, but most people in my life called me Frederick and that’s what I was used to. Freddy was different. It wasn’tneutralat all. It felt…intimate.

Fortunately, the cold juice did help, and I felt better almost instantly.

“Thank you, Saber. I’m sorry about that. I guess I haven’t had enough water today.”

He leaned back on his heels, but kept his hand on my knee either for balance or comfort. Whose comfort, I wasn’t sure. “You have a lot of responsibility here, Frederick. You need to take care of yourself. And you need to let me help you do that.” His grip on my thigh tightened as his thumb rubbed over my knee. “What are your plans for dinner?”

Oh my gosh. Was he suggesting that we have dinner together? Would that be like a date? No way could I do that. “I have plans with some friends.” I looked at my watch and gasped. “Actually, I’m gonna be late if I don’t leave now. You did great today, Saber. Thanks for all your hard work.”

He stood up and took a step back. “Of course. What time do you want me here tomorrow?”

“I’m usually here right at eight, but most people don’t get in until nine or ten. Just come whenever you want.” I had no doubt he would get the work done, so there was no need for him to come in early just because I did.

He kept his eyes on me and then glanced across my desk to where I had a stack of business cards in a little holder. He pulled out one and took a look at it. “This is your mobile number?”

“Yeah, call or text if you need anything.” My heart started beating faster at the thought of him texting me at home.

He slipped the card into his pocket as he nodded. “Yeah, I might do that.”

A few minutes later, Saber was walking out of the office with a wave goodbye. I was still planted in my chair, waiting for my darn erection to relax enough that I could get to my car.

What I would do with it once I got home was a mystery. One I’d have to figure out for the first time in almost thirty years.

Chapter 6

Saber

I hated leaving Frederick alone, but it was clear he needed some space. I think I did too.

I picked up a burrito bowl on my way home and then got back online. I wanted to keep working on the interface because Freddy was right at it all being a mess. It was clear that fixes had been jumbled together by several different people. There was hidden and unnecessary code all over the place. This was the kind of challenge I enjoyed most. I wanted to have something to show Frederick in the morning.

Before I was completely entrenched in my work, I checked my personal email and saw that one of my buddies from the Lactin Brotherhood had posted on his social media about being laid off and looking for a job.

I sent Nate a quick text to ask what he was looking for and to let him know that I just started working at Floom in case he saw anything interesting on their job site.

My phone rang almost instantly. “Hey, Sabe. How’s it going?”

“Great. But I’m sorry to hear that you’re job hunting again.”