The Bad Boy's Chain

Chapter Four, Part One - Initiation

When Jess took a janitorial job at the Maison, I knew it was about more than fulfilling his probational obligations-but I ignored this. For once he was staying out of trouble, and things were going semi-decent with Kerry-it was mostly smooth sailing. Why poke the bear? Besides, I had other concerns.

It had only been a couple days since Carlos' semi-good news, and his silence was slowly eating at me. On the other hand, Jesse was frustrated for other reasons too scary for me to address. Ever since that night in the bathroom, things were tense between us. He kept dropping subtle hints that he wanted to finish our conversation, but I pretended I didn't notice. It wasn't easy. In every glance, in every nod, in every unspoken word, Jesse's promise was loud and clear--this isn't over.

He stopped by the front desk one morning, mop bucket in hand. His uniform consisted of fitted khaki slacks and a black polo with the hotel's insignia stitched across the heart. Jesse was dressed for success, but his devil-smile was inconsistent with his angel-eyes. Like, sure, you could ask him to clean the bathroom, but he might give you a swirly instead.

He leaned on the mop handle, his eyes that startling shade of forget-me-not blue you had no choice but to watch... and obey. "Oy..." Jess lowered his voice, leaning conspiratorially across the counter. "Fess up--that's where you lot keep the bodies, innit?" He nodded at the door behind us--secured with a keypad locking system and a fingerprint recognition door handle. For all I knew, there really were dead bodies in there. But I was due for a promotion - any day now I'd be granted a whole new set of keys to the Maison kingdom, and full access to... The Door.

Aidan grinned, using the counter to align the note cards in his hand. "Oh-that? That's 'The Door'. It's actually where we keep the guests' valuables and all the over-priced crap we put in their minibars--but I'm sure if you sprinkle some lime in there--"

"Aidan, ignore him, he's casing the place." I rolled my eyes. "Don't let him distract you from your studying. Graduate, maybe get a PhD in psychology so we can figure out how to fix him."

Aidan brought his lips to his shoulder and made radio noises. "10--57-man down. Shots fired, I repeat, shots fired..."

I laughed and Jesse sulked. The fact that the guy crushing on him was now poking fun at his expense was a blow to Jesse's ego. But it was no big deal - all it really meant was that Aidan was getting used to him. That was an accomplishment - it was hard to win Aidan's trust.

Picking up where he left off, Aidan affected a goofy version of Jesse's accent. "Lunch break, my good fellows. I have a test in math."

"Maths." I stuck an elbow in his ribs, grinning.

Jesse waited for Aidan to leave the sanctity of the front desk - then turned his frown upside down and stole my clipboard from me.

"Is that really what you think of me--I'm just some dodgy ne'er do well--always looking for trouble?"

"No, Jess--"

"I can't crack a few bloody jokes without you ringing the alarm. Admit it, you're terrified I'll screw up and embarrass you in front of your mates. Your scared I'll ruin this too, like my dad ruined things for your family--"

"Okay, now you're just talking crazy." I grabbed my clipboard back and set it on the counter. "Jess, it was a joke. Stop reading into things."

"Then how about not giving me a reason? Look, I know you don't fancy me working here, but it's a job--a legitimate one. Straight and narrow, innit?" He folded his arms on the counter, leaning in until I could smell his sharp, minty cologne. "Would it be against the rules if I asked you to give me a tour? This place is quite large--I'm sure it couldn't hurt to do a little late-night exploring..."