Chapter 12 Hardly a Fuck
The next day, Tess comes over and drops face-first into my bed without a word.
“Rough night?” I ask, amused.
She used to do this all the time back when I lived in my apartment downtown.
We lived a few blocks from each other, and sometimes if we’d been drinking, we’d keep the party going at my place after work.
More often than not, she’d end up crashing in my bed.
It was bigger than the one I have now: unlike my current full-sized bed, it could fit four people in a pinch.
I had to get rid of it when I lost my apartment.
It’s not like I need a huge bed like that right now, and besides, living here is just temporary. Six months, tops—given I manage to get a job, that is.
Tess sighs. “Work’s kicking my ass.”
“More than usual?”
“I had to cover some extra shifts.”
“How about that girl?”
“She quit,” Tess grumbles. “Besides that, I think she’s straight.”
“I thought you’ve always said you could turn straights,” I say with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood.
Tess groans and sits up, strawberry-colored hair a mess. “When I’m not overworked and cranky, I can.”
I sit by my desk, looking down at my lap. “I’ve applied to a couple. Jobs, that is.”
“Any luck?”
I shake my head with a joyless smile. “What do you think? I’ve been to a couple of interviews, but when they take a look at my record, it’s game over.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Not your fault.”
Tess shifts her gaze. “It kind of is.”
“Shut up. It’s not. Besides, I’d do it a hundred times over.” Maybe I wouldn’t have gone to such extremes, but at least I would’ve protected her again. Like I did.
I just wish I hadn’t made her afraid of me by doing so. Or maybe not afraid, just… apprehensive.
I stand up. “I’ll get us a drink,” I say, in an attempt to break the awkward silence. When I open the door, I almost crash face-first into someone standing hunched right outside.
Lane.
His big brown eyes stare up at me. He looks tasty enough to eat, with his coal-black eyeliner and the collar around his neck.
I lean against the doorframe, arms crossed. “Keeping guard, puppy?”
He glances into my room, and his eyes darken, his mouth a thin line. “Who is she?”
Tess jumps up from the bed and joins us by the doorway. “I’m Tess, Mason’s lesbian friend.”
Lane blinks in confusion before his expression softens with relief, and finally, I realize what was going on with him.
He was… jealous? He heard I had a girl over and thought he’d investigate? My chest does a weird little flip at that, but I disguise it with a smirk as I look down at him.
He wraps his arms around himself, and his little pout is enough to make my dick twitch.
As always when he’s close, my ever-simmering libido is reaching a boiling point, and the tightening in my groin worsens when I recall the way he looked last night with my cock in his mouth.
He was so fucking lost in it. I bet he got as much pleasure out of the act as I did, if not more.
“I’m Lane,” he mumbles at Tess. “Nice to meet you.”
It doesn’t sound very convincing. I’ll need to train my puppy to be nicer to strangers.
My smirk widens at the thought. Taking it too far? Maybe.
“Want to play fetch?” I ask casually, and Lane looks at me, stunned, before his wide eyes narrow into a glare. I can almost see the gears turning in that sweet little head of his. “Get us a couple of Cokes.”
“Fine, but I was going to the kitchen, anyway,” he mutters and leaves.
When I turn to Tess, she’s looking at me with a meaningful smile, eyebrows raised.
“What?” I huff and elbow the door shut.
“What’s up with him?”
I shrug. “Nothing’s ‘up with him.’ He’s just Oliver’s buddy.”
“You like him.” When I glance away instead of replying and start picking at my Transformers, she gasps, “Oh my God. You really like him.”
“I’ve fucked him,” I grumble, unable to keep up my carefree expression. To be fair, what happened last night was hardly a fuck. We’re getting there, though. Soon. “So what?”
“Does Oliver know?”
I stare down at my desk, picking up an unfinished piece I still have to paint. “Lane doesn’t want him to.”
“If it gets serious between you two, it might get hard to hide.”
“It won’t get serious—it’s just fucking.”
“Well, he’s cute. A little young, though.”
“He’s nineteen.” Oliver’s nineteen, so I assume Lane is too. He’s at least eighteen, anyway, but if he’s eighteen or nineteen, I’m not sure.
I suppose I haven’t talked to him a whole lot. All I really know about him is his approximate age. Maybe I should start asking him stuff, just to… I don’t know. It’s not like I’m trying to get to know him—I just want to know what makes him tick, or more like, what makes him come.
“Yeah, that’s what I said,” Tess says. “A little young.”
“Whatever. He wants it.” He’s fucking aching for it, in fact.
Tess grins, looking me up and down. “Of course. A stud like you.”
I grin back, striking a silly, sexy pose. We’ve messed with each other like this countless times. Joked that if we weren’t both playing for the same team, we’d have hooked up and probably had a house and kids by now. In another life. A parallel universe.
There’s a knock on the door, and I open it to see Oliver standing there, fuming.
“Did you just send Lane to get you Cokes?”
“He wanted to play fetch,” I say with a shrug.
“He’s not your fucking servant. You can get your own damn Cokes,” Oliver growls and slams the door in my face.
I raise an eyebrow. If Lane is a cute little puppy, Oliver is a damn guard dog, barking and snarling his head off whenever I even think of his precious little friend.
Tess blows out a breath. “Yikes. Brotherly love?”
“Something like that,” I mutter.
She gets up from the bed. “Anyway, I better go. Have to take a nap before work.”
“Another extra shift?”
“Yeah, I’m trying to save up for a new car. Mine’s busted. Barely legal to even drive the thing.” She hugs me, and I hug her back.
“Just be careful.”
“It’s okay,” she mumbles into my shoulder. “The boss at this place isn’t like him. Thank you, though. I’m glad we can still hang out.”
“Me too.”
I’m relieved she isn’t scared of me. Beyond relieved.
She saw me in all my rage when it happened, and she’s still my friend, while Oliver…
To be fair, he wasn’t really my friend to begin with, but it’s getting extreme.
It’s not like I care about his opinion on what I do with Lane, but if he found out about us, all hell would break loose, and I’m more about a chill, fun summer than a drama-filled one.
He acts as if I’m some monster, but I’m not; I’m just bored. I’m just frustrated. But Oliver doesn’t understand that, and until he does, I’d better keep my nightly trysts with Lane on the down low.
Speaking of which, I can’t wait for tonight.
I told him to keep his collar on, and there’s always a little uncertainty whenever I push his boundaries.
It’s part of the thrill: will he obey or defy me?
I can’t know for sure, but I’ll have something to tug on regardless while he whines sweetly in my lap tonight.
Whether it’s his hair, his nipples, or his collar—when he’s in my bed, all of him is mine, even if it might be a while before he agrees.