The weight of him sent me back against the dresser and I bumped my laundry basket. It fell, spilling my clothes all over the floor. Of course, my bad luck dictated that my slutty lacy panties landed on top, right at his feet.
“What’s this?” He picked up the pink panties and held them up.
I snatched them from him and stuffed them in my drawer, uncomfortable heat rushing to my face. My heart hammering, I stammered, “N-nothing. You’re right, it’s late and we have an early morning.”
Yeah, like that’s very convincing.
“Okay,” he said with a laugh and shrugged. He kissed my cheek.
“Please be careful. This is a bad neighborhood and there are a lot of unsavory people out there.”
When he was gone, I opened my drawer and proceeded to stare at the lacy underwear, tears gathering in my eyes. If my stupid kink jeopardized my relationship with Gabriel… I curled up into a ball on my bed, wanting to cry and feel sorry for myself. Logically, if he were the perfect man for me, he’d be okay with my fetish, but he was so amazing, and I was terrified he’d come to the conclusion that I wasn’t worth his time.
Sleep refused to come so I occupied myself by doodling, but it was hard seeing the lines through my tears.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
GABRIEL
It was a quarter past nine by the time I got back to my condo. Pixel greeted me with an enthusiastic meow, and I scooped him into my arms.
“I just fed you before I left so don’t give me that pitiful ‘I’m starving’ meow. I know you better than that, mister.” I cuddled him close, and he rubbed his head against my jaw. “Do you miss Jake? He likes to sneak you a lot of treats, doesn’t he?”
I set him down and entered the kitchen where I gulped a cold glass of water down. I did not like the way Jake and I had parted tonight. Something was off. As the water settled in my belly like liquid metal, I debated for a good half-hour about calling him. It was late, and we did have an early morning, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep without making sure he was okay.
I shed my clothes and sank into bed with my phone. He didn’t pick up until the fifth ring, leading me to believe I might have woken him up. “Sorry. Am I calling too late?”
“No,” he said softly. “I was just doodling in bed.”
“Good. What are you working on?”
“More princesses for a friend.”
“That’s nice of you.” I frowned at the generic response. “Listen, Jake… I don’t like the way I left tonight. I just wanted to tell you that you can talk to me about anything, okay? I’m a very open-minded and non-judgmental person.”
He breathed into the receiver as if he’d needed to hear that. “Okay. I’m sorry that I kind of kicked you out. I’m not very proud of where I live, and your car is liable to attract unwanted attention.”
Forget my stupid car. I was more worried about him. He had no one to protect him if someone harassed him. I wanted to drive to his place and bring him back here at this moment. I forced myself to focus on the issue at hand. “Anything else you want to talk about?”
He whimpered. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”
“See what?”
“You know.” His heavy breath coming through the other end let me know he was stressed.
“Talk to me, baby boy,” I purred, wishing he’d confide in me. But I knew the kind of trust I was asking for was different from the trust he’d given me with his body. Secrets were called secrets for a reason. Fuck did I wish I were there right now, to comfort and hold him, and offer encouragement. “If you’re not ready that’s okay. I just wanted you to know that I am here.”
“See? Why do you have to be so understanding? Now I have to tell you.”
“No, you don’t. I just–”
“I have a thing.” Pure silence came through as if he were holding his breath.
“Okay,” I said.
After a long moment, he started speaking again, much to my relief. “I’m not closeted or anything. Not…seeing women. The…underwear are for me.”
I knew I should be concerned about his emotional state, but excitement speared me. “You mean, you wear them?”
