15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Clay
The glare Justin gave Eve had me covering my mouth with my glass to keep from laughing. The two of them were quite entertaining with their banter.
Justin sighed. “Okay, he was an exotic dancer. I slid a five into his G-string, and he invited me back to the dressing room. He said that if I gave him fifty dollars, he’d let me blow him.”
My head snapped around to stare at him. “Wait, the stripper wanted you to pay him to suck him off?”
Eve giggled. “You didn’t pay him, right?”
Justin shrugged out from under my arm and sat forward. “Believe it or not, you hussy, I’ve had some encounters without opening my wallet. I told you that because you didn’t understand why I didn’t want to go back to the club where he dances.”
That did make me laugh, along with Eve and eventually Justin.
“Okay, so tell me more about New Orleans.” Something that happened during that visit had to explain the bullshit from earlier that day.
Eve rolled her eyes. “For Justin’s birthday, I thought it would be fun if we went to a medium and had a séance to bring forward this guy who people said was the greatest lover.
He had eight kids by five different women, and my aunt said she was one of the many women who fell under his charms, though she didn’t get pregnant.
“In order to let Kirk Dunston know that my bestie was still a virgin, we had a séance to call forth uh...” she stalled.
I stared at her. “Ramon Blanco?”
Her eyes widened. “Yes! Did you hear that story too?”
“Yeah, but it was presented a little differently than you’re telling it. Did you think anything weird happened that night?”
Justin had mentioned there was something odd about the encounter, and if I wasn’t nuts, I’d just witnessed first-hand the hell that Ramon Blanco could rain down. Justin hadn’t, however, mentioned the fact he was a virgin.
Eve continued to explain. “Uh, I remember this weird sensation in the room, but I don’t think it lasted that long. In my defense, it was toward the end of my relationship with Herbst, and I wasn’t paying close attention to anything because he was being a dick and I was embarrassed.”
Justin sat up. “Why did the two of you break up? Tell me, please. You’ve been very vague about what happened.”
“Oh, honey, it’s not your fault. The relationship had just reached its end.” I noticed that she wouldn’t make eye contact with Justin.
“Bullshit, Eve. It was because of me, wasn’t it? What was it about?”
I reached for his hand because I could see he was getting upset. When he glanced at me, I tried to offer a tender smile. I pointed to his glass. “Would you like another drink?” I then turned to Eve. “How about you? A refill?”
I picked up my glass and collected both of theirs, not waiting for responses. Whatever had happened was theirs to sort out. Unfortunately, my high moral ground didn’t keep me from eavesdropping.
“Justin, it wasn’t because of you. You’re my best friend. It was because Herbst and his friends are such closed-minded assholes. I couldn’t take it anymore.” She sounded very sorry.
“Tell me what he said about me, Eve. I didn’t want you to break up over me.
I thought you two were in love.” I could hear the pain in Justin’s voice.
He believed his best friend had sacrificed her relationship because of him, and he didn’t want that to be the truth. I hoped it wasn’t—but I feared it was.
There was movement in the living room, so I glanced around the corner to see Eve had moved to sit next to Justin, taking his hand in both of hers.
“Honey, I broke up with Herbst because he was a horrible person. He joked that if he fucked you to get you over your fear of sex with a man, maybe you’d leave me alone so I could stay in New Orleans with him. That’s bullshit.”
There was stark silence, so I took that opportunity to take in drinks. “Here we go. Everything okay?”
Justin didn’t respond, but Eve’s stare never left him. “Come on, Justy. You’re like a brother to me. Herbst was of less than mediocre intelligence and he was insulting as fuck. No way would I put up with his bullshit long term. He was good in bed. It was fun, but he’s not the man of my dreams.”
I sat in the chair Eve had evacuated, placing their drinks on the coffee table. “I can go pick up some food for us if you guys want to talk privately.”
Justin trained his gaze toward me. “No, uh, please stay. I had a feeling it was something like that.” He then turned to Eve and took her hand.
