Page 12 of Dark Promises

Bryan took me out of my thoughts when his hand fingered the collar of my suit coat to straighten it out. “Cole wouldn’t be caught dead in an expensive suit, and that shirt must cost my week’s wages.”

I’d gotten Bryan a position in my law firm doing clerical work when I discovered that I’d been summoned to California, if I wanted to keep my position. It was an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up, and I forgot about everything and everybody, and when I woke I’d left Daniel and Sam behind. Now I was here trying to get back what I’d walked away from.

“He couldn’t have forgotten me that easily,” I lamented.

The bartender stood patiently waiting, and said, “If you were mine, I’d never forget you.” I smiled and shook my head and raised an eyebrow, then narrowed my eyes as Bryan leaned into the bartender.

“What can I get you two?” I gave him our orders. Two shots of vodka each.

“See what I mean. I used to date Daniel, mind you it was for one night, and he doesn’t even remember me. Look at the way he’s staring at us, as if he knows us or wants to know one of us. I bet if I were to show him my cock, he’d remember,” Bryan snickered.“Now why would you think Daniel would even remember you? How long did you two date? Not even a good month.”

“Because we were in love,” I insisted. “You I could understand, but we were together night and day. I was just about to move in with him when I sent Sam over, and I was to come the next day, but it didn’t happen.”

“If you were so much in love, why didn’t you call him and tell him you would be away?” I downed my second shot and turned and glanced at Daniel. He looked sexy with or without his glasses. I used to ask him to wear them, because for some reason they made me further aroused when he pulled out his crop, and took me over his knee and paddled my ass. Thinking about those nights with Daniel brought on extreme arousal. Heat coursed from my head to my feet. I had to get out of the bar at this point.

“I didn’t tell Daniel and I didn’t call because I discovered I’d be out of the states for a year, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him. I thought I could forget him, and now it seems he’s forgotten me. Do you see how he’s whispering into the cute guy’s ear.”

“Do you want another drink?” the bartender questioned with a curious smile.

“No, but who are those two men?” I knew Daniel, but not the other guy, or the one peeking from behind him.

“One is the owner, that’s Daniel the one with the dark hair and sexy beard and dark eyes, and the other is his manager, Ryan, and over there is the manager’s boyfriend, he’s a hot mess. He’ll fuck anything that moves. I’ve tapped that sweet ass several times, but Ryan doesn’t seem to mind. I think that’s how they keep their relationship going. That’s why I’m single. Call me selfish, but I can’t share,” the bartender said aiming a heated glare at Bryan, along with a long tongue he swiped quickly around his lips, then turned and reached for something from the bar, and just as quickly swiveled around to face us.

“We need to leave,” I added. When I paid the bartender, he handed Bryan a card and I said, “Would you give this letter to Daniel?” He raised his eyebrow, but then he nodded his head, and I took that as he would deliver the note.

We strode out when the bar was getting crowded, the dance floor emptying, and the music growing softer.

After stepping into the lobby and watching the security guy with his head down, we made it to the outside and waved a passing cab down, then climbed inside. The cabbie dropped Bryan and me off at my new apartment.

“I have to see this place the firm is giving you. They barely pay me minimum wage, and living in Manhattan if I don’t work overtime, I can’t pay Con Edison. You know electricity.” I raised my eyebrow suggesting that I knew what it was as I opened the door, and it was filled with expensive furniture and paintings. Bryan sauntered around passing his palm on the back of the sofa, on the tables and piano. “What the fuck, Cole, do you play the piano?”

“Not the last time I checked. It went with the apartment. The place was already furnished. My secretary asked me what kind of furniture I wanted, and I couldn’t tell her. I just said use your best judgement, and it was a good thing she did, because I didn’t know what the fuck to put in a place like this.”

“Yeah, I know. Last time I saw you, Cole, you’d just graduated from law school and were living in this crappy apartment the size of a shoebox with holes in the ceiling and the winter coming, and you didn’t have any heat. Now look at you. On top of the world.”

Bryan had been right. I stood with him as we glanced out at the Manhattan skyline. I could name the buildings as we turned to the right and left watching through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Stay a night, Bryan. I don’t like to be alone, because it’s the first night back in this city.”

“I have to go to work tomorrow, and you said you have two or three weeks off to get settled—”

“You can dress in some of my clothes, they’re new and we look to be the same size.” There was an aggregable light in his eyes if I read him. Bryan had admired some of the things I wore. What he didn’t know was I’d bought them at a resale shop. But everything I wore now was new. I worked hard not to wear those old clothes anymore. It wasn’t that something was wrong with the clothing, but they’d belonged to someone else before me. “And you can keep the shirts and pants.”

“You don’t have to twist my arm. It will be like I’m on vacation living here even for one night... what about a robe and pajamas?”

“You can keep those too.”

“Then, it really is a vacation.”

“No. It’s not.” I didn’t want Bryan to get too comfortable.

Bryan and I sat and drank, stood with our hands in our pockets gazing out at the buildings, wondering what people were doing in the apartments across the way. We talked through the night about how to get Daniel to notice me. However, Bryan had an insane idea he wanted to put into play. And because I was desperate, I bought into it and went along with him.

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