Page 121 of The Influencer

Fuck.

Fuck…

I said it out loud.

34

asher

As it turns out, I am not, in fact, dead inside. As I fight for my breath while it persistently tries to escape me, I find myself wanting to give up and kiss Jade again and again and again until everything in the world returns to making sense. But he’s got his head turned so far away from me, his entire face smashed into the pillow, as my cock continues to empty itself inside him.

There’s zero chance I’m letting him get away with this. He should know me better than that by now. But I know him better, too, and he needs a minute.

I slide out of him slowly, causing him to whimper softly. “I’ll be right back,” I tell him, then add in a stricter, lower voice, “Don’t go anywhere.”

He doesn’t respond as I roll away, off the bed and into the bathroom to toss the condom and wipe myself off.

As I suspected, he’s disappeared when I come out. I call his name.

“In here.”

His voice is coming from the closet. I put on my underwear before I head in. It’s my first time in his enormous closet, and I can’t help but take in the vibrancy of it all. Shoes, clothes, more dressers, a large changing bench, accessory cases—the works.

But I’ll save my request for a guided tour for later.

He’s sitting on the bench, pulling up a pair of socks even though he’s still naked otherwise.

“Are your feet cold?” I ask, moving slowly with every intention of sitting next to him.

He doesn’t look up, only nods. “Can you hand me those joggers?”

There’s an entire rack of pants where he’s pointing. I pick out a pair of gray sweatpants and pass them his way. He frowns like I selected the wrong ones but stands to pull them on anyway. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he says.

“I actually want to, though.”

“Too bad for you, then.”

“Jade…”

“Look, it just slipped out. We were fucking. It doesn’t even count.”

“We were kissing, and it absolutely counts.”

“What do you want me to say?” he asks, staring up at me with a flatness I’m not fond of.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just don’t pretend it didn’t happen.”

“It’s embarrassing, and I’d rather just move on.”

I shift in front of him, wondering whether it’s all right to touch him right now. I decide against it, but the need to hold him is pretty overwhelming. “Are you upset with me?” I ask.

He stares down at the floor and shakes his head.

“So, you’re just embarrassed it slipped out while we were having sex.”

He nods.

“You don’t have to be.”

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