Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
I put the shade back on the lamp before plugging my phone into the charger in the kitchen, adjacent to the living room of my one bedroom unit.
My phone died on the jog, so I turn it on to check and see if I have any messages on Grindr or Scruff when I notice I have a voicemail.
It’s from Jackson.
Weird.
I remember waking up and feeling lost, confused…and my skull feeling like it was about to cave in.
As good as Jackson was to me that night and as much as I’ve considered reaching out to him, I’ve avoided it. I figured he wouldn’t want anything to do with me. Not that I haven’t considered how much fun it would be to mess around with him, but I doubted he would be interested, especially when all I got from him last time was a cold shoulder.
I listen to the message. “Hey, Derek, this is Jackson. We…met…the other day. I was just calling to check in and make sure you’re all right.”
Make sure I’m all right? After three weeks?
Odd as it sounds, there’s something sweet about it. And I don’t doubt that he’s concerned about me. He seems like the kind of guy who would worry. It must be his fatherly impulse kicking in. Although he could be getting the itch to bang someone, and if that’s the case, I’m down for that too.
I spin around. “What do you think, Charlie-boy?” He swims lazily in circles, not seeming to care about what I’m saying. “You think Daddy needs some hole?”
I tell myself that’s more than likely what it’s really about. After all, he said he was going out that night to get some action. Maybe he hasn’t had any in the past few weeks, and it’s finally getting to him—and he remembered that he has this hot, tight piece of ass in his phone. But for some reason, I don’t think that’s what he’s really looking for.
I call him back right away, not waiting the usual amount of time I would to tease a guy. I don’t imagine a guy like Jackson cares much for games.
“Hey, Derek?” he answers.
“Who else would it be? Someone who stole my phone and decided to troll for a top?”
I hear the hint of a chuckle. “Sorry.”
He’s about to say something else, but I interrupt him. “So, looks like Daddy was more interested than he thought.”
“What?”
“Is this how you play with all the boys? Take them home for a night, take care of them through the morning and then play hard to get for a few weeks until you pounce?”
“I guess you found me out.”
“You sound more like you have a sense of humor today.”
“It’s a little easier to have a sense of humor when I’ve gotten a good night’s sleep and haven’t spent the night worried as fuck about some kid sleeping on my couch.”
“Sounds like you spent last night alone then. Well, that’s fine. Doesn’t mean you have to spend tonight that way.”
It’s another joke, but I’m kind of serious. If he invited me over, I wouldn’t hesitate. I mean, I basically owe him for what he did for me.
He’s silent for a moment, and it makes me curious. “Well, go ahead. Spit it out. Just make the request, and I can be over in ten minutes, all cleaned out and ready for action. I have a pink jock strap that I’m very eager to wear. I don’t have to wear it, but I just want to let you know that’s an option. I also have some cute harnesses if you’re into that. And I’m not totally against cuffs, but I do already have a safe word for that.”
“What’s the safe word? Wait! No. Don’t answer that. That’s not why I’m calling.”
“For someone who wasn’t calling for that reason, you sure were curious about my safe word.”
“Anyone would have been curious when you worded it like that. No, I wanted to maybe…I was going to ask if you would be interested in meeting up.”
“A date?” I don’t mean for it to, but the way I ask, I sound offended.
“No, not a date. Coffee.”
“A coffee date? That’s still a date.”
“The non-datey kind.”
“Why would I meet you for coffee?”
“I thought it might be nice to actually talk to you about more than why you were so shit-faced the last time I saw you.”
There’s more to this than he’s letting on, I can tell. I’m not an idiot, but I can also tell by the way he’s being evasive that he’s not just going to come out and say it.
Maybe he really does want to have sex with me and doesn’t know how to get to the point. Or he needs to do this to make it okay in his mind. I have a strange feeling that’s not it, but if it is, I won’t turn him down.