Page 125 of Masters of Pleasure
It amused him how everyone knew everything that was going on with their relationship, but only the managers had figured out him and Avery.Maybe he should thank them.Everyone was so caught up in the George, Alanna, Jonathan love triangle, they didn’t notice their executive chef was romantically involved with one of their sous chefs.
“Thanks, Alanna,” he called after her, picking up the towel resting on the metal counter in front of him and wiping off his hands.She threw a thumbs up at him over her shoulder before disappearing out the door into the dining room.
Nick looked back over his shoulder at the cooks on the other side of the line.“I’ll be back.Anyone need anything before I go?”
“No, Chef.”It was like his own personal Greek chorus the way they all responded together.Nick waved his hand and followed Alanna’s path out the door, twisting slightly to avoid George, who was on his way into the kitchen with a thundercloud expression.
Well, he was going to be fun to work with tonight.
Hopefully, George would eventually get used to it.In the meantime, there wasn’t much Nick could do except to be considerate of why he was such a grump lately.It couldn’t be easy watching Alanna and Jonathan as a couple, especially since George had decided to maintain his friendship with them both.
Dismissing the server drama from his mind, Nick headed to Marquis’ bar, where his big brother was waiting.As always, Luke was dressed in jeans and his construction company’s t-shirt, looking casual yet easily fitting in at Marquis.Maybe it was the windswept dark hair the two of them shared or the aura of confidence.
Now that Nick knew what his brother went through with Olivia on a regular basis, he was even more astounded by how supremely confident Luke was at all times.
Standing on the other side of the bar from Luke was Shane, one of the bartenders, chatting with him.Shane was older with a shiny bald head, a nicely trimmed dark goatee shot through with silver, and a smile that only quit when he needed to ream someone out.It didn’t happen often because he was a quieter kind of guy, but Nick had seen it once when one of their male servers harassed one of their nonbinary servers.
Shane had followed Jeff into the kitchen and quietly and lethally verbally ripped Jeff a new asshole.Jeff had gone white as a ghost and immediately quit.Good riddance to bad rubbish.
No one had risked getting on Shane’s bad side since.He was quiet and friendly, but if Nick ever needed to bury a body, he knew who his first call would be.
“Hey, Nick.The usual?”Shane smiled at him in greeting, already moving to grab a beer glass.
“Yes, thank you.”Nick slid onto the barstool next to Luke.“What’s up?”
“Wanted to check in.It’s been a while since we’ve hung out and talked.”Luke reached out to give Nick a half hug.Nick leaned in, his mind running over Luke’s words.Hmmm, it had been a while.Normally, they tried to get together at least once every couple of weeks, but they hadn’t done that since before the Dom class started.He’d been too busy with class, work, and Avery.
Damn.
Shane slid the glass of cold beer, fresh from the tap in front of Nick, then walked away.There weren’t any other customers at the bar since it was the middle of the afternoon, but he must have decided Luke and Nick needed the space to talk.
“Sorry, I hadn’t realized it had been so long.”
“No worries.”Luke pulled away, settling back in place with his half-finished beer.“I know you’ve been busy, and I’m happy for you.New relationship and all that.”He grinned, lifting his glass to his lips for a sip while Nick did the same.“I remember the beginning of my and Olivia’s relationship.”
Wow.Luke was comparing Nick and Avery to him and Olivia… that was… fast?Was it, though?Nick already knew he was falling in love with Avery, even though he hadn’t told her yet.Maybe he shouldn’t be surprised his big brother already realized things were serious between them.Luke tended to be on top of things.
“I do, too.I remember having to take your dog for a lot of walks,” Nick joked.Luke had called on him more than once to take care of Molly while he and Olivia first got together.
“If you ever get a dog, I’ll be happy to return the favor.”
Nick shook his head.His schedule was not conducive to a pet, especially not a dog.Maybe a cat, but even then...He couldn’t keep an herb garden alive, so he wouldn’t try with a living, breathing animal.Borrowing Molly was about at his level.
“How are things going with you and Olivia?Gotta tell you, the class is making me wonder how you do it.”
“It’s easy when you like it.”Luke chuckled.“Well, easier.I had to let go of some ideas about what I was supposed to be and how I was supposed to act, but once I did, I was a lot happier.”
“I get that.Sometimes, I get a surge of guilt with Avery, even though she says she likes it.”Nick shook his head and took a large swallow of beer.Talking about his feelings was not his forte.“I still feel guilty.”
“Do you like it?”As usual, his big brother went straight for the jugular.
“Yes, I like it.”Nick made a face.“I think that’s a big part of why I feel so guilty.”
“Don’t.I know, I know, easier said than done.”Luke clapped his hand on Nick’s shoulder.“I struggled a lot when I was getting into everything.I was ashamed of what I liked and felt as if I was enjoying something I wasn’t supposed to.”
“Exactly.”Relief surged, tinged with surprise.He hadn’t realized he and Luke might feel some of the same things, considering they were on opposite sides of the coin.Luke wasn’t spanking Olivia; it was the other way round.Though… he could see how that could cause shame, too.
Why did this have to be so hard?
