“Good. So do I. I vote we’re all happy. Happy, busy, and well-satisfied.” Carter clinked their beers together. “On to happier shit. Are you stoked about watching the boys work together?”
Yeah, that was enough hindsight. “I’m not sure if stoked is the right word. I’m… intrigued? Curious. A little turned-on.”
“Yeah. I fought it before, because it didn’t feel appropriate.”
“Well, I guess this is a whole new game, huh?” He grinned at Carter. “Should be fun.”
“Yeah.” There was a long pause, a heavy sigh. “He’s not coming back to work, is he?”
Saul shrugged. “He’s been cleared to work, but he can’t be on his feet for long, he can’t lift anything heavy yet, he’s not supposed to be under stress. He’s getting better, he’ll be a hundred percent soon, honestly. It’s his decision but if it were up to me, I’d want him to find something he loves. Not just a job.”
“It’s not just a job, is it? He’s been with me forever.” Carter shook his head and put the beer bottle on the table. “Maybe he’d be interested in working part-time in the office—inventory, scheduling, ordering.”
“He might. I know he’s worried about whether he can afford to teach, he might take you up on that.” That was something Troy could start right away too, and it would be good for the boy to get out of the house. “But Carter, I think in his mind he’s been working for you all this time, not with you, no matter what your intention was. You’ve been his boss, at work. His superior. His Dom in effect.”
Work was one area he didn’t know much about his boy, one area he’d tried to keep his fingers—and his opinions—to himself until the day Troy got sick. Would Troy appreciate that change in status, if it was made clear to him?
“A Dom at work, a Dom at home, his best friend taking on that role from time to time, that seems overwhelming to me, but…”
Carter shrugged. “I’m not a Dom part-time, I suppose. I can back off.”
“You’re not a bitch about it. You’re a boss.” Troy came out with Geoff, pie in hand. “When did everything get complicated?”
Actually, he’d been thinking that having a Dom at work wasn’t such a bad idea. He winked at Troy. “About the time your triad became a quad.” He wasn’t trying to be shocking; it really wasn’t a difficult leap in logic.
There was a silence, then Geoff popped off with, “Two and two is four. Two and two is four.”
“Wait.” Saul snorted and leaned back in his chair. “Did you really go twenty years without looking at what was going on?”
“No.” That was Carter, and Geoff shrugged, blushing a sweet rose.
“Okay, Carter and I talked about it.”
He glanced at Troy. “You’re quiet, boy.”
“I am.” Troy had put together four plates—two with pie and ice cream, one with just pie, and one with a scoop of ice cream. Saul and Carter got the full deal, Geoff was handed the pie.
“You’re upset with me. But I didn’t say that to make fun of anyone. Relationships can be complicated, fluid. Yours with Carter and Geoff… when I stepped into the middle of that it complicated everything. It changed all of you. It changed me. I think it’s difficult to talk about us without also acknowledging that at this point there is also a we.” He tilted his head at Carter. “I’ll accept that I’m off base if you disagree but… I doubt you do.”
“No. We’re a family, the four of us. It’s about time we talked.” Carter looked at Troy, so serious. “And you don’t get to shut down and stress yourself out. You’ve got three men who love you dearly.”
Saul stood, moved to Troy, and rested his hands heavily on his boy’s shoulders. Making sure Troy felt their weight. “Boy. Listen to me. Pay attention to those stripes on your back. You’re mine. My boy. I’m your Master. Clear? What Carter and I are talking about isn’t about changing that, or asking more of you. It’s about understanding everything else we have. Everything else we are.”
“I must look like the world’s oldest idiot to you.” Troy sighed softly. “To all y’all.”
“Not at all.” Saul pulled his chair closer so he could keep hold of Troy’s hand. “Serving comes so naturally to you I’m not surprised all this talk is stressing you out.” Troy just wanted to get on with it.
“You’re not an idiot, honey.” Geoff took Troy’s other hand. “You’re amazing.”
“Shut up.”
Geoff’s eyes twinkled. “Don’t you mean shut up, Sir?”
Troy let go of Saul’s hand and covered the twitch of his lips with his middle finger.
That got laughs from everyone. Saul scooped up a bite of his pie. “That’s reserved for one day a month. Otherwise he’s the same sort of naughty submissive that you are. Except, apparently, when serving dinner.” He winked at Carter. “Did you notice he even knows how we like our pie? You’d think he’d been serving you forever.”
“He has.” Carter nodded to Troy. “I want to talk to you about the diner. I want you to come home. You don’t have to cook. We can discuss other arrangements, but I want you to come home.”
“Carter was talking about maybe working in the office part-time. You could even start that right away because you wouldn’t be on your feet.” Carter’s offer made sense and Saul felt like Troy needed to feel included again. Productive. Capable. Troy needed all of that before he could pursue the things that spoke more to his heart.
“No more five in the morning start times? I’m used to sleeping in with Saul.”
“Oh, the negotiations have begun. My favorite part!” Geoff clapped his hands like a little boy at his birthday party.
“Oh, Troy’s lover would appreciate that, Carter.” Not that he slept past seven most mornings, but that was sleeping in when you were used to getting up at four.
“Eight thirty to three, three days a week,” Carter offered. “On salary.”
“Wednesday through Friday?” Troy countered.
“Works for me.”
“Good. What salary?”
Carter met Troy’s eyes. “I want you to be part-owner of the cafe.”
Whoa. Okay, that he hadn’t expected. He glanced at Geoff, trying to figure out if this was an in-the-moment thing, or if Geoff had known it was coming.
Geoff nodded to Troy. “Carter’s been hatching a plan, honey. He wants time too. You can both work together toward something… great.”
Damn, had he hit the nail on the head with this quad thing or what? Geoff and Carter both arrived tonight intending to dangle carrots to keep Troy close. Still, the diner wasn’t a yoga studio. He took Troy’s hand again and decided he’d better keep his mouth shut. The fact was he had everything he wanted.
“I—We’ll have to talk about it, but I’m interested. I need to do a lot of work before I can start thinking about training for my teacher hours.” Troy sounded more sure than Saul had heard him in weeks.
“That’s a yes, though right?” Geoff looked at Carter. “That was a yes.”