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Pulling out one of his big fat textbooks, Sean smirked and let it drop from his hand. It hit the foyer floor with a resounding smack, causing his best friend to jump. “Honey. I’m home. What’s for dinner?”
“Your mama,” Jonah muttered, his nose staying put.
Sean feigned disgust. “That’s gross. You’re fired.”
A snicker rose from behind Jonah’s book. “Done with your gig?”
“Yeah. Finished today.” Sean walked around the corner into their tiny kitchen. “Got another one starting next week.”
Jonah’s book came down. Sean saw it through the breakfast bar. “Another? Already? Wow. You’re a hot commodity.”
Sean grabbed a Coke. “You’re just figuring this out now?”
Jonah snorted. “Whatever. So this new gig? Another class?”
Sean unscrewed the cap and took a gulp. “Nope. House call. For one of the teachers.”
Jonah frowned. “What do you mean house call? And what fucking teacher?”
“The hottie whose class I just modeled for.”
Jonah stared at him, mouth open. Then finally, “You’re such a whore.”
Sean laughed and sat down. “If you saw him you’d understand.”
“Then get me a picture if he’s that fucking hot. You take your camera everywhere you go.”
“Working on it.” Sean grinned. “He agreed to a photo shoot.”
Jonah’s mouth dropped wider. Then he shook his head. “So not fair.” Pushing his glasses up his nose, he shoved said nose back into his book. Without those spectacles, he’d be blinder than a bat. No joke. Worst vision ever.
Sean sighed and dropped his head back, sinking into his armchair. “I dunno. He kinda feels out of my league.”
Jonah snorted. “Please. No one’s out of your league. Look at you. He’d never turn you down.”
Shifting on the couch, Jonah sniffed and turned a page, and just like that, he was back in his other world. That faraway place, that other dimension, that all bookworms disappeared to when they read. Essentially leaving Sean alone in the room with only his wandering thoughts to entertain him.
So he contemplated Jonah’s words, that Max would never turn him down. Thing was, Sean wasn’t so sure about that. Not that he necessarily wanted to get with the guy. Because he didn’t. Not necessarily. Okay, maybe he kind of did. But in his defense, who wouldn’t? Max was a smoldering hot sex-kabob whom Sean was low-key crushing on. Which felt kind of weird, if truth be told. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d truly crushed. Crushed, not lusted. Because the two were totally different. God knew, Sean lusted just as much as the next guy— Hello. Hot-blooded male—but he hadn’t truly crushed in…. huh… wow… maybe never. Which sounded ridiculous. He was twenty-fucking-three. He must have been infatuated at some point. But as he sat there thinking, trying to remember, he couldn’t recall a single time. Sure, he’d been mildly smitten at times, but he was pretty sure those were all libido driven. Guys he’d been attracted to just enough to get frisky with. Once. Because they didn’t have Sean’s magnet.
Sean frowned and looked at the ceiling. That wasn’t entirely true. He had been infatuated. A long time ago. When he was way fucking younger, just a boy. But he hadn’t been crushing on a kid his own age. He’d been crushing on a man, named Rick.
Sean smiled a little and shook his head. Rick. He hadn’t thought about him in a really long time. But now that he was, he was pretty fucking sure that the guy had a hand in all this, in the way Sean perceived others, in his conditions for attraction. In retrospect, Sean knew Rick had. Was absolutely sure of it. It’d be more illogical to assume that he hadn’t. Not when Sean had been twelve years old while Rick had been forty-fucking-five.
Sean exhaled quietly and closed his eyes, remembering the times when Rick would come and visit him. Up in Sean’s bed, while his parents were downstairs, drinking and laughing with a slew of friends. They liked to party and threw parties often, which gave Rick plenty of opportunities to come say hello to Sean.
And honestly, Sean hadn’t minded. Hell, he’d eagerly awaited him. Sure, the first time Rick had visited was awkward, but the fact that Sean had already been crushing on him for years definitely helped alleviate his nervousness. Rick was his dad’s best friend, after all, so Sean knew him very well. Rick was comfortable. Rick was familiar. Sean trusted him completely. But most importantly, he gave Sean attention. Lots of it. Which was more than Sean could say for his parents. Always so busy. Always traveling. Always gone. Of course, when they were home, they were always tied up, preoccupied with something “important.” Evidently, Sean didn’t fit under that category.
So when Rick came to visit him that very first time, Sean hadn’t been scared, he’d be excited. Hadn’t really cared that it was late, or that he was in bed. He hadn’t been able to sleep with all the party ruckus anyway. He didn’t care that Rick smelled like beer and cigarettes. Didn’t care that he was slurring his words. The guy Sean thought about all the time had gone out of his way to come see him. And to Sean, that was all that really mattered.
