Page 30 of Her Hat Trick Daddies
Maybe I should bring it up for old times’ sake. Some time. You know… just for shits and giggles.
“Look, bro. I don’t completely blame you. Leighton is one sexy woman, but…” I pause, trying to stay patient. “You can’t keep it up. You know that, right? Once is a mistake, an impulse even. Twice, three times? You’re just asking for trouble.”
“You don’t think I know that?” David snarls.
I throw my hands up in mock surrender. “I don’t know, man. You’re coworkers. All of us are. And that’s just another mess we don’t need right now.”
“There’s just something fucking undeniable about her,” he mutters, his foot tapping restlessly against the floor.
“Look, let’s drop it for now, all right? You won’t do it again, right?”
He nods.
“Good. We’ve got bigger fish to fry.” Our video has been buzzing around my brain like an annoying little wasp. I haven’t gone looking for the video, trying not to bump the views, but I can’t stop thinking about it.
“About the…othersituation,” David says, “I keep going back and forth on it. Maybe the best action is not to take action. And let it die.”
I want to believe that. I’ve been trying to. But worst-case scenarios keep playing in my head like a broken reel.
Andy claps me on the shoulder. “I know. We can downvote it,” he says, eyes practically glowing. “Hit the thumbs down. That way, it won’t go viral.”
Technically, the algorithmdoesrespond to negative votes. Views matter more, but maybe if we tank the engagement score, we can push the video down.
“One vote is not going to do much,” I remind them.
But David perks up. “Then we each vote individually. There’s no login on the site. Maybe we can vote multiple times.” He pulls out his phone to test the theory.
No luck.
But when he switches to his laptop, it works. Andy and I grab our phones and do the same. We make a plan to vote on every device we have access to. It’s only a few votes, but maybe it’s enough to knock the clip down a few spots. Bury it below the fold where it’s less likely to be seen.
“You’re a prick, Andy. But you have your moments.” I thump him on the back.
“I do, don’t I?” the bastard says, bouncing toward the door like he’s twenty again.
At thirty-nine, he’s the oldest of us. Watching him, I can’t help but wonder what I’m doing wrong in my own life.
“Also,” Andy calls back, “next time you cozy up to someone, David,let us in on it. We want a shot at that.”
It’s a dumb joke at the worst time. I like Andy, honestly, I do, but sometimes, he’s just so clueless. Half the things he says belong in the penalty box of his own damn brain.
I turn to David. “You know he’s out of line, right?”
“Yeah,” he scoffs. “But he’s not wrong about the website idea. We’ll check the site tomorrow, see if his little strategy actually works. And Shane?”
“Yeah?”
“I didn’t plan on sleeping with her. It just happened, you know? I know my timing sucks. And I know the whole thing looks bad.”
I shake my head. “No harm done. Yet, at least. Unless you think she’s gonna tell the owner.”
“No. She wouldn’t do that. She touched me first, even if I started it.”
I frown, and that’s all it takes. He knows exactly what that look means. We both know messing around with staff is forbidden. But the same goes for her. She wouldn’t rat herself out. Would she? For what, though? It wouldn’t make sense.
Still… I get what he’s saying. Thereissomething about her. A warmth, a quiet charm that sneaks up on you, disarming and effortless.
I’m not telling David, or Andy, or anyone else that I’ve been having vivid, explicit dreams about her. About us. About a foursome. That I like her. That I like the idea of all of us more.
