Chapter 9 #2
“Hey, baby girl.” Dammit, he needed to get his shit together, didn’t he? He’d been floating, acting like he didn’t have to think about tomorrow.
He so did.
“You should get off that foot. Would you like a glass of wine or something? Tea? Coke?” Toby was still working on his cone, but it was almost gone, not much more than the little pointy end left.
“I’ll have a glass of wine, if you’re having one.
” He sat, worrying his bottom lip as he tried to figure out what to do.
He needed to do his laundry, fly home, get his truck, figure out where the next event was, drive there, if it wasn’t too far.
If it was, he could just fly there and have Mama mail his sponsor shirts to the hotel, he guessed.
If he was going to do all that, he needed to call his sponsors and warn them he was coming…
Jesus, his head hurt.
This was when he wished he had Ry here to help with all the stupid moving parts.
Toby came back while he was pondering everything. “To be clear,” Toby handed over a glass of wine and sat down with his own. “I’m not throwing you out tomorrow. I’m not throwing you out at all. I just want that understood.”
“I just—I feel real bad, taking advantage of you, but if I can take another day or two, just so I can figure out what to do.” His cheeks were burning because he was better than this. He was stronger than this.
Toby set his wine down and went to a little table by the front door, then came back to set a key down on the coffee table.
“If I’d felt taken advantage of, I wouldn’t have offered.
I know you want to get back out there; it’s what you do.
You seem to have sponsors and fans waiting on you…
but as far as I am concerned, there is no rush. ”
Well, shit. He wanted to stay for a bit.
Hell, maybe…maybe he could figure something out where he rented that spare room.
He’d never stayed anywhere long term; that was just him.
He liked having company. “Thanks, Professor. I have to do a little traveling, that’s true, but if you don’t mind having a cowboy in your guestroom… ”
“I don’t. I’m a boring roommate, I have reading to do, papers to grade, and I go to bed at a reasonable hour. But Whiskey is fun.” He got a wink, and Toby sipped his wine.
“Oh, now. Professor, you’ve got a good one in Whiskey, and one day, we’ll manage a proper spanking, right?” He had to tease, because Toby was positively gentle.
“One can but hope.” Toby’s tone was dry, but the grin was implied. “I won’t hold my breath.”
No, he didn’t imagine so. Toby would find someone amazing, and Roper would be there cheering the fine bastard on.
He’d done it with Ernie. And Tony. Rick. Greg. Marcello.
He was a master of staying friends with his exes.
“Just remember, Professor. You turned me inside out and made me beg for more.”
Toby laughed. “That wasn’t very friendly of me.”
“No, but it’ll serve you in certain circles, and I bet you’re fucking stunning in the sack.” The quiet ones usually were.
“I don’t kiss and tell. But now I’m going to keep my ear to the ground about you—in certain circles. What am I going to hear?”
Roper fought his sigh, but he answered with a grin. “That no one can get me where I need to go. I’m exhausting. I’m a brat, and I get myself into shit. You’ll hear about how I stay buddies with my exes, too, but mostly that I’m totally the bad twin and trouble follows me.”
“Surely you don’t drag trouble around yourself?” Toby asked, pointing to his boot. “And will no one mention how incredibly sexy you are?”
“I doubt it.” It wasn’t even that he wasn’t good-looking—he was. He looked just like Ry, and they were striking.
But that wasn’t what men remembered.
If he was lucky, it was that he was one hell of a friend. If he wasn’t, it was that he was a pain in the ass, tended to disappoint during scenes, and expected too much.
“Hm. Men can be such dicks.” Toby chuckled into his wine glass.
“Yeah, but what are you going to do? I probably earned at least some of what they say.”
Toby shrugged. “Nothing at all, right now. You have other priorities at the moment, and I respect that. Though I do have to wonder why you’re working so hard to convince me that you’re impossible and hopeless.”
“I’m not. You asked a question, and I answered it as honest as I can.” Roper knew he was a little impossible, but hopeless?
Nope. He was filled with hope.
“Trouble follows you around, no one can get you where you need to go, you’re a brat and you’re always doing something wrong… You do realize these are actually all failings of the people who hold these opinions of you in a negative light, right?”
He nodded, then turned to face Toby. “I do, but it’s my fault they have these opinions, right?”
He loved talking with this man. It was…fun.
“Fault isn’t the right word really and—well listen, if they can’t be what you need, that’s on them. It’s not your fault you exist.”
“This is true. It’s not.” Roper leaned in, like he was telling a secret. “I sort of like me, you know? I can be really fun, and I’m wickedly loyal.”
Toby smiled. “Same. And now I’m learning about being a great friend too.”
He chuckled softly, tickled as all get out. Someone wasn’t used to being friends with a sub. “You’re a great student.”
“You’d think I should be right? Doing what I do. But it doesn’t come as naturally as it should.” Toby finished off his wine. “I’m one ahead of you, and you haven’t touched yours.”
“Oops.” He smiled and nodded, sipping his wine. Oh, that was nice. “I don’t believe for a bit that you aren’t friendly, you know. I mean, you can be sweet as honey, wicked too, which is a great quality.”
“Yeah.” Toby sighed and stood. “Well, I had better turn in. Early classes tomorrow.”
“Cool. Sleep well.” He didn’t sigh, even if he wanted to. He wanted to text Ry, talk about all this, but he couldn’t.
Ry hadn’t texted him once since the limo.
He watched the Professor head off, and so he dumped the little bit of wine that was left and went to his room.
Roper guessed he’d learn about being on his own eventually.
It wasn’t going to be today.
Maybe tomorrow.