3. Milo

Chapter three

Milo

I sit down on the stool at the bar, letting out a long sigh. Bridgette sits down beside me, giggling to herself as she does. This is all her fault.

“You’re buying tonight,” I declare as I open my eyes only wide enough to squint over at her. “It’s your fault that I have this job, therefore it’s your fault I’m getting drunk tonight.”

“I don’t think that’s how that works but who am I to argue?”

“Exactly,” I say, nodding my head. My phone vibrates and I quickly pull it out. I let my head fall against the bar with a resounding bang, groaning as I see Baylen’s name light up on my screen.

“What’s going on?”

I quickly open up the text. “Baylen needs the address of the restaurant he’s supposed to be meeting a client at.” I look up the address online, copying it before going back to his text. “Copy location,” I murmur under my breath before hitting send. “There.”

I get a thumbs up in response and I put my phone back into my pocket.

“Maybe you shouldn’t get too drunk. Just in case,” Bridgette says with a wince.

“Absolutely not. I’m getting hammered. This job is just that, a job. I still need to be able to live my life!”

“It’s not that bad, is it?”

I flag down the bartender and we both put our orders in. I want to try one of the specials, something called an Emo Goblin, and Bridgette orders a beer on tap. I look at her for a long moment before shrugging. “Not really,” I admit, “but it is fun to bitch about it.”

“I’ve always found Mr. Ongash unapproachable. Thankfully, I never have to actually speak with him unless there’s something truly wrong. Twice I’ve had to have a meeting with him to explain why we had to let someone go. One time, someone was stealing the petty cash, that was an interesting conversation.”

“How so?”

“He wanted me to prove it by putting this stuff on the cash. I forget the name of it but if you touch it enough, it turns your fingers purple. Caught the guy purple-handed.” I sit back in my seat, biting my bottom lip. Bridgette notices the look and her mouth drops open. “Oh my gods. No. Absolutely not, Milo!”

“What? I didn’t even say anything!”

“You didn’t have to! I know that look! You’re getting a fucking crush .”

“Am not! You can’t prove anything!”

The bartender drops our drinks off and I immediately order the two of us a shot as well. I’m going to need it if I’m going to get through this night.

“You were just bitching about how stressed this job is! How could you also have a crush?”

“It’s nothing! This job is a lot more work than I initially thought it would be. I feel like I’m holding Baylen’s hand through quite literally everything, but at the same time, he’s incredibly competent in what he does. It’s a very attractive trait,” I admit with a wince.

“An attractive trait? Really? What about the permanent scowl?”

“It’s kind of sexy in a tortured mysterious way?”

Bridgette buries her face in her hands. “Oh my gods, I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Nothing’s happening! You’re being dramatic.” The bartender drops off our shots and I thank him with a nod. I slide Bridgette’s over. “Here, this will help.”

We touch our shot glasses together before shooting them back. I grimace as the alcohol hits me. It’s been awhile since I’ve drank so I’m going to be drunk sooner rather than later. Already, I can feel my head starting to swim.

“So you find him hot,” Bridgette says slowly, like she’s trying to wrap her head around it. “And you like that he’s competent. But what about him, you know, being a giant asshole?”

“Here’s the thing,” I start to say and Bridgette groans. I can’t help but giggle at the reaction because I was absolutely expecting nothing short. “He’s not actually an ass. Sure, he’s pretty grumpy and he’s very work focused, but he’s just really, really bad at people’ing. I’ve been here for almost two weeks and I can already see that he’s not as bad as people make him out to be.”

Bridgette hums. “If you say so.”

“My only complaint is that he’s so fucking tense all the time. He looks about ready to snap like a stretched out rubber band at any given moment. I wish there was something I could do to get him to remove the monumental stick from his ass and unclench.”

“Oh my gods, I can’t believe you just said that.” She sticks her fingers in her ears, humming to herself. “Nope. I did not just hear you say that. I refuse. Absolutely not.”

“What?” I ask, unable to keep my giggles at bay. My head feels light and spinny, the weight of the last two weeks falling away now that I’m spending time with my friend and enjoying the effects of the alcohol. “I’m just saying, I know a thing or two that would help relieve a little bit of that man’s stress.”

“That’s my boss .”

“Yeah? He’s mine too. Doesn’t stop a boy from dreaming!”

I lean my cheek against my fist, closing my eyes and humming. I know I’m doing this for show to get Bridgette all riled up but that doesn’t stop my imagination from having a field day.

My inner octopus has taken an interest in Baylen just as much as my human brain has. The idea of having this high strung man on his knees for me leaves me breathless. The things I would do to him, the things I could help him through. He’s in charge of everyone at the company but I’d be willing to take that weight from his shoulders for a night, to be the one in charge until he didn’t have to think about anything but the sound of my voice and the feelings of my tentacles across his skin.

Except, he doesn’t know I have tentacles and if he did, he might actually run away screaming.

What a way to ruin a perfectly good fantasy.

Bridgette smacks my arm and I open my eyes, pretending that she’s the one who ruined my fantasy rather than reality doing it for her. “Stop it, Bridgette, I was just getting to the good part!”

We go back to drinking and catching up. I’m on my second drink and feeling delightfully drunk when something prickles at the back of my head. My inner shifter raises his head with excitement as he realizes something quicker than I do.

“Umm, Mr. Ongash?”

I look over at Bridgette with wide eyes before turning in my seat, finding Baylen there. He looks at me, then around at the bar in confusion. What the fuck is he doing here?

Baylen flinches and I realize I said that out loud. Oops. Fuck!

“Sorry, I’m a little under the influence,” I quickly blurt out. “But what are you doing here?”

Baylen pulls out his phone, showing me the text I sent him. “I asked for the address and this is where you sent me.”

“Oh fuck,” I say before clapping a hand over my mouth. “Sorry! Shit, this is so embarrassing! I must have accidentally shared my location instead of the address of the restaurant. I am so sorry, Baylen! I can call your client and reschedule your meeting with them. I can make this up to you, I promise.”

There’s a long moment where the three of us are quiet. Baylen looks a little lost before he must come to a conclusion. He takes out his phone and starts typing out a message, murmuring, “That won’t be necessary.”

My stomach drops. Fuck. I’ve somehow fucked up this job. I’ve literally never fucked up like this before and I can’t believe it’s happening with someone who’s such a stuck up hard ass like Baylen! Fuck, I was doing so well .

I’m preparing myself for the worst. Could I get fired right now or would Baylen wait until we’re back at the office on Monday? Baylen clears his throat and I look up to meet his eye. “I shouldn’t have expected you to do extra while not on the clock. For that I apologize and I’ll do my best to not do it again. I’ll leave the two of you to enjoy your evening.”

It takes me far too long to realize what Baylen’s just said and when it finally hits me, I act on instinct. Reaching out, I grab his wrist, halting his exit. “Baylen, wait.”

Baylen turns towards me, his eyes questioning. I could get lost in those pretty blue eyes. What was I about to say?

Bridgette nudges me and I startle back to the present. Right! “Would you like to stay and have a drink with us?”

Baylen looks between the two of us. He starts to shake his head. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“You wouldn’t be,” I say straight away. “I wouldn’t have asked you to stay if you were intruding. Please, Baylen. Just one and I’ll buy, to make it up to you for being the reason you’re missing your work dinner.”

“I was actually just getting ready to go,” Bridgette says. I turn towards her, ready to argue but there’s something in her eyes that tells me she wants me to stay. Is she trying to wingman me? With my boss? No, that doesn’t sound like her.

Or does it.

“It would make me feel better knowing I’m not leaving Milo all by himself.”

Baylen still looks a bit unsure but he sits down next to me. “If you’re sure,” he says slowly and Bridgette and I both nod. “Okay.”

Bridgette kisses my cheek and as she does, she whispers, “good luck.”

Oh my gods, my bestie is trying to set me up with my boss! I can barely believe it but at the same time, I’m absolutely reveling in being alone with Baylen outside of work. Is he just as stiff out in the wild, or does he let his hair down a bit?

“Have a good night! I’ll see you on Monday!”

I turn towards Baylen, giving him an easy smile. “What will it be?”

“What will what be?”

Why do I find that so cute? What the hell is wrong with me?

“Sorry, it’s just a saying. What would you like to drink? I’ll flag the bartender down and order for you.”

“Oh umm,” he looks at my drink and shrugs. “What are you drinking?”

“Something called an Emo Goblin. It’s sort of like a mint chocolate chip. Do you have a sweet tooth?”

“Really? A mint chocolate chip drink? Wouldn’t you rather have like a beer or something?”

I shake my head. “I don’t really like how beer tastes. There’s nothing wrong with having something you actually enjoy.”

Baylen stares at me for a long moment. As much as I like his attention on me, I suddenly feel like a fly under a microscope. “Okay,” he finally says with a nod. “You’ve convinced me. I’d like to try an Emo Goblin, please.”

I flag down the bartender, ordering one for Baylen. “You strike me as someone who doesn’t try new things very often.” Then I wince. “Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have said that.” “It’s okay. I like that you speak your mind. It’s rather refreshing if I’m being honest.” He looks over at me and gives me the briefest smile. My head swims while my insides turn all tingly and warm. That smile! I would die a happy man knowing I was the one who put that smile on his face. “To answer your question, no, I don’t enjoy trying new things. I like what I like and it’s safer to just stick with that most of the time.”

“I can understand that. Thank you for trusting me to try something new tonight, Baylen.”

That smile is back in place. “Thank you for making me feel safe enough to.”

Good lord, does this man have any idea what his words are doing to me? Does he have any idea how my insides are flipping summersaults? I want to take care of him, but I also want to stretch the lengths of his comfort. I want to pull him apart and carefully put him back together. I want to see him come completely and utterly undone by my touch alone.

Fuck, I need to keep focused on the here and now. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if I had a raging hard-on in the middle of the bar! I’ve just made him feel safe and I’ll be damned if I make him uncomfortable with how much I want him.

My inner shifter is content just to be close to Baylen. It seems my octopus is agreeing with me about how much we want him. He wants to reach out and wrap Baylen in our tentacles until he’s covered in little sucker marks, claiming him as ours.

As lovely as that thought is, it’s best to keep that an inside thought.

The bartender drops off Baylen’s drink before sliding down the bar and helping the next person. I grin over at my boss. “What do you think?”

The drink is essentially a boozy shake. It’s green in color with whipped cream on top and chocolate syrup along the sides and drizzled on top. He gives it a skeptical look before leaning forward and taking a sip. My eyes latch onto the way his lips wrap around his straw and oh my gods, I need to stop being such a perv!

Baylen has a look of concentration on his face before it slowly morphs into disbelief. Finally, he sits up straight with a grin directed at me. “That’s delicious!”

“I know, right? I love mint and chocolate together.”

“I didn’t even know alcohol could taste like this.”

“Oh my gosh, Baylen, you’ve been missing out!”

He shakes his head, taking another sip. So softly I can just barely hear him, he murmurs, “I think I really have.”