“You even had them dry cleaned? You needn’t have gone so far, Seth.”

“Consider it another way of saying ‘thanks’.”

:::

I shook my head as I recalled the reaction of my co-worker, Liam Lux, when I handed him back his leather pants the day after the ‘ripping’ incident. In spite of the pants, the meeting had gone along well. With my new position came better pay, so I decided that I should buy several sets of work pants that wouldn’t rip upon bending down to pick anything up.

The problem with pants, in general, was that it was difficult to find pairs that fit me well all-around. Pants that were able to encompass my large, round ass were usually too long and wide everywhere else. Pants that fit my legs perfectly were always too tight on top. Sometimes, I compromised by getting larger sizes and a belt, but I hated the way the fabric bunched up and the belt would dig into my lower back.

That weekend, I was determined to find at least four well-fitting pants even if it killed me. As I slid the hangers aside one at a time, I made a strangled noise when I caught sight of a set of leather pants on the rack. My hand automatically reached out to touch it. The material was quite nice. I lifted one of the legs of the pants and noted a softer lining on the inside.

Just why did Liam have a pair of leather pants at the office? Did he wear them out on dates?

The smug look on his face when I walked into the meeting in his pants came to the front of my mind. Letting out a sharp breath through my nose, I quickly slid the hanger of the leather pants aside and continued my search. I was a department head now and I had to look like one.

:::

I frowned at the light shining through the window. My alarm had yet to go off, so I merely turned my head the other way. I slept on my stomach, so it wasn’t very difficult to do. Slowly, my mind began to nag at me for some reason, trying to keep me awake. Was the sun usually up when my alarm clock goes off?

NO, no it normally wasn’t!

With a start, I grabbed my cell phone and looked at the time. I had fifteen minutes to get ready or I wouldn’t get to work on time.

“Shit!” I hissed as I leaped right out of bed and rushed about.

Luckily, I had already laid out what clothes to wear the night prior. I took a five minute shower and brushed back my short black hair, leaving it to air dry. I then brushed my teeth and inspected my face. Blue-grey eyes peered back at me as I began to shave. My shaver was electric, which helped cut the time, but it still took careful precision. After a touch of after shave and cologne, I rushed about tugging my clothes on, leaving the dress shirt unbuttoned as I grabbed my suitcase and all but dove into my car.

:::

I has just finished buttoning up my shirt in the elevator when I saw a briefcase holding the door open. Liam stepped inside.

“Running late, too?” I asked as I fixed my collar.

“Yeah, traffic was terrible this morning. And then I couldn’t find a good parking spot.” He responded as he ran a hand through his auburn hair.

When his curious honey-hued eyes looked me over, I averted my gaze.

“So, Seth?” He questioned, the usual teasing tilt in his voice. “What kind of boxers are you wearing today?”

“Batman’s bat signal,” I all but growled in reply. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” He agreed, but the smile was still wide on his face. “But, that won’t stop me from trying to imagine them!”

The elevator doors opened just as he said the last bit, and he rushed off to his office, which only aggravated me further. He always somehow managed to escape before I could thwack him with my briefcase in retaliation. Instead, I could feel the blush rising to my face even as I passed the receptionist.

“Liam again?” She mused. Her name was Kathryn. Her eyes were green, her skintone was mocha, and her hair was a naturally curly brown. She always had a different color or design of nail polish every week in a length that was a bit longer than what was recommended for ‘business best,’ but she deserved the small privilege due to her excellent work ethic.

“Do me a favor and just try not to mention that name for the rest of the day, please?” I pleaded.

“I’m not making any such promises,” She retorted. “You know I don’t believe that bull about not dating anyone from work…”

Kathryn and my retired boss were the only women in the office that knew that I was gay. They also knew that I lived alone and that I had my own brand of OCD. But, my retired boss never pestered me about dating like the receptionist did. For reasons beyond me, she kept trying to shove Liam at me.

“Not interested.” I stated.

“Leather pants,” She pointed out.

“Could be a Harley Davidson collector.”

“Only flirts with you,” She insisted.

“No, he aggravates me for his own amusement.” I countered.

At this point, she placed her hands on her hips and frowned at me. “Why don’t you want to give him a chance? When was the last time you even dated somebody?” She scolded.

I was taken aback for a moment. But, I shook my head. “I need to clock in.” I said as I tried not to rush past her and closed the office door behind me with a sigh.

When I turned the computer on, the sound of a new message alerted me to a notice about the staff meeting at 11 o’clock. Was it already the first Tuesday of the month?

:::

Time seemed to fly fast for the first few hours of work. I returned a few phone calls and processed a stack of paperwork. I was about to start sorting out how to coordinate an event when another alert chimed on my desktop that it was nearing 11.

The department heads and a few assistants filed into the conference room. To my horror, Liam took a seat beside me. The first fifteen minutes of the meeting were productive. Everyone noted key events and changes on their calendars and planners. However, as the meeting continued to drag on, there were more than a few glazed eyes in the room.

A nudge at my elbow startled me and I turned to see a half-grin on Liam’s face. He motioned towards his notepad and my eyes widened. The punk had doodled a pair of boxers with the batman signal on the corner of his page. I couldn’t fight the slight blush that streaked across my nose and cheeks. But, I reached over to quickly scribble all over the doodle in ink so that it was no longer recognizable.

Liam’s hand took hold of my wrist and I allowed him to remove it from his page. However, he then tugged the hand beneath the staff table and began writing something on my palm in pen. I made a move as if to tug my hand back, but he held it firmly in place. I glanced around and was relieved to see that everyone’s attention was on the overhead projector.

Not a moment later, we were dismissed, and Liam was the first out the door. I looked at my palm and balked at what was written there. The man had written his private cell phone down with the words ‘text me after work hours’ underneath.