“I don’t want you to figure me into your romantic relationships.
You’re like my sister. I don’t want to lose you, but I don’t want your love for me to influence your choices in guys. ”
Eve hugged him, downed her wine in two gulps, and stood. “Okay, the séance thing was a mistake, and I’m sorry, Justin. I love you, and I only want the best for you.” She then glanced at me. “You are my hope, Clay.”
Without waiting for my response, Eve left with her five coffee pods and a wink. I followed her to the door, closed it once she was out, and turned the deadbolt. When I spun around to take in Justin, his lost expression touched my heart.
I walked to the couch and sat next to him, pulling him onto my lap with his head against my shoulder. “What’s running through that beautiful mind of yours?”
“How the hell did everything become so fucking bizarre?” Justin sniffled quietly as I wrapped him in my arms.
I chuckled. “Hey, it has been a long fucking day. We’re not ready to make sense of it yet, are we? Have you wrapped your mind around what happened? I’m trying like hell to do it, but it’s not easy, is it?”
“No. Not at all. Like you, I’m trying to process it myself.” He wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed my cheek as I held him tight.
I took a breath. “I really should go. You need to rest.”
Justin pulled back to stare at me. “No, please don’t leave. You’ve had a couple of drinks, so you should spend the night. Will you sleep with me?”
“Will I... Yeah, I’d love to sleep with you. How about we get ready for bed and talk?” I picked him up and carried him to his bedroom.
Justin laughed. “I can walk, you know.”
“I have no doubt, but I kind of like this. Do you have an extra toothbrush?” I dropped Justin on the bed, hearing his glorious laugh.
“I actually have an extra toothbrush in the bathroom medicine cabinet. It’s not for random strangers because I don’t bring people home with me. It’s time to change out my regular toothbrush, so I picked up a two pack at the store the other day. You’re welcome to the blue one.”
Laughing, I flopped next to him. “That’s really kind of you to offer me a hygiene product.”
Justin giggled as he turned toward me on the bed. “It’s my pleasure.”
His right hand rested on my chest, and I was certain he felt my heart pounding. “So, uh, how freaked out are we? I’d love for you to use my extra toothbrush so we can kiss properly with minty fresh breath.”
He pulled me from the bed with him, a beautiful smile in place, and led me into the bathroom. I willingly followed him inside. It was apparent to me that I’d follow him anywhere.
Justin opened the blister pack of toothbrushes, offering the blue one before taking the green one from the pack. He held up the mint toothpaste and squeezed a glob on my brush before he added one to his own.
We stood, side by side, brushing our teeth and watching each other in the mirror. His bright eyes held me captive.
Once we finished brushing and rinsed our mouths, Justin turned to me and smiled, taking my blue toothbrush from me and rinsing it before inserting it into the stand next to his green one. “How’s that?”
For a flash, I was reminded of brushing my teeth with Hunter by my side for the first time we spent the night together making love.
His smile when we finished rinsing was stuck in my memory forever.
When I brushed my teeth every morning, I remembered the closeness I felt with him at that moment.
The fact I was standing next to Justin and enjoying the same feelings was a true surprise.
Justin handed me the face towel first. I dried my mouth and returned it to him. “I like the mint toothpaste.”
Justin turned to me and grinned. “I can get cinnamon if that’s your favorite.”
Once Justin hung the towel on the rack, I put my hands on both of Justin’s cheeks. “You’re my favorite taste.”
I pulled him closer and pressed my lips to his, finding they were just as soft as I remembered from our previous kiss. When he kissed me back, I opened my mouth to give his tongue entrance. He sank into me as we leaned against the bathroom vanity as I pulled him closer.
Justin was strong. He was tall and lean, and feeling him against me was more than gratifying.
Suddenly, I remembered the revelation Eve prompted Justin to confess. He was a virgin, though not completely untouched. To be honest, I was a little worried about why Justin was still a virgin.
I was versatile sexually, so maybe if he fucked me first, he’d relax. It was his choice, and I was ready for whatever he wanted.