Page 12 of Praise You

Smiling, I shake my head. "A friend-friend. He's gay, but I don't see him that way. And I'm sure he doesn't see me that way either. We’re both new at BU and needed a friend."

"That's awesome, Oliver. