4
Did he feel anything?Dylan sagged against the tree for support, his legs about to buckle. Though he remembered the events of that night with Hal, everything was all a jumbled haze—not pristine clear likethiskiss.
Garrett gazed at him, an amused smile on his face. “At least tell me it wasn’t unbearable.”
The guy fucking knew it wasn’t. Shit, ablind mancould see how it had affected him.An effect Dylan hadn’t been prepared for. Yeah, he thought he might like, but he had no idea he’d like itthatmuch. He’d half expected to have no reaction.Wrong!
“No…” Dylan cleared his throat and rubbed a shaky hand down his face. “Not…not unbearable at all.” His voice rasped, causing Garrett’s smile to grow.
“Does that mean you liked it?”
The man was just playing with him now. “Yeah…it was good.”
“So, how do you feel about being here, now?”
“A little better,” Dylan admitted. “But…but I don’t know if I want to…fuck.”
Garrett shrugged and smiled. “There’s a lot of other fun things to do, nearly as gratifying.”
“Gideon won’t be pissed if I don’t go through with it all?” Dylan still wasn’t convinced he liked men. Garrett’s kiss had almost made him cum in his shorts, but just because he liked the kiss—alot—did that mean he was full-fledgedgay?He wanted to explore the possibility some more—without the pressure of having to fuck a man if he decided he didn’t want to. Garrett had told him earlier that he didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to and that eased some of his anxieties. He didn’t know if he would trust Lucas to give him the same options.
“I told you,” Garrett said. “For Gideon, this segment is about more than just the sex. He means for it to be a safe and controlled venue for guys to explore their curiosities and see where it takes them. And give them a chance to learn about themselves without the stress and fear of trying to hide it all. It’s yourexperiencehere that he’s most interested in, whatever that turns out to be.”
The more Garrett talked about Gideon, the more Dylan liked the older man. With each passing moment, Gideon seemed less like a porn boss and more like a therapist, or even a trusted friend. Dylan had seen plenty of pimps and porn bosses portrayed in movies, but Gideon didn’t come close to being such a sleazy parasite. He was a good man with a good heart and understanding such things about the man chipped away at Dylan’s uncertainty about shooting the scene.
Straightening up a bit, Dylan tested the stability of his legs before he pushed away from the tree. His knees were shaky but held. “Gideon said I could choose my co-star?”
“Yes.”
“Anyone?”
Garrett nodded.
“Even…you?”
Garrett smiled. “Yeah, even me.”
“And we can just do the other stuff?” Dylan confirmed. “No fucking?”
“Whatever you like.”
“Good,” Dylan replied, relieved.
“Of course, if you change your mind in the middle of it and decide you want to fuck…” Garrett mused, “…it’s always an option.”
Dylan nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
They returned inside and met Hal coming out of the rec room. “Dylan?” Concern etched his face. “Where did you go? Are you okay?”
Releasing a slow breath, Dylan nodded. “Yeah.”
Garrett left them alone and Hal took Dylan aside. “Look…I know I kind of pushed you into this. I’m sorry. I was being a selfish dick. If you want to leave, we can leave.”
“Doyouwant to leave?” Dylan asked doubtfully.
“Uh…” Hal laughed quietly. “No. But I will if you want to. I don’t want you to do this if you’re not ready for it. I had no right to strong-arm you the way I did.”
Dylan shook his head and smiled. “You didn’t strong-arm me. I agreed to come here. Honestly, I was about ready to leave but Garrett convinced me to stay.”
