Page 30 of Except You
My stomach churns, and I feel slightly nauseous. Must be the sandwich. It did have a lot of mayo on it, and I’m not really a fan.
“Yeah, where are you guys going?” I force myself to ask.
“Oh, just a bar downtown. Don’t worry, I’ll be safe, but god, I could go for a real nice hookup.”
I swallow and glance away. “Yeah, I hope that he’s a nice guy.”
“I don’t want nice. I want someone real bad, Max. A bad boy.”
I snort a laugh, and he smiles at me, scooting his chair over a bit closer and sitting sideways in it. His feet prop up on my lap, and I stare down at them.
“Thought you had to get back to work.”
“Yeah, I do, but your lap looks comfy. A nice place to rest for a bit.”
I don’t push him away, and I return to work far later than I should. Not that anyone notices I’m gone and not that I regret it. It was nice to sit outside, just the two of us, Doggo at our feet.
And that evening when I’m all alone, warming up a frozen burrito in the microwave and then taking Doggo for a walk, I wonder what Beau is doing. Is he having fun, enjoying his bad boy hookup? And when I lie in bed that night, Doggo curled up at my feet, I realize that I miss him.
And I sleep terribly.
“Thanks for driving to my parents’,” Beau says as he takes a seat in the passenger side of my car, a backpack in one hand and an extra-large cherry slushie in the other. He puts the slushie in the cupholder and then buckles in, leaning back to pat Doggo on the head. Doggo barks and then sticks his nose on the window, leaving a long booger streak. I sigh, just having washed those windows, but then again, what did I expect?
I roll it down halfway and Doggo sticks his head out in anticipation for our drive.
“Sure, no problem. I don’t mind driving. It’s kind of cathartic for me.”
“So good to know, and listen, even if I wanted to drive, Max, I couldn’t. My legs are like jelly. Got a great workout last night, like real cardio. Had to stop and stretch a few times.” He holds up his enormous slushie. “Need to rehydrate.”
I don’t wanna hear about this, but I can’t tell him that, so I just bob my head as he prattles on. He doesn’t go into much detail, but I can tell he liked the guy. A lot. And plans on seeing him again when we get back.
It makes my entire body heat in anger. I don’t know why, but I just don’t think this guy is good for him. Bad boys are never anything but trouble.
“Anyways, enough about me. Any news from Magnus?” Beau asks, and I nod.
“Yeah, he actually sent me three new pictures. One was a video of the inside of his house.”
“Oh, let me see,” Beau says, waggling his fingers, so I set my phone in his palm and give him the code to it. He swipes at it, then stares intently. Very intently.
“Oh, that’s a really nice place. Did they remodel it?”
“Yeah, I guess Sem did a lot of the work. He’s handy.”
“Seems so. I caught a glimpse of him in the video. Very nice. He’s big and very manly. I can see why Magnus chose him.”
I swallow at that comment and then glance down at myself. I’m not as big as Sem, but I am muscular and athletic. I know that Beau said I wasn’t his type, but still, it stings a little. I’ve never been so insecure about how I look, and I don’t even know why I care.
He’s a man for fuck’s sake, and I don’t date men.
But despite that little fact, it bugs the shit out of me.
Maybe it’s just my competitive nature.
Yeah, that has to be it.
“Their kids are adorable, by the way. Did he ask who I was?”
“Yeah, I told him that you’re a friend. And that you’re gay.”