"We need three bottles of Knob Creek and five of the Silver Patrón, and that's the last of it,"
Gavin said as he turned to Harry, who was sitting at the end of the bar jotting the numbers down on his spreadsheet.
They'd just finished taking inventory and were getting ready to open for the happy hour crowd that would start arriving anytime now. Wednesday night… Hump Night… was one of the busiest nights of the week at Amour, and as Gavin headed to the end of the bar so he could go and unlock the door, Harry stopped him,
"Hey, before we open, I wanted to talk to you for a minute,"
When a frown furrowed his forehead, Harry grinned,
"Don't worry, you're not in trouble."
He pushed the bar pass up and came around to take a seat on the stool beside him, bumping his shoulder with his as he took a sip of his bottled water.
Over the past few months, Gavin had become a good friend to him, and at work he was an absolute lifesaver. As part-time manager, he was quick and efficient, and had a personality that drew people in, which resulted in amazing tips and repeat customers, which was why he wanted to talk with him today. Harry had wondered if maybe he'd like to take on a little more responsibility and make a bit more money with some extra hours. One, because he was great at his job, and two, because it would free him up in the late evenings. Let him scale back somewhat.
When he'd first re-joined the bar, Harry had known he would be putting in late nights and that it would be difficult with Tom's hours to make time for the two of them. But Tom had always been great about coming by after work so they could crash in the loft upstairs. That was until these last few weeks when a deal Tom had been working on had gone into overdrive. It was one of the most demanding deals Death Eater Pharmaceuticals had taken on, and had practically taken over their lives, which had Tom and Harry's schedules all over the place to where they'd barely seen one another. And damn if he wasn't sick of barely getting ten minutes of Tom's time here and there. He missed the hell out of him.
"So, what's up, boss?"
Gavin asked as he placed his arm on the counter. Harry tapped the pencil he held on the bar and shoved aside those thoughts as he smiled at Gavin,
"Nothing bad. It's just I'm thinking of stepping back a little, and I need to hire someone to take on the later hours and closing up, that kind of thing. And I was wondering if you'd be interested in the position. It'd come with a pay raise, of course."
Gavin twisted the bottle back and forth before saying,
"Aww, Boss… I'm sorry. I was actually going to talk to you tonight about giving my two weeks' notice."
"What? Why?"
He asked as his phone started to vibrate in front of him,
"Are you unhappy?"
"No. Nothing like that,"
He said, placing his hand on his arm,
"I hate doing this, because you, Tom, Eric and Blake…You guys are the best. But I got accepted into law school and I signed up to attend full time."
"Oh. Okay, umm, that's not a problem, really,"
He said, even as he thought about the hole his absence would leave. Gavin knew Amour almost as well as he did. Not to mention their easy camaraderie and history. Trying to find someone that fit in even a tenth of the way he did was going to be close to impossible,
"I'll put out an ad tomorrow and start interviewing for a full-time manager then. We'll find someone, don't worry."
Seeing that it was Tom calling, he picked up the cell and said to Gavin,
"Would you mind sitting in on the interviews once they're scheduled, though? Just to get a feel for the people?"
"No. Not at all…And I'll be available to train them, of course."
Harry smiled and nodded as he slipped off the chair and headed over to the front doors to officially open for the night.
Okay, well, that was the first thing he'd do tomorrow morning: put out an ad. Or maybe even tonight. He gathered up his clipboard and, as he stood, hit accept on the phone,
"Hey… How'd the meeting go today?"
Harry had been eyeing the clock all afternoon waiting to hear the outcome of the meeting, and while he was happy it was finally going to be over, he also hoped all of Tom's hard work had paid off.
"When was the last time we had sex?"
Tom's question was so blunt and unexpected it had Harry stumbling over his response for a second, and when he didn't answer, Tom continued,
"You don't know, do you?"
The side of Harry's mouth twitched at Tom's distraught tone,
"Well, to be fair, you caught me off guard. I had to think for a minute."
"And now that you've had time to think?"
"Umm…"
"Oh my God. You can't remember…"
Tom said, and Harry couldn't stop his laugh then. Tom grunted,
"That's just sad…"
"We've just been…"
"Don't say it…"
"…busy."
Harry headed over to the door that separated the bar from the tiny foyer and stairwell that went up to their loft, shut it behind himself, and took a seat on one of the steps,
"Well, we have been. This deal of yours has taken up most of your time, and with the bar hours we just got…busy."
"Yeah? Well, that needs to stop. Right now."
Harry leaned his shoulder against the wall and shut his eyes, picturing Tom with his jet-black hair, those soft brown eyes, and that full, sensual mouth. Harry had barely had time to say goodbye to him this morning, and no matter how much he was laughing it off, Tom was right… this not seeing one another was just wrong. They needed to sit down and work something out, now that Tom's schedule would be returning to something more manageable.
"Agreed,"
Harry said,
"Something needs to change."
"Good. How about we discuss it at dinner?"
Harry winced,
"I'm here until one."
"Can't you beg Gavin to stay and come meet me? Should I call up Eric and Blake and ask them to help?"
Tom asked, and if he hadn't sounded quite so desperate, Harry might not have caved.
"Depends."
"On?"
"What am I going to get if I come to you?"
Tom's voice lowered to a tone that never failed to turn him on,
"Me. All night. And maybe again in the morning. I'm in a giving kind of mood."
Harry swallowed and stretched his legs out in front of himself, suddenly needing a little more room in his jeans,
"All night, huh? It's been a while since that happened."
"It has. So, come find me and I'll rectify that little issue you're having with remembering our weekend away at Bruges. That was the last time we had sex."
"Damn… Tom."
Harry pressed a palm to his erection, recalling the weekend trip they'd made around three weeks ago. Or maybe it was four. They did need to work something out if he was having trouble remembering that,
"Let me get things settled here and I'll be at your office in"
He checked his watch,
"An hour? Hour and a half?"
Tom spoke delightedly,
"Perfect… I'll be waiting."
"Tom?"
Harry said before Tom could hang up.
"Hmm?"
"You never did say… how did the meeting go today?"
Harry could hear the satisfied smile in Tom's voice when he replied,
"Oh… They caved in…"
Harry's mouth fell open, and when he finally managed to shut it again, he said,
"Wow, that's… Wow. Congratulations. Why didn't you tell me that first?"
"Because there was something more important to discuss,"
Tom said as though it should've been obvious, and Harry couldn't stop himself from laughing,
"Your priorities are…"
"Spot on for the first time in months… An hour, Harry."
Harry got to his feet and opened the door to the bar, just as eager as Tom was to meet up,
"An hour. See you then."
"I'll be here."
And with that, Tom disconnected, and Harry went to hunt down Gavin to ask one final favour.
