Page 13 of His Middle

“So…you think I have a chance? I might be able to keep the club from failing?”

Sawyer glanced over his shoulder as they approached the main area of the club that housed the non-alcoholic bar at one end, and chairs and tables at the other where the entrance was located. A dance floor filled the space in-between.

“More than a chance. Whenever I’ve visited, this place has been packed. Your dad was always going on about how profitable it is.” They reached the edge of the dance floor and Sawyer paused. “The real question now is who you want to keep on your team, who deserves to be here and who needs to move on. Then, you’ll need to re-evaluate the mission statement of the business and decide if anything needs to be revamped, if there is any upkeep needed.” Sawyer regarded him. “And finally, you’ll need to define what your role will be.”

Noah battled the feelings of inadequacy that were once again threatening to take over.

“That’s what you were talking about before, right? Whether I’m hands on and all that.”

“Exactly.”

Sawyer glanced around the large, high-ceiling building. At one time, it had been a massive warehouse that had served a purpose Noah could no longer recall. His dad might’ve told him at once, but he wasn’t sure. He wished he’d paid more attention to those little details while his dad had still been alive. When his dad had purchased and renovated the property, he’d ended up only using half the space, leasing the other half to the adult toy shop.

Noah was grateful for the extra monthly income from Downtown Adult Novelties. That had been a smart move that Noah wasn’t sure he would’ve thought of. His artistic brain thought up things like graphic designs of unicorns with sparkling binkies, adorable chibis in diapers with sassy sayings and cute animals with rainbow rattles. How to properly utilize commercial property simply wasn’t in the same realm.

“Looks different with all the lights up, doesn’t it?”

Sawyer nodded. “The magic is gone. Sort of like when they turn all the lights on the Pirate ride or the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.”

“Huh. Good analogy.” Noah pointed to the wall by the entrance that was the backdrop to the eating area. “You can’t see the neon, Day-Glo paint in the mural, so all the unicorns and fairies and elves look blah.” He gestured to the threshold of the dance floor. “And without the rainbow twinkle lights on, this is just boring edging.”

Sawyer tilted his head. “You lit up just now when you were describing the décor. Is that your favorite thing about the club?”

“Totally. Have you seen the party rooms? We have one large, and two smaller ones down here.” Noah indicated to the hallway on the opposite side from them that connected the main area to the rest of the downstairs. Lockers for subs to change in and the restrooms were in between. “I helped design the themes once dad allowed me to set foot in the place.” He chuckled. “The old ones were so stupid. I guess people liked them, but whatever. Mine are better.”

Sawyer barked out a laugh. “Oh yeah? You’d better show me then.”

A thrum of excitement built beneath Noah’s skin. He hadn’t set foot in—hadn’t even considered the party rooms as anything other than a piece of space to rent out—since his father died. All the joy of the club had been sucked right out of him. But now he had someone to show it off to, and it wasn’t a potential customer. It wasn’t about selling something, it was about appreciating the care and thought that Noah had put into creating each space.

Noah led the way, his steps carrying a bit more bounce to them than usual. “Prepare to be dazzled.”

Sawyer laughed as he trailed behind him, but it didn’t feel as if he was being mocked. “I’m sure I will be. Your T-shirts are incredible.”

Noah tripped over his feet and almost face-planted, but Sawyer grabbed his arm in time. They both froze for a mere second before Sawyer yanked his hand away. They’d only made it as far as the entrance to the hallway.

“You saw my T-shirts? How?”

Sawyer appeared a bit sheepish. “Well, I spotted one of your cards on the bulletin board where the schedules and employee postings are.” He shrugged. “I kind of swiped it and checked out your store last night.”

“Oh.” He wasn’t sure what to say. “I forgot people can still see the stuff, they just can’t buy it.”

Sawyer gave him a pained look. “That’s such a shame. I bet people want your products and are probably frustrated they can’t get them.”

Noah sighed. He hated thinking about it, so tried not to.Thatwas the business he was excited about, and he was shitting all over that one as much as he was the club.

“The emails are relentless. I feel bad, but I don’t know what to do. I tried to keep going at first, but they’re all print on demand. It got to be too much for me to handle.”

Sawyer crossed his arms. “Have you thought about temporarily selling them through a larger site that handles all the orders and manufacturing for you? You supply the designs and set up shop there?”

“I did.” Noah raked his fingers through his hair. “But I like to have quality control and those places take a huge cut of my money.” He rubbed his wrist then regarded Sawyer. “Would it be too much to ask for your help with that too?” He shook his head. “Never mind. I’m already asking a lot, and I can’t worry about those stupid T-shirts until things at the club are fixed.”

Sawyer scowled. “They’renotstupid. I won’t have you talking that way about something you’ve put so much of yourself into.” He crossed his arms. “While I’m here, I’m at your disposal. The T-shirt business, your work-life balance, the club… It all ties together.”

So far, his conversations with Sawyer had been soothing, necessary. Whereas he’d been floundering around for months, certain that the bottom would fall out at any moment, that he’d be left a hopeless mess unable to save himself—interacting with Sawyer changed all that. Abolished the unending fear and anxiety that clawed at him every night as he fought for the solace of sleep, and every morning when he dreaded going out to face the world.

Sawyer represented stability. Calm. Guidance and safety.

Noah had been fidgeting with his hands while trying to formulate a decent response. “You have no idea how much that means to me.” He swallowed hard, staring at his feet, too nervous to meet Sawyer’s eyes. “No one’s been here for me.” He bit his lip. “I mean, not like that. Arlen’s my bestie, but he doesn’t know how to help and I’m in no position to teach him. Not even my mom bothered to come here or offer any help.” He huffed. “She’s too busy with her fancy engineering job in Brazil. Not that she’s ever been around anyway. I just thought now that…” Noah rubbed his eyes with thumb and forefinger. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

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