~ Noah ~

Kyle: Dude, check this

The link that Kyle sent me led to a music video of a four-member band playing with people jumping up and down and slamming into each other in time with the music. After I was done watching, I send him a text:

Noah: Um, they are okay, I guess. Not really my thing. What's with the hairy costumes?

Kyle: Erm, they are the METAL YETIS... They play metal and dress up as yetis. It's their gimmick. And it's working. Even people who don't like their music share the videos because hello yetis playing the drums and the guitar and belching lyrics. They have some more rock vibe stuff too. Should've sent you a link to something softer

Noah: Maybe I'll check the other videos later. How are you?

Kyle: Dude stop asking!!!

Noah: I always ask you? What's with the !!! ?

Kyle: You are asking a lot more since the other day. I told you it was just some annoying guy. Nothing to worry about.

Noah: You sure?

Kyle: Just as sure as the first dozen of times you asked me. Gotta go. Getting rammed by a firefighter

Noah: Hooking up with a real one or a fake for a shoot?

Kyle: Fake for a shoot. His big equipment is real tho ;)

Noah: ...

Kyle: xoxo

I stretched and left my phone on the nightstand.

That was Kyle for you, a guy who really enjoyed his job. And speaking of a job: I had to prepare for one of mine, my shift at Marv's Groceries barely an hour away.

~~~

"You know you are supposed to be putting things on the shelves, not staring at the shelves?"

I shook myself back to reality and away from thoughts of the odd coincidence that the guy I'd saved was my new boss's baby brother. Callian's voice had come from the left, so that was the direction I looked at.

Instead of cleaning the floor, he'd titled his slim frame sideways, leaning on the mop, and watched me... Do nothing. I returned my gaze to the shelf and started putting items to fill the empty spaces on it.

Callian moved his ethereal body - all long, slender limbs - until he was standing beside me. He put the mop down and began aiding me in my task.

"So, what's got you all tense and musing?" Cal bent down to pick up a few cans of tomato sauce and placed them in their proper place on the shelves. "Anything you want to talk about, darling?"

"Maybe." I shrugged, but then gave it some thought.

Did I want to talk about it?

Callian had been friendly from the start, showing me the ropes when I got this job, even though he himself had only been on it for a couple of months. He also had a way of making you relax. Well, making me relax; some of the shoppers were clearly uncomfortable with either not being able to guess his gender, or with being helped by a long-haired blond guy who was stunning enough to rival any female model. I somewhat understood the men - I was sure he'd made a few of them question their sexuality - but I still thought it was no one's business and they didn't have the right to stare at him.

Callian - probably used to such treatment - wasn't fazed by it, unless someone was extremely rude; even then he handled the situation well. I wasn't sure I could keep my composure, bagging someone's groceries while they muttered derogatory terms at me or called me a 'fairy' - Cal actually liked that one - or 'nancy' under their breaths. I'd noticed he was especially bubbly and girly with such clients, probably as his way to retaliate without getting himself fired.

So yes, I liked him, and I admired his attitude when faced with a bigoted asshole of a client.

"Actually," I said, turning to him, "how about we grab some dinner after we finish up here? I'll tell you about it then."

"Sure!" He beamed at me and did his short one-shoulder shimmy - the right shoulder quickly going back and forth a couple of times while the left he kept still. I'd thought it odd at first, but I'd quickly gotten used to it and was glad to see it; like a puppy wagging its tail, he only did it when he was happy.

~~~

Once we completed our post-closing tasks, we headed to the Crooked Pancake - a nearby diner, and settled on a table in the corner which gave us some privacy. We ordered - apple pie and mineral water for me, fries and vanilla milkshake for him - and after a few minutes talking about work and the shoppers we'd dealt with that day, I told him all about Dex.

The only people I'd spoken to about the averted accident had been Kyle and Aunt Helen, giving her permission to tell her boyfriend Ben about it. I didn't feel like anyone else needed to know. But I shared the story tonight, from when I'd seen the car approach to finding out who Dex was and his brother offering me a permanent job at Nightfall.

Callian had been a good listener - silent, but attentive - mostly communicating his feelings through facial expressions, but also by the occasional gasp or quiet 'wow'.

"So, you have a second job now? The trial period is over?" He asked after I finished with my narrative.

"Not really." I took a sip of my water. "I turned him down."

"Didn't want to be hired just because the guy felt he owed you, huh?"

That was another thing I liked about my blond companion: he got me. By now I'd even started to think of him as a friend and not just a colleague.

I put my glass down and nodded. "Ash said he'd been thinking of hiring me permanently anyway. I'm working this weekend and if everything goes well, I've got the job."

"Want me to come over for moral support?"

"You'd do that?"

"Sure!" He munched on some fries before he went on to enlist, extending a finger in the air each time he made a point: "It will help you relax..." One finger was up. "I love dancing..." Two fingers. "And Nightfall is the hottest club in town right now so I've been meaning to check it out anyway." Three fingers up. "Plus, it's perfect for people like us."

"There are a lot of gay people there." I agreed, biting into a piece of my pie. "I was actually surprised by their number. And how open they were."

"Not just gay; all sorts of queer." He put a few more fries in his mouth, chewed, and went on: "After the post, the LGBTQ community from the nearby towns claimed Nightfall as the place to go."

