His voice was so small and filled with embarrassment. “Yes.”
“I wish I was there right now, so you could see my smile.”
“What?”
“Did you think I’d think bad of you or something?”
He blew out a big breath and it told me everything.
“Jake…baby boy. You are perfect to me and if wearing sexy women’s underwear gets you off, I’m all for it. Besides, you have a great ass and I bet it looks good in pink lace.”
He made a miserable sound. “You’re the perfect one. You should not be understanding about this. You should be weirded out.”
Anger rose within me. “Who told you this is something to be embarrassed about? Who said a little fun that isn’t hurting anyone is wrong? Tell me now, so I can kick their ass.”
He didn’t answer, just sniffled.
“Alright. I’m on my way.” I shot out of bed and started rifling through my closet for a pair of jogging pants.
“What? No. It’s late.”
“I don’t care. You’re upset and I can’t take care of you over the phone. Maybe I’m overstepping, but I won’t have it.”
“Gabriel…you don’t have to come all the way here this late–”
“Do you not want me to?”
I counted to ten and when he didn’t respond, I said, “I’ll be there soon, okay? I’ll take the Jeep. I’ll text you when I’m close.”
“Okay.” The frailty in his tone was heart-breaking. I needed to be with him right now.
It took me a lot for me to hang up, but the sooner I got there, the better. I packed a bag with everything I’d need for tomorrow and laid some fresh food and water down for Pixel. I was out the door in five minutes. I’d always like nighttime, and the drive back to his place was peaceful, but I was worried about him. He was waiting for me on the cold stone steps of his apartment.
He looked at me with raw, tear-filled eyes. “You shouldn’t have come all this way…”
I kissed him on the forehead and led him upstairs. When we were in his room, I pulled him into a hug. I held him for what seemed like hours, his fingers digging into my back, his face buried in my neck. Despite him detailing all the reasons I shouldn’t have driven across the city, I knew he wanted me to be here. He sniffled and I kissed his forehead, needing him to know he was cherished.
“It’s hard sometimes,” he said and cleared his throat. “Being abandoned by my parents messed me up and I can’t help thinking that the world has no use for me.”
“But that's not true,” I murmured, glad he was opening up to me. I tipped his chin up so he could look at me. “I value you for who you are, kinks and quirks alike. Tell me that you believe me, baby boy.”
His eyes glittered with tears, and he was heartbreakingly beautiful. I wanted to protect him for the rest of my life, give him everything he’d never had just to see him smile in that bashful way that made me melt. “I believe you.”
“Okay,” I murmured and hugged him tightly.
I thought about all the different kinds of love in the world. There was the slow kind that developed between friends like Danny and Jere; the sort Sean and I had shared–we couldn’t be together because we were too different, but we still cared for each other. There was the kind of love my sister was addicted to. It was toxic, destructive, and thrilling. Then there was the fast and hard love. The sort where you looked at the person for the first time and knew they were the one, the single being you were meant to be with. The feelings hit hard and instantaneously, and that kind of love didn’t always seem logical. Most times it didn’t last, but sometimes it did.
I loved Jake. He was the one and I’d do anything for him as crazy as it all seemed, considering we’d only known each fora few months. I wanted to confess everything to him, but he stepped away and passed me a shy look.
Wiping his face, he asked, “I know it’s late but, do you think I can sketch you?”
I beamed. “Naked?”
His bashful smile widened, and he nodded.
“Baby boy,” I said as I took my shirt off. “I’m happy to be your inspiration.”
When I was naked, I pulled him into a sweet kiss, savoring the smoothness of his lips and the warmth of his body. “Where do you want me?”
