Page 56 of A Hard Sell

“Morgan.” Luka sighed. “You know it’s not my job.”

Morgan turned to look at him. “Things going good with Thomas?” he asked. The threat hung in the air for a moment. Then his shoulders drooped. “What if… Could you—maybe you could come by my place tonight and we could both work on it?”

Luka narrowed his eyes and took in Morgan’s appearance. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he was overdue for a haircut. Normally Morgan was meticulous about going every five weeks, and he had clearly worked his way well past that. His shoes were off, one socked foot tucked up under his leg.

Ugh. Maybe this was the fastest way to get it done. “Fine. After dinner. Eight o’clock?”

“Sure.” Morgan looked back at his screen and didn’t say anything else. Luka slipped away.

* * * *

He knocked on Morgan’s door right at eight and it opened instantly.

“Come in,” Morgan said, waving an arm. He had changed into slim but comfortable-looking gray sweatpants and a thin white T-shirt. Luka was still wearing his work clothes.

He stepped into Morgan’s apartment, looking around, and the last time he had been there came rushing back to him. It had been about a month before they broke up, a long, lazy Sunday. He remembered being stretched out in Morgan’s bed, naked under the sheet, although it was hard to say what time of day it had been. They’d already ordered food once, but hadn’t been up and dressed yet.

Morgan had been curled next to him, his usually freezing-cold feet warm for once where they were pressed up against Luka’s calf.

“Do you think you’ll stay in advertising forever?” Morgan had asked out of nowhere, idly running his fingers through Luka’s chest hair.

“Yeah,” Luka had said, turning his head to look at Morgan. “I mean, it’s kind of my dream job. You?”

Morgan had been staring past him, out of the window, eyes unfocused. “No. I’m not even sure how I ended up here.” Then he had blinked and shaken himself, snapping back into focus. He had given Luka a loaded smile. “You good to go?”

“Again?” Luka had laughed, but Morgan had already been climbing on top of him, hungry lips pressed to his.

He looked around the apartment now, noticing the changes. The art was all different—bigger, brighter—and the throw pillows had gone from beige to azure. It just seemed…more lived in, the clean lines from his memory of Morgan’s apartment now fuzzy in front of him. A stray sock peeked out from under the couch, and a lone cereal bowl sat on the coffee table, a few sad flakes clinging to the rim.

“Drink?” Morgan asked, retreating into the kitchen. More cereal bowls were stacked in the sink, an empty milk carton abandoned on the counter.

Luka followed him. His instinct was to say no, but he thought it might make the night go down a little easier. “Sure.” Morgan poured two rum and Cokes that were mostly rum.

Morgan handed him a glass. “This way,” he said, disappearing down the hallway, even though Luka knew where to go. The second bedroom in Morgan’s place was more like a music studio, a twin bed pushed up against the wall, but otherwise dominated by a huge desk covered with all kinds of computers and other sound-mixing and recording equipment. Morgan wheeled an extra chair over from the corner for Luka.

“All right. Gimme a second to load it.” He clicked a few buttons. “So, you fucked Thomas yet?” he asked nonchalantly, taking a sip of his drink.

“What?”

“It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Morgan. No. I have not.”

“Too bad. I tried, a couple times. He shut me down.”

Luka shook his head. “No. Definitely not. He’s my boss.”

Morgan shrugged. “Bosses fuck too.”

Luka’s stomach turned. He changed the topic as the software interface popped up. “Show me the strings track?”

Despite everything, they worked well together. Morgan was adept at adding the musical elements Luka suggested, and it was only a couple hours until Luka was both happy with the track and pleasantly buzzed from the rum.

“What about this?” Morgan said, clicking a few buttons before he hit play. The track played at twice the speed with honking noises added in.

Despite himself, Luka laughed. “It reminds me of you.”

“Hmmm.” Morgan gave an exaggerated frown. “I wouldn’t have described it as ‘devastatingly sexy’ but okay.”

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