Chapter 163
Zeno walked into the club and as usual, m6sic was booming.
He never used the 'staff only' entrance, he'd miss all the fun.
As he walked around the gyrating bodies and drunken laughter, he realized that people were already getting wasted, and the night was still very young.
He passed the general section and entered through a long passage that led to the VIP section, which was where he worked.
Where he'd just passed the gyrating bodies was for the masses, anyone was allowed there, straight, gay, lesbian, you name it. But he especially chose to work in the VIP gay section because why not? He was gay.
There was no denying that anymore, instead of working where he'd have to endure advances from women he knew he would never have anything to do, it was better he worked with only men who knew what they wanted and knew how to take rejection when faced with one.
He'd never had anything to do with any of them, but he enjoyed watching them interact; it showed him how much of a deception a man can put on just to bed another man in the name of love.
He entered the club; it was quieter than the previous one but by no means considered quiet. It was still loud, just in moderation to let people speak to each other.
Nicholas' club reflected him, he made it open for everyone who believed in openness. He could have chosen to make it an only-gay club, but he didn't, he wanted everyone to be equal with no discrimination.
In this VIP section, paintings from his favorite artist decorated the dark wall, with dim lights illuminating the paintings from within, Zeno had already gotten used to this kind of erotic painting after Nicholas took him to that art gallery a long time ago, he didn't mind them now though, in the past, he had wished to find someone who could stare at him in the same way the men in those paintings stared at their partners but he'd been wrong.
All he needed was to stare at himself in the mirror in that manner; there was no love greater than self-love; one can never betray himself, never.
"Hey, handsome, checking in for the night?" A girl met Zeno, who was standing beside an empty booth.
He turned to face the girl the multi neon lights helping him see who it was.
He smiled when he saw the shirt girl in a pink ponytail, her modern gothic style making her look fierce yet cute, "Hi, baby," He kissed the back of her hand.
Baby blushed, "Hey, Zeno, you're early tonight, got off early from the other side?" She asked, leading him toward the bar.
They walked past the filled booths, right through the dancing stage, and finally reached the luxury bar.
"Yeah, you know me, it's all business, not pleasure. I left immediately after the party was over," He winked at her and walked inside the bar.
"Mm..." Baby hummed, standing on the other side of the counter.
"Evening, Zeno, I was just about leaving," A guy said to Zeno.
"I got you, Luke. Have a good night," Zeno replied to the guy.
"Bye, Baby, You better get to serving the customers before the boss sees you flirting with his friend," Luke warned before leaving.
Zeno chuckled, "He has a point," He smiled as he used a clean white towel to wipe the shiny black countertop of the bar counter.
"Nah, don't worry, Nicholas is not coming in yet, he's probably in his office checking his daily data," She replied.
She suddenly held Zeno's hand that was wiping the counter and smirked at him.
Zeno didn't even try to stop her, she was his nightly entertainment, "What's it this time, Baby?"
"How about I book you for your services? I know you're gay, but, who knows, I might be able to get through your thick skin... you're too hot to be single, Zeno," She traced her fingers up his arm, to his shoulder, and slowly traced it down his unbuttoned chest.
Zeno smiled, "You don't give up, do you? You're allowed to book for my services, but you're guaranteed to get what you want in the end," He replied in a low tone.
Baby's hand went up his defined jaw, tracing along it, "Trust me, I have a lot of tricks up my sleeves, I -"
"How about putting those tricks to use by getting more money out of the customers?" Nicholas' stern voice spoke behind Baby.
Baby immediately withdrew her hands from Zeno, smiling awkwardly, "Good evening, my handsome boss, how my night lights up each time I stare at your bright -"
"Don't patronize me, Baby; go use your poems and tricks on the customers, or believe me, I'll use these tricks on your pay, and give you a very nice poem on why I did it," Nicholas threatened.
"Oh no, no. I'm leaving now, I was never here... so mean," She muttered the last part and ran off, not before giving Zeno a secret wink.
