Arlo John (boyxboy)

Chapter 6

I return to work after another day passes.

Dakota is obviously disappointed in my actions at the bar, but I can't find enough guilt within myself to feel the same. I was only trying to have a good time. And what a good time I had until he ruined it.

"Special delivery," Turner says as he hands me a few documents.

"This is it?" I ask, placing them on my desk.

He nods. "That's it."

"Jeez," I say. "Seems as if overtime is a thing of the past."

"Sure is," he agrees. "Now, get to work!"

"Yessir," I say, beginning to scan through the documents.

An email soon pops up on my screen and I click on it to read the contents.

It's from Dakota's secretary. She's informing us Dakota scheduled a quick meeting after lunch today as if we have the time to attend.

An hour passes and I leave my desk as the cluttered mess it is before heading to lunch.

Turner, Josiah, and Marcy are already there, laughing over something Turner must've said.

As soon as I sit down and open my lunch, the three of them stop laughing. They stop talking too.

Jesus Christ.

"I must've made things so incredibly awkward between all of us by confessing my love for Marcy the other day, huh?" I ask, obviously not helping the situation at all.

Again, silence ensues.

"You can forget I ever said anything, Marcy," I say. "Really. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable."

Marcy shakes her head and finally speaks.

"I just feel bad," she says, staring down at her food.

I wave a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it. It was just a little crush. I'm over it."

My robot voice makes an appearance again.

"Okay," she says. "I hope we can continue being friends."

"Of course," I say.

"Ayyy," Turner says, slinging an arm around my shoulder as he reaches over. "This calls for celebratory drinks."

"What does?" I ask.

"Friendship, man," he replies. "It's so beautiful."

"You're out of your mind," I say. "And I don't think I want to go anywhere near alcohol for a while."

"Why's that?" Josiah asks.

"I went out to Vinicio's on my day off," I tell them. "It didn't quite end well."

"I can only imagine," Turner says.

"No," I say. "You can't imagine. Dakota had to call an Uber to bring my sorry ass home."

Finally, Marcy's eyes meet mine at the mention of Dakota's name.

"Dakota?" Josiah asks. "Storm? As in our boss?"

I breathe out. "I ran into him at the bar when I was completely wasted."

Turner doubles over in a fit of laughter.

"Did you curse at him?" he asks. "Punch him in the face? You know, all the things you want to do when you're sober but don't have the guts?"

"No," I say. "He called me stupid and sent me home."

"He did?" Marcy asks, entertained by the conversation about the love of her life.

"Yes," I say. "He said Turner is stupid, too."