Page 5 of Smart Ass

Ben touched a button and diverted the call to the room speakers so he could hear it all around him. With his phone back in his pocket, he propped his feet up and leaned back in his chair.

All of Quincy’s words came out in a rush. “Oh, thank you! So, I saw Evan’s sex videos. And his toys. And he’s a submissive. But he doesn’t want me. Or he says that I’m dependent on him, so I can’t make informed choices, and…”

“Slow down, firecracker! We’ll get you your man. Evan’s being difficult, but he wants you. You’re totally his type. Especially if you might be interested in dominating him.”

“I am!”

Ben could practically hear Quincy bouncing on the other end of the line. Damn, Evan was lucky.

“Cool, so here’s the deal. He’s worried about you depending on him? Tell him if you break up, you can live with me.”

“But I want to stay wi—”

“Shush. It’ll be like a sleepover. We’ll watch movies and stay up late. No, seriously. Just tell Evan that. I promise it’ll work. Next: You don’t have any money? Done. I was already looking into this loan program for new sparks, and I can help you put in your application now. I’ll be your guarantor.” Ben could actually just give Quincy money, since he had plenty. But he had a lot of confidence in Quincy’s abilities, and the whole point was his independence. “Your makeup videos alone will be making money hand over fist as soon as you put in ads. The second you’re registered as a spark, we’ll get started.”

“Oh, thank you, Ben!”

“No problem, kiddo. Just tell him all that, and then kiss him stupid. It’ll work.”

“It will?”

“Especially the kissing part. I recommend tying him up, too. Er… better research that one first. Maybe just hands for now. Pin down his hands. He’ll love that.”

“Yeah? You’re sure?”

“Quincy, Evan wants you to fuck his brains out.”

“Uh… that’s a hyperbole, right?”

Ben chuckled. “That’s a hyperbole. But trust me. He wants you.”

“Okay, uh…” Quincy’s rich, deep voice sounded hesitant again. “He also said no because he doesn’t want to be my experiment. He said he’s protecting himself.”

Ben wasn’t a sappy kind of guy, but that gave his heart a little lurch. Evan had been his best friend for years. He was the first person Ben had told when he realized he was a boy, not the girl everyone kept trying to label him, and they’d been through a lot together. Granted, most of what they’d been through was Ben doing stupid stuff while Evan tried to stop him.

Still, he’d hated to see Evan so unhappy with all of his asshole exes. Evan deserved to be disgustingly loved up and happy with a stupidly handsome, brawny spark who would dominate and worship him for the rest of his life.

“He’s just saying that because he’s had some shitty exes,” Ben explained. “Evan is basically a magnet for assholes who aren’t going to respect him. He deserves better boyfriends than he lets himself have.”

“Like the one who didn’t like his llamas,” Quincy confirmed, in complete seriousness.

Uh… what now? Ben was tempted to ask, but it was funnier not knowing. “Yeah, Q. You like his llamas, right?”

“I do!”

“Good. There you go. Just tell him you like his llamas, and remind him that you’re not going to leave him until he starts to believe it. It might take a while.”

“Okay, Ben. Thank you!”

“No problem, kid.”

“Ben, do you have a boyfriend?”

Ben snorted. “Quincy, I think if I had a boyfriend, you would have noticed by now. I don’t do the relationship thing. Can you see me putting up with a Dom living in my space?”

More accurately, Ben couldn’t imagine anyone who would be willing to put up with his own chaotic energy twenty-four/seven… but if he didn’t date, he’d never have to find out.

“Oh.” Quincy sounded dejected. “I think you should have a boyfriend. You’re the nicest person I know.”