Where Nerves End

would. But, I mean, my son doesnt know. And neither does Seth.”
I’m wondering how long youve known…
“Secrets safe with me.”
“Thank you.”
Awkward silence descended again. God, so many things I wanted to ask him, most of which boiled down to “What do I have to do to get into your bed?” Fortunately, I found the restraint to keep those questions to myself, and when Michael headed upstairs to get a shower, I couldnt decide if I was relieved the conversation was over, or kicking myself for not working up the nerve to say anything.
I didnt care if a roommate got laid. In fact, after having several over the years, I openly encouraged each and every one of them to fuck as often as humanly possible, because sexually satisfied roommates were easy roommates to live with.
When that roommate was my every sexual fantasy personified, and Id been convinced he was straight so I didnt have a snowballs chance in hell of even finding out if we were sexually compatible? Then I wasnt quite so enthusiastic about him knocking the plaster off the walls.
    “I’m sure I don’t have to ask, but you’ll be…discreet?”
    Id keep my mouth shut, but hed definitely piqued my curiosity. Among other things.
My roommate was hot. My roommate rarely wore a shirt. And my roommate slept with men.
Want .

CHAPTER 12
    I never drank at work. Even if it was legal, which it wasn t, it was bad form and unprofessional. Tonight? Oh my God, it was tempting. Pour me some Jaeger and let me go.
    The kid was at his mothers. It was Saturday night. When I left for work, Michael had just gone in to take a shower. I had no idea where he wouldbe or what hed be doing. My brain had a few ideas that may or may not have been accurate, but those ideas werent doing much for my sanity. As far as I was concerned, the only question was who he was doing, and I envied the son of a bitch who wound up in my guest room tonight.
    At least I was here and not at home. First priority tonight had been getting away from that place. Ever since Michael slept with another man in my house, I was halfway to bona fide, cardcarrying, irreversibly insane. I couldnt even look at him without hearing— feeling —the low, reverberating sounds of arousal that had come from his room that morning, and just the creak of a floorboard beneath his foot or mine made me think of squeaking furniture. The faint bruise above his hip had faded, but that didnt stop my mind from telling me every shadow that fell across his skin—always without his shirt, always without his fucking shirt! — was a mark left by some man who got closer to him than I ever would.
    Frustration. Jealousy. Just plain horniness. Maybe all of the above. Whatever the word, it was driving me out of my mind.
Thank God Id be at work until nearly dawn, and hopefully Lights Out would keep me occupied and distracted so I didnt think about what was going on at my house.
Not likely, though. The club wasnt setting itself up to be terribly stressful tonight. Quite the contrary: it was looking to be a bit too quiet. On a Saturday night, people shouldve been standing in line outside, and the bartenders tip jars shouldve been overflowing before eight thirty.
I rested my hands on the bar and surveyed the scene. Rumor had it one of the other clubs in town was having some sort of event tonight, so that probably drew away a portion of my potential clientele. That, and we were getting close to finals week for both universities. Tucker U would be wrapping up in the next two weeks, and East Centennial the week after that. Which meant students would be taking off in droves for summer vacation. Traveling, returning to wherever they called home, not coming through the doors of Lights Out.
In a university town, summer wasnt good for business.
Wasnt good for selection, either, but I couldnt say I was terribly picky tonight. The one man I wanted was out of reach, so anyone I hooked up with would be, at best, second best anyway. Better than jacking off to some futile Michael-shaped fantasies, I supposed. Either way, good thing I worked in a place where plenty of men came looking for someone with whom to tangle up all night and then part ways at dawn, because if I couldnt have Michael, then that was exactly what I needed tonight.
But for now, I had to run the club. I didnt leave until after closing, which meant there was no point in finding anyone now. If he was horny enough for a one-nighter, he wasnt going to hang around until three in the