Derek had so badly needed this, especially after this past year. Though he didn’t know his co-worker Christian well, as they had mostly interacted via Zoom, he still accepted Christian’s invite for an Independence Day hang.And despite Christian’s insistence of playing a weird mix of patriotic electronica, or whatever odd genre that was, Derek felt incredible. It was as if all his thought and worries were vanishing from his mind, leaving just a simple fun-loving jock. He hadn’t had much to drink but somehow still felt drunk on life. Christian loved to watch him. Heck, he’d loved watching him all along, secretly taking screengrabs of Derek whenever he had the primary screen in the Zoom meetings. There had been a sadness in his eyes that made Christian sad, and so he set out to help his sexy co-worker truly let go for the weekend. And yet, as Derek let go of all inhibitions, Christian realized it was working better than he ever dreamt.

It was almost as if Derek was becoming pup-like, wanting to play but also wanting to nuzzle up against his owner.When Christian suggested they go back to his place to cool off, Derek again simply said, “Whatever you want. I’m down for whatever.” As he grabbed Christian’s arm as they walked towards the car, Christian knew the programming had worked a bit too well – but he wasn’t going to complain.