"You're scaring the poor girl," Zeno chuckled.
"Serves her right," Nicholas replied and sat on the stool in front of the bar.
"A Martini, please," He asked.
"Pay up, my dear friend, this ain't a charity event," Zeno gave him an innocent smile.
Nicholas smiled, "You've got to stop doing this, I own this pla -"
"What would you like?" Zeno ignored him and went over to the guy who had just come to stand beside Nicholas.
Nicholas was speechless, Zeno had just ignored him, his boss!
Nicholas was about to speak to Zeno again when he received a call from an unknown number, he immediately ended the call. No identification, no answering of calls, that's been his policy for the past year.
However, his phone rang again, and he still ended; the cycle continued about six times before he decided to turn his phone off for a while; if the person realized that his call wasn't going through, he'd quit and find something else to do.
He had almost turned it off when he saw a message from the same unknown number, "Huh?"
He tapped it to read, "Hi, it's Ezra, Sebastian is coming to Paris. He knows about your club," He read loudly, suddenly putting a hand over his mouth when realized that Zeno might hear him.
"Talking to me, Nick?" Zeno questioned, focused on making a drink for a customer.
Nicholas immediately shook his head, "Uh, no. I'll be right back, see you later tonight," He told Zeno and left.
"Your drink, sir," He pushed a smoking glass toward the man, his eyes staring at Nicholas.
Zeno felt that something was wrong; this was the first time since they traveled that Nicholas was acting this suspiciously, and Zeno had mastered the act in the past to know when something was off.
Currently, he wasn't in the mood for surprises, so he decided he would ask Nicholas what the problem was when they got home.
Nicholas went up to his office and stared at the message again.
Firstly, how did Ezra get his number?
He and Zeno had made sure to change their numbers when they got here, so, the message was very fishy since it was unlikely that Ezra could have their new numbers.
Secondly, even if Sebastian was coming to Paris, how was it he or Zeno's business?
Sebastian was free to go wherever the fuck he wanted, he just had to stay away from them. However, Ezra clearly stated that Sebastian knew about his club, does it mean he was coming to his club? Why?
Nicholas chuckled as he thought of something ridiculous. Could it be he wanted to see Zeno? To get him back? He couldn't help the mocking laughter that escaped his mouth.
If what Nicholas thought was true, then it meant that Sebastian had lost the one atom of regard he had left for him.
The last time he checked the headlines, which was in the morning, Sebastian was still very much with Sakura, who now had a few months old baby.
They looked like a happy family; he saw only a few pictures of an unhappy Ken, and he knew that the boy would always refuse to join in their family pictures.
So, why was Sebastian coming to Paris?
Nicholas knew that Zeno would rather shoot himself between the eyes than get back with Sebastian. However, if Sebastian somehow managed to trick Zeno into listening to his bullshut, he would pull a bullet at Sebastian.
He was never going to all Zeno make the same mistake twice, he'd watched him heal, and it was hard, it was months of pretending to be happy while he was hurting, it was months of pushing friends away and choosing to be alone even when he needed the companionship, it was the silent tears at night a d smiles on the morning, it was pushing himself harder to do better and become a better person while denying himself the rest he needed; the list could go on forever and never end.
So, that was why he'd decided to protect Zeno, protect his hardworking, his independence. He might not be his boyfriend as he thought he would, but he'd be that friend that forced him to make the right choices.
Sebastian might have gotten bored of Sakura and thought that Zeno was still available to be his dirty little secret; he thought wrong then because he didn't know what was in store for him.
He thought he'd just waltz back and claim Zeno? Then he must be on some very cheap weed, unfortunately.
Nicholas sighed, he plumped down on his chair and stared down at his club through the glass wall.
"I might just be overthinking this; maybe Sebastian doesn't even know that Zeno is here; even if he knew, he might not even be coming for Zeno; he still had Sakura... it might just be for business as always," Nicholas rubbed his face and groaned.
He wished Sebastian wouldn't come, he was already getting a headache for the upcoming drama.
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