“I don’t want him to give in to me and then regret it afterward.”
“Sometimes regret is inevitable. But if he has real feelings for you, they will likely override the regret.”
Derek wasn’t so optimistic. “His best friend warns him against me. He didn’t want Patrick going out with me the first time. And I think he’s a huge influence in Patrick’s life—and he’s with Patrick all the time. How am I supposed to compete with that when I can’t evencallPatrick?”
“Whether you call him is ultimately your decision.”
“I know,” Derek mumbled. “But I feel like Gideon’s advice is sound; I should wait.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know… till the end of the week, maybe. I don’t know if I can hold out that long, though.” Derek groaned. “I wanted to give myself time to see if my feelings for him would fade, but with each day, it’s like they’re growing stronger.”
“Maybe give it till Wednesday? See how you feel then. If you’re still going strong, then maybe go ahead and call him.”
Hanging his head, Derek whispered, “Or maybe I should take a hint and drop it. He has my number. He could call, too… if he wanted anything to do with me.”
“With shy-type boys… sometimes they need the other person to take the initiative.”
“I don’t know if that’s it. Maybe he just decided I was bad news and wants to forget about me.”
Bailey winked and smiled. “Won’t know unless you ask.”
. . .
Over the next couple of days, Patrick fastidiously sidestepped the subject of changing his phone number. It bugged him that he didn’t just do it and tried to ignore the little voice inside that continuously reminded himwhyhe hadn’t taken that step to sever all means of contact with Derek.
Whenever he spoke to Brian—his friend asked about it, questioning why he was waiting. Patrick found himself making excuses to end phone calls with Brian or creating reasons he couldn’t hang out with him. This newrealitydisturbed him deeply. He used to listen to Brian, valuing his insight and advice. Why reject itnow—when more than ever, he needed a clear head to think for him.
Wednesday morning, Patrick woke up to three new texts from Brian… and nothing from Derek. By yesterday evening, he’d given up trying to deny that he kept his number in hopes Derek would call or text. He still didn’t understandwhyhe wanted to hear from Derek—he couldn’t go out with him again and intended to tell him so if hedidcall. Patrick was very confused by his own actions and motives.
“What’re you doing?” he whispered to himself. “You need to erase him from your life—completely.” He rolled onto his back and opened Brian’s texts, asking him to call. Brian would bring up the issue of the phone number—that was a given. Patrick sighed. “So, deal with it before you call him.”
Patrick stared at his phone. All he had to do was contact his service provider and he could have his number changed immediately. Or at least have it taking effect by the end of the day.
His heart rested heavy in his chest—weighed down by the fact that Derek hadn’t tried to contact him. If he’d still been interested, wouldn’t he have called to find out why Patrick had run out on him? It seemed logical.
Why are you obsessing over this—over him? You chose your path—now stick to it.
Whywashe allowing Derek to get under his skin? It made no sense and he needed to correct the problemnow.As he brought up the number for his service provider, his eyes began to sting and his throat tightened painfully, pushing an ache up into his face.
Just do it and get it over with.
. . .
“Fuck…”Derek let out a hard gasp and collapsed facedown on the bed, panting into the pillow, Bailey lying on top of him—equally out of breath. “Damn… you’re enthusiastic.”
Bailey grinned against his damp shoulder, hot breath puffing across his fevered skin. “Lucas usually tops… it’s nice to switch up.”
“Shit.” Derek chuckled. “I’d let you top every time—you’re fucking awesome.”
“He lets me top now and then.” Bailey rolled off him and lay on his back. “But he isn’t a naturalbottomlike some of us. He’d rather pitch than catch.”
“His loss.” Derek turned onto his back and ran his palm down Bailey’s wet thigh. “I appreciate your talent, baby. Anytime you need some topping action…” He curled his hand around Bailey’s heavy cock, the thick muscle still pulsing and tacky to the touch. “… you know where tocum, baby.”
“Inyourass?” Bailey looked at him and grinned.
“Precisely.”