"What post?"

"On a popular blog, run by a local. Apparently, the chick who wrote the post was waiting in line with her girlfriend to get into Nighfall when this asshole started making homophobic comments about them and the bouncers chased the guy away and tried to cheer the girls up. The blogger asked around and found out that several members of the staff - the two bouncers in question included - were part of the LGBTQ society, and that the club owner was pro-LGBTQ. Anyway, blogger chick wrote a post about that, then queer people started commenting with their own stories of the staff genuinely caring and defending them when homophobic clubbers had insulted or threatened to get physical with LGBTQ patrons."

He slurped some milkshake through the straw and continued: "So Nightfall kind of became a safe haven for us. Well, I say 'us' even though I'd been too busy or too poor - or both - to go myself, but you get what I mean."

"I see." I could feel a frown appearing on my face.

"What?"

"Well... I'm not trying to belittle what Mac and Gracie - they are our only queer bouncers right now, so that's who the blogger probably met - I'm not trying to belittle what they did, but it's kind of what they are supposed to do. I mean, they would've done the exact same thing if a straight person was being bullied for being let's say too fat or too skinny, or something."

"Exactly." Callian beamed at me. "The staff in the club treats the LGBTQ community exactly the same way they treat straight people. No bullying, no ignoring, no careful maneuvering as they serve you while obviously thinking 'stay cool and give them something special so you don't look like a homophobe' or anything like that. They just treat us like people. Or at least so I've heard."

"It's true," I said. "No one at the club is acting like me being gay is wrong or special."

"And that's the kind of environment I want to work in. Not having a certain somebody giving me extra tasks, and watching my every step, hoping I would mess up so he could fire me."

I cringed. Marv - the store owner, was an accepting elderly man, but his age meant he wasn't often on the premises and we were under the command of our manager who had a strong dislike towards me and outright hatred towards Callian. We were both gay, but Callian had more feminine features and sometimes wore crop tops, jewelry and makeup, so he was on top of Mr. Brown's To Dispose Of list. Unfortunately, this manager was also Marv's nephew and had somehow managed to convince his uncle that he was a decent man, so Callian and I couldn't complain to Marvin.

"Okay, let's not spoil our evening." Callian waved his right hand, the bangles on his wrist dangling. "The article also said that the club owner's brother was gay; is it true?"

"Yes, Dex is gay," I replied, my cheeks heating up.

He was gay - something I'd tried hard not to concentrate on because... Well, Dex was a very attractive man. Polite and kind, with warm brown eyes, height just above average, fit... He was the type I might've flirted with if I hadn't saved him. I didn't want to ask him out and have him say 'yes' just out of gratitude.

Also, he was my boss's brother and while Ash seemed okay with members of his staff dating Dex, I wasn't sure how I'd feel working for Ash if things between me and his sibling didn't go well.

So, no, I would not pursue Dex.

"Ooh, gay and sexy." Callian leaned forward, elbows on the chequered surface of the table, and his head in his hands. "And don't try to deny it; it's written all over your face."

"Okay, Dex is sexy," I admitted. "But I work for his brother and..." I hesitated for a moment, but then finished: "And he might be confused."

Callian's eyebrows furrowed. "About his sexuality?"

"No, about me. About me... saving him." It was still weird saying that out loud. I knew I had saved him, but to me it always sounded like bragging.

Callian's mouth formed a silent 'oh'. "You think he might worship you for that or be with you because he feels he owes you?"

Not sure I could've explained it well, I was grateful for his astuteness. "Yes."

He nodded and twisted his head so he could suck on the straw. Once he was done with what had been left of his milkshake, he asked: "Somewhat personal, but: are you even okay with dating? I mean, after your ex..."

"Cheated on me?" I finished for him. "I told you about it, so it's okay to ask me. And: I don't know. I know not all men are the same, and that not everyone will cheat on me, but... Dating just isn't on my mind right now. If it happens, it happens, and if it's not this week or the next, well, it eventually will. You?"

"Me?" He sighed dreamily. "I'm definitely not opposed to a good hook-up, but I hope to one day settle down with a strong and kind guy, who adores me..." He gave me a mischievous grin. "... And spoils the shit out of me because I'm the mother fucking fairy prince!"

I laughed before I asked: "Why not king?"

"Nah, kings have responsibilities. I told you: I want to be spoiled."

He winked at me, all charm and smiles, and just like that, I found myself putting everything that made me nervous to the back of my mind. For the rest of the time we spent together, I didn't think about my weekend shift at the club and how it could lead to me officially becoming a member of the Nightfall staff; I also didn't think of a certain handsome, brown-haired hottie, or the slightly unsettling desire that the two of us had met under different circumstances.

-----

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know the plot didn't go forward in this one, but I wanted you guys to know why Noah has reservations about Dex. Also, since this story was originally supposed to be a part of a series with a new couple in each book, I wrote it to give you a bit of insight on Kyle and Cal who will both be dating someone... Hint: not each other. Cal's future partners (yes, I had a concept for a poly book) still haven't shown up.

Anyway, if you liked the chapter, give it a vote or leave me a comment... Why not both? ;)

Until next weekend! ❤

PS: I've got some extras for this book. I wonder if I should post them here...