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Holy. Shit. A third of his weight? That was amazing. Absolutely inspirational.Hewas amazing and inspirational. “Has your diabetes stabilized? Is that the right question to ask?”
“Yes, it is and yeah, it’s stable. I’ve been able to reduce the amount of medication I need to take, and my blood sugar levels are pretty much right where they need to be. As long as I take my medication.” He popped the tablets into his mouth and swallowed them with a gulp of water.
“That’s… incredible. I can’t imagine the strength that it takes to do a complete U-turn and change your life so dramatically. I’m in awe.”
He shrugged, clearly not as impressed with himself as she was. “I still have a way to go, and fending off Mum is a full-time job. She’s constantly trying to feed me, but I’m getting better at it.” He looked down and pulled his hand away from hers, wrapping his jacket around his body and shivered. A few things became clearer. She’d heard that people who lost a lot of weight felt the cold more. Apart from that afternoon, he’d never once taken off his jacket. Was that why?
She ran her hand down his arm to his elbow, and encouraged gently, “If you’re cold, we can go…”
“I’m freezing, but it’s nice out.” He tightened his jacket around his midsection again and smiled. “I’m good.”
Changing tack, she asked, “What’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed?” She didn’t know whether it was a good idea to keep talking about his weight loss, but she needed to know he was okay. Was he happier now? Did people treat him better? In and of itself that question made her ragey, but she had the insane urge to rip into anyone who made him feel lesser.
He huffed out a disbelieving laugh and shook his head. “Apart from not needing to pee every five minutes, it’s that I’m always cold. I have to wear layers no matter what the time of year. The chill goes straight through me.” He paused for a moment and looked at her through those long eyelashes, blinking as he seemed to mull over his next words. “I’ll never be thin, but I feel like I’m healthy now. I’m gaining muscle too so I’m gradually getting the shape I want.”
“If it means anything, I’m ridiculously attracted to you. Physically, you’re sexy as hell.” Adelaide laughed self-consciously, fanning her face from the heat crawling over her cheeks. Imagining stripping him out of all those layers of clothes and running her fingertips, then her tongue over the curves and valleys on his body was such a turn on. When they reached that stage—and she would see to it that they did—Adelaide would leave Kingston with no doubt about just how gorgeous he was. She reached out and linked their hands together, squeezing his fingers. “But there’s so much more about you that draws me in than just your physical appearance. It’s your personality, the whole package. Your honesty and sense of humour were what first attracted me to you. The way you could laugh off how awkward speed dating was...”
He nodded and sucked in a breath, squaring his shoulders. “Most people I was with when I was bigger had a thing for fat people. It was almost a fetish for them. They didn’t see past the thing that I hated the most about myself, and I was miserable every second I was with them. I feel like I lived my life up to now stuck in a body suit that was a few sizes too big. I was trapped in it. Now, at least, I’m healthier.”
Adelaide reached for his hand again and stroked her thumb on the back of it. Surprisingly soft, it was a contrast to the small calluses on his palm. His hands spoke of physical work. Exercise. Long, hard hours he’d dedicated to changing himself.
“I really like you for the man you are. You’re gorgeous. So much so that I was left a little flustered when I met you. But it’s your personality that has grabbed me and sucked me in. I wouldn’t have spent hours on the phone with you every night or the day with you today if you were only a pretty face.” She leaned in and whispered to him, a conspiratorial grin on her lips, “And you are pretty.” She pursed her thumb and forefinger together, her nails only a few millimetresapart and winked playfully, letting out a laugh when he shook his head. “Just a little.” Bringing his cool hand to her lips, she kissed his knuckles in a soft caress. “You wouldn’t be the man you are today without having had those experiences, and I really like him. You’re strong and resilient and smart, and that means so much more to me than whether you’re a size twenty-eight or forty-seven waist. I admire you. Everything about you. I could see myself…” Adelaide clamped her mouth closed, shocked by what she was about to say. That stupid heart of hers had just gone and done itagain and jumped headfirst into swirling floodwaters, consequences be damned.
“Yeah?” he asked, a small smile tilting his lips as a flush spread over his cheeks. It was adorably shy, but bashful had never looked so sexy. “You could see yourself getting naked with me?”
Her eyes snapped to his and the softness there stole her breath. Was she really that obvious that he could read her like an open book? He was letting her off the hook, changing the subject to give her a way out without admitting just how much he had shaken her foundations in the few hours they’d spent in each other’s company.
She cleared her throat, trying to sound far more composed than she was. “I could.”
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “For saying the things you did, and for the record, I’d like to get naked with you too.” He blew out a breath and laughed like he was surprised. “I really would. I mean seeing you naked is an obvious hell yeah.”
He smiled one of those eye-crinkling smiles and his eyes darkened. It lit a warmth in Adelaide’s belly that smouldered within her. She was tingling from head to toe. She licked her lips, anticipation spreading through her in the wake of the look that set her on fire.
“Enough about me. You told me you sell toys and do your videos, but never said how you ended up doing that.”
She exhaled, the breath rushing out of her lungs. She was ready to leave right there and then, but he’d asked her something. What was it again? Oh, right. “I just wanted to try something different. A night playing with toys sounded more interesting than the date I had planned.”
“O-kay,” he said, dragging out the word. “Did you at least have a happy ending?” He wiggled his eyebrows and chuckled when Adelaide snorted out a laugh.
She rolled her eyes and grinned, but inside her feet were shuffling nervously and she was biting her lip hoping that he didn’t think less of her for being so rudderless. “Mum’s a nurse, right, and she’s really open with us about our bodies and sex and what it could and should be like. But Mum has been single ever since she and my father separated. At first it was because she worked such long hours when we were in school that she was too exhausted to ever date. But then I think she got comfortable and the idea of going out and meeting someone scared her.”
She sighed, hating that her mum had lived like a monk for fifteen years, hiding away from the world. Especially because at least initially she and Eli had been the reason for it in more ways than one. Now, with Eli working and helping her pay the bills, she’d dropped back some of the hours at the hospital, but she still worked the graveyard shift. She used Pop as an excuse, telling them that she preferred always having someone home with him, but even when she knew they were there, her mum didn’t take advantage of it.
“I finished school and Eli was at uni studying literature. He had his whole life planned out like you, but I had no idea what I wanted to do. I just knew I didn’t want to spend years studying something I wasn’t passionate about. I figured there was no point starting anything until I was sure. I knew I wanted to be around people, talk to them and help them somehow. I bounced around jobs for a bit.” She shrugged. She’d only been seventeen or eighteen so it hadn’t been a big deal, but the restlessness had set in again and she knew she needed to change things up and start something she was more than ambivalent about. That’s what her Patreon was supposed to do, but so far it wasn’t really gaining many subscribers.
“Then my friend’s older sister invited us all for a toy party. She and her friends were giggling like it was scandalous that they were talking about sex. I was there and realized all my dates had been mediocre. The boys my age—and they were all boys—didn’t know which way was up and didn’t care either. They were all about getting off themselves. I figured having a toy or two would be more fulfilling.”
King shook his head and huffed. “I feel you. I love teaching—the kids are all great—but the older I get, the more I realize how self-centred and clueless teenagers are. They just don’t get that giving is even better than receiving.”
Adelaide sucked in a breath at his inference, squeezing her legs together to halt the instantaneous throb. She shifted in her seat, his heavy gaze never leaving hers. There was a knowing glint in those dark eyes that put Adelaide under the microscope. Her pulse pounded and her breathing shallowed out. Sped up. Just a look, a comment, left her a needy, achy puddle of hormones. She closed her eyes, shivering at the memory of his lips on hers. His touches had been chaste since they’d left the beach. She wanted that to change. She wanted under him. Over him. Whatever and however he chose, she wanted it. She was all floaty. Words sounded like they were underwater, as her pulse pounded in her ears. Adelaide gasped, her pussy throbbing as she imagined a night with him. He squeezed her hand and Adelaide blinked open her eyes.
“Your Patreon?” he asked, his voice deeper, raspy like sandpaper.
It took a moment for the question to register, for her brain—which was off in a wonderland of lust and debauchery—to kick into action and get reacquainted with logical thought. “Patreon, yeah.” She cleared her throat and brushed an imaginary piece of lint off her jeans. “It was like my eyes were opened. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Sex isn’t taboo; it’s a natural part of life. I got thinking about it and wanted to get the word out. I’m restricted by most social media platforms’ terms of service, so I have to be on one that allows me to post explicit content, even if it is just me sitting in front of a camera talking. I’m hoping to grow my audience more, but it’s slow.”
He blushed, a pretty pink spreading over his cheeks, and he ducked his head. “When you told me last week, I looked you up. I subscribed and I’ve been binge watching all of your videos. You’re great in front of the camera, and your studio space is fantastic.”
Adelaide’s mouth popped open and she choked out a laugh. Heat whipped through her, her cheeks flushing. She pushed her hair back behind her ear, thinking about the things she’d revealed on her videos about herself. Now he knew. He knew what she’d liked and the experiments she’d tried. How she used some of the toys. The things she wanted to try; the question she’d asked more than once—why don’t men give head as often as wanting to receive it? How had that translated in her feeling a mouth on her that way only a few times before? She pulled her hair free again, trying to hide her face. Oh, hell. He’d watched them? She didn’t know whether to be mortified that he’d seen it or happy he knew she hadn’t been lying when she said she didn’t film porn. “Ah—”
