Page 15 of Wishes for August

“It’s the weekend baby!” Branson yelled as he bounced over to me as I walked into our kitchen, my hair a mess and sleep still in my eyes. He had far too much energy for this early in the day. “You know what that means?” I gave him my best fuck off face and he just laughed at me. “Come on Auggie Bear, have some fun. Don’t be such a spoilsport. Come out with us tonight. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky.” My best friend flashed his dimples at me and I couldn’t help but smile back.

Branson had been on at me all week about going out with him and some of his mates. My answer throughout the week had been noncommittal. It wasn’t like me to turn him down, to turn down a chance to party, though I didn’t love social affairs, clubs were too dark and loud for conversations, but I hadn’t been feeling in the clubbing mood lately.

“Fine, you knob,” I joked, knocking my shoulder into his while I made my way to the refrigerator, in the hopes we had some fresh juice in. “I will come with you but only because I’m horny as fuck.”

I’d mentioned my encounter with Caleb to Branson earlier that week. He’d hadn’t been shocked that I had hooked up with my boss and I mulled over what that said about me. I was sometimes impulsive and he knew it. I had also told him, quite firmly, that nothing more was going to happen between me and Caleb.

Branson looked at me with a smirk. “I know you said it wouldn’t happen again but spill. You haven’t been doing the dirty, knocking boots, filling the cream donut,” he winked at me before carrying on, “Dipping the wick, doing the monster mash, makin’ bacon, with Mr Sexy Boss?” By this point he was almost choking on his own laughter.

“Fucking hell, Bran, you are ridiculous. And no, I have not been doing any such thing with Caleb. Everything has been strictly professional since that night. And that is the way it has to stay.” He stepped around me to rummage in the fridge, slamming it shut when he found what he’d been looking for. I watched in disgust as he opened a pack of smoked salmon, sniffed it, and then placed it on the counter.

“Why though?” Bran asked, pausing to look at me, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Why what?” I asked, moving to pull out a cereal bowl from the cupboard near the sink.

“Why is nothing more going to happen between you two?” he clarified. I thought about it for a moment. I had never actually even considered a relationship with anyone before. I hadn’t felt any sort of connection to the men I had fooled around with in the past.

I ran my hand through my hair, looking down at my bare feet before I looked back to him. The truth was that when I was with Caleb, I felt like we could be so good together. And I wasn’t about to put my heart on the line for someone who might stay but also might not. There was no guarantee, and it was just easier to fill my bed with people who I knew for sure were going to leave.

I didn’t want to get into that while I was still half asleep, so I brushed his question off with a half truth.

“Because Branson, when have you ever known me to go back for seconds?”

He chuckled, but I knew he wasn’t buying my reasoning entirely.

I emptied the last of the frosted flakes into my bowl and topped it up with the last of the milk. While the weekend was a time for fun, I also clearly needed to get some groceries. I watched as Branson spread cream cheese on a bagel before adding the salmon. He smashed it together, holding it in one hand while in the other he held a half full bottle of orange juice.

“Alright, well I’m going to eat and then head to the gym,” he said, patting me on the shoulder. “I will meet you back here later today and we can head over to the club together, yeah?”

I wasn’t lying when I’d told Branson I was horny. All week thoughts of a certain pair of green eyes, auburn hair and a soft, sweet mouth had haunted my thoughts. My spank bank was full of Caleb and I needed to get him out of my head. And maybe, just maybe, a night of dancing and grinding up against some random person was what the doctor ordered.

So as reluctant as I had been to go, when night rolled on, the red brown haze of the sunset giving way to darkness, I pulledmyself up from where I’d been watching a film on my bed while eating a bowl of soup and started the shower.

As I climbed out, I heard the front door and yelled out to Branson, “Nearly ready to go, Bran?”

“If you left me any hot water, then I’ll be ready in twenty,” he called back, heading to the bathroom.

I dressed to impress, in tight black jeans and a dark blue silk shirt, unbuttoned halfway. I wanted my fine ass to be appreciated.

Walking into Abyss - a club I had frequented numerous times before - I was pleased to see that it was jumping. A full club meant more of a chance that I’d get lucky. Something about hooking up after my encounter with Caleb in his office wasn’t sitting right with me but I pushed that feeling aside. I needed to get him off my mind and I was certain that was the way to do it. Sex with strangers had always been a distraction method for me.

Inside, music was blaring from the speakers and there were groups of people in every corner. The dance floor was packed and the air smelled like sweat and possibility. I browsed the groups of people against the far wall until we spotted Branson’s friends and headed over. I recognised a few of them, though I didn’t know any very well. I had also sworn off sleeping with his friends. Shit gets messy when you hook up with people in your circle, and even if this wasn’t really my group of friends, Branson was kind of an extension of me. I gave them a small smile and nodded in greeting and turned to survey the dance floor. Yes, this is exactly what I needed. I just needed to find someone sweet to sink into.

“Do you want a drink Aug?” Branson asked, leaning into my ear so I could hear him over the music.

“Please. A vodka and soda. I’ll get the next round,” I replied, my voice loud enough to be heard over the music. He patted my shoulder and pushed his way through the crowd to reach the bar.I was watching the dance floor when my eyes were drawn to a figure that I knew all too well. A figure I had actively avoided as much as I could all week. A figure I had imprinted on my mind.

Caleb was here and he was looking fucking stunning in a tight black tee and what I made out to be a pair of dark jeans through the crowd. Why he was here, I had no idea. He hadn’t mentioned coming out though we didn’t speak about anything non-work related the few times we’d ran into each other this week. I wondered if he was here with someone. Was he on a date? The thought sat heavily in my chest.

He was smiling - I was not sure the man knew how to frown - and swaying to the music, surrounded by people on the dancefloor but not focusing on anyone particular. Was he alone here? Maybe that meant he was here to hookup.

I needed to stay away.

Watching him from afar was harmless; a little candy for my eyes wasn’t going to hurt. Going up to him? That would be a huge mistake. I’d made that mistake once and I wasn’t going there again. Not that I would call that night a mistake. It was the sweetest, hottest, blow job of my life but I had already shut down anything more and besides, I didn’t usually do repeats, repeats got people’s hopes up. The last thing I needed was to confuse matters. The club was so big that it was easy enough for us not to run into each other.

Branson returned with my drink and handed it to me, taking a sip, I winced at how sweet it was.

“This is not a vodka and soda Bran. What the everloving fuck did you get me?”