Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“Oh, really?” He lounges across the bed, propping himself up on his elbow. “And why is that?”
“I’ve been blue-balling for a while, so I got needs.”
Cody frowns. “Blue-balling? I thought that only happened when you were thirteen.”
“Thirteen or in shitty relationships. It was tough there at the end. Lance was having a hard time getting it up.”
Recognition flashes across his face. “Which is where I came in? You guys thought bringing someone in would help reignite the flame?”
“I know. That must sound like the stupidest thing in the world.”
“No, no. Not at all, actually. You sure as hell wouldn’t be the first couple to try it.”
“I was desperate. I would have done anything. One day, I came up with this bright idea to surprise him with a little role play. I’d gotten this baseball uniform and a jockstrap, thinking it’d drive him crazy. He loves porn with athletes, so I figured that’d be a home run, right? So I put it on and waited for him to get back from work. When he saw me, I could tell by the look on his face he was so…disappointed, and I was devastated. I was trying to help, but he made me feel like I was stressing him out. Like that’d made it even more difficult for him.”
“I’m sorry,” he says sincerely.
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dumped all that on you.”
“Oh, hell. We’re roomies now. It’s not a big deal. But that was seriously a sweet thing to do for him. You see people give up all the time, but you were hanging in there, trying to make it work. I respect that.”
I don’t know why, but of everything he’s said, that makes me the most uneasy. I don’t feel like I did anything worthy of respect. I was just trying to make my relationship work.
“I did what anyone else would have done,” I say.
“That’s not true, and I think you’ve seen enough relationships go to shit to know most people would rather give up than try to repair the damage.”
Because a relationship actually means something to me, and I thought it was something worth fighting for.
Cody glances around the room at the boxes we brought in.
“So, which one of these did you pack the baseball uniform in?”
I chuckle, and a smile sweeps across his face. It’s like he’s happy he was able to cheer me up.
“But seriously, where was all this crap before?” he asks.
“With my mom. I just moved in with her for a bit. Lance wasn’t going to let me stay for another day. I had to pack all my shit and get it out of our place, or he was going to throw it out himself.”
“You didn’t own the place together?”
“His name was on the lease, and I was paying him rent, so—”
“You could have used the renter laws here and made his life a real pain in the ass.”
“He was so fucking mad at me at the end, the only thing I wanted was to get out of his hair.”
“Mad? I feel like there’s a part of this story I’m missing out on.”
“Nothing serious. He had it in his mind that I was this innocent, inexperienced guy, so when he had evidence that contradicted it, I think it made him uneasy.”
“Found out about a couple of lovers from your past?”
“Something like that.”
I haven’t minded sharing a lot with him, but I’ve discovered where the line is for me.
“And you haven’t even fucked around with anyone since you guys broke up?” Cody asks.
“Nope. I’ve been too busy between working and trying to get this living situation figured out.”
“Well, pull down your pants, and I’ll take care of this fucking emergency right now.”
He winks, but I can’t tell if he’s joking or being serious right now. And the way my dick shifts in my pants, I hope he’s not kidding.
He rolls his eyes.
A joke.
Damn.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “I don’t think you’re gonna have a problem popping the cherry again.”
“Not with a wingman in my corner, right?”
“You hardly need a wingman. I’ve seen you operate, remember? You play the unassuming, friendly nerd real well, but you pounce on your prey like a fucking hawk, and you know it.”
“Who? Me?”
He offers a playful glare.
“I’m sure you can fool a lot of people, buddy, but game recognizes game.”
“Fair enough. I think I just need to get it out of the way. I’ve gotten a few numbers since we broke up, but haven’t sealed the deal.”
“It’s only been like, what, a week? So I think as soon as you start trekking down to Flirt, you’ll be solid.”
I grab one of the boxes off the floor and set it on the bed. As I open it, Cody crawls over and steps off the mattress.
“Anything I can help with?” he asks.
I sift through the contents—a lot of loose paperwork.