Trust in Me - Quinn Ward Page 0,70

at me. I led Sam and his family directly to the bar. Tonight, was one that called for some liquid fortification.

“Sam, this place isn’t at all like I imagined it would be,” his mom admitted.

“Sam, why don’t you head over to grab us a spot to sit,” I suggested. His mom followed, leaving me on my own with his dad for the first time since they’d arrived.

“You’re good for him,” his dad observed as we were waiting for Corey to notice us and take out drink orders. “We worried about him being so far from home, but he insisted he needed a fresh start.”

“I can understand your fears,” I assured him. “He wasn’t at all what I expected, but I promise, he’s had everyone here at the club looking out for him until we met. And now, I’d lay down my life if anyone threatened him.”

“I have no doubt you would.” Edward patted my shoulder. “I was worried when I first saw you. A lot of men out there would try to take advantage of him. But I held judgment and watched the two of you today.”

“And now?” Corey and I made eye contact. He waved and pointed to the customers he needed to help before us. “Again, I don’t blame you for worrying about Sam. He has a kind heart and that could be dangerous in the wrong hands. But I promise, I only want the best for him.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve seen as I watched the two of you together.” As Corey approached, Edward pulled out his credit card before I could get my fingers around my wallet. “I’m looking forward to him explaining more about this place. He’s been cagey about what he’s been doing. Made it sound like it was just some sort of dive bar he was running, but that’s not the reality of it, is it?”

“No, Sir.” I chuckled. The Lodge was the furthest you could get from a dive. Jack busted his ass to create a classy club, and now he had Sam there to help him take things to the next level. “We won’t be able to show you the back deck, but I’m not sure Sam would be up for that even if you were interested in seeing it.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” I glared at Corey, wishing he’d hurry the fuck up. “Jack, the owner, split the club into two sections. This part is The Lodge, which was originally strictly vanilla but has recently dipped into a bit of kink. The Back Deck is more typical of what most people associate with a kink club. It’s a BDSM dungeon, although Jack would kick my ass if he heard me call it that.”

“Semantics.” Edward waved a hand in the air dismissively. “I know my son would be uncomfortable hearing me say it, but I’m happy places like this exist. Maybe it will eventually mean people have a safe space to explore themselves.”

Yeah, that would definitely not ease Sam’s anxiety, but Edward wasn’t wrong. Without ever having met the man, he’d pegged Jack’s mission statement. The younger generation might never understand how hard it was for those of us who had reached a certain age to explore.

“And it’s not an issue that we’re here?” Edward asked as he looked around. Yes, the clientele was primarily gay men, but I knew for a fact there were more women in the back. “April’s a tough girl, but I don’t want her to feel out of place. We could have come down when the club wasn’t open.”

“No, you’re fine,” I reassured him. “Just…maybe… Look, this is awkward as fuck, but if you really want to see the rest of the club, let me know. I’ll get you clearance for a night when Sam’s not working, and I’ll keep him far away from here.”

“That obvious?” I resisted the urge to laugh. I might be gay, but I’d still picked up on the kink vibes radiating off Edward and his wife. The man looked like he’d walked into a fantasy, but he couldn’t do anything about it because his son was one of the managers of the club.

“A little bit,” I hedged. In all the scenarios Sam’s mind had conjured about how this weekend could go wrong, learning about his parents’ kinky tendencies was never on the list of possibilities. “But I mean it. Jack runs a great club. Even if you ran into people you meet tonight, they’d never tell Sam about it if you choose to come back another