“Just being my normal horndog self. After last night, I’ve been thinking about nothing but you.”
I was blushing like the cherry Laffy Taffy in my hand. “I’ve been thinking about you too. I want to take you somewhere tomorrow afternoon. But you will have to drive. I, ah, don’t have a vehicle. It’s in the south suburbs if you’re up for it.”
“Absolutely. What time are you thinking?”
“Noon?”
“Sounds like a date!” He said and made a sound of relaxation. “I’m looking forward to hanging out with you tomorrow.”
“Me too,” I said honestly. “You…make me feel better.”
“I know the feeling. It’s nice to have a little fun with someone after a long work week.” The sound of something rustling in the background cut off his words.
“Are you in bed?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’m being lazy today.”
I eyed the candy in my hand for a moment then dumped it back into the bag, figuring I’d reached my empty calorie quota for the month.
“Are you still eating candy?” He asked, his tone full of tease.
“No! I’m done. I’ll bring the bag tomorrow so you can have some. If it just sits here, I’ll eat all of it.”
“Please don’t. Sugar is my enemy. One fun-size Snickers and I blow up.”
I made a sound of disbelief. “Are you kidding? You’re…gorgeous.” The moment the words were out I flushed. I thought it would have taken longer for me to tell him what was on my mind.
He seemed entirely amused though. “Yeah. Salads and cardio will do that for you.” After a long moment, he said, “I used to be a fat kid.”
“What?”
“Truth? I was a porker. It’s why I’m so conscious about what goes into my mouth nowadays.” His voice cracked for a moment as if it had taken him a lot to tell me that.
“But now most of what goes in it is eggplants and protein,” I added.
He rumbled with laughter. “I don’t know. I guess it’s in my genes. My sister is a druggie, I’m a food addict, and my brother is obsessed with guns and grenades. Addiction is hereditary, apparently.”
“I didn’t know you had a brother,” I said. The mention of drugs made me uncomfortable, and I wanted to steer away from that topic.
“Oh yeah, older by three years. He is career military, so we don’t see him much. He’s a good guy though. Anyway, I got to high school and discovered sports. Got into football, lost some weight, and realized I was gay. Promised myself I’d never be a porker again. I guess every gay man’s fear is being fat and I’m no exception. Call me vain, but it is what it is.”
“Well, you’d still look good with a dad bod.”
“Yeah? I have to come to accept that in a few years, everything will start going downhill and I might have to settle for a dad bod.” He laughed mirthlessly as if the topic of aging was touchy for him. “Luckily, I have other assets to entice the boys.”
“Fancy cars,” I murmured.
“Mhm. Nice clothes.”
“A bachelor pad,” I added.
“Everything to keep a boy. You want to be my kept-boy, Jake? You can pay me back in blowjobs…” A heavy breath came through the receiver. “I’m teasing of course.”
Being a kept boy didn’t sound so bad to me. “Are we talking about fantasies now?”
His tone lowered. “Sure. Tell me about the weird things that get you off, baby boy.”
I squirmed and fought my smile. I pulled the craziest thing I could think of from my mind, detailing a twist on Alice in Wonderland. Only the protagonist was me in a bizarre world of dildos for trees, where I ran a bakery that was famous for its cock-shaped pastries. We ended up in tears as we giggled, Gabriel adding to the story with his own outlandish ideas. Talking and laughing with someone was so underrated. By the time we said goodbye we were yawning, our voices husky from needed sleep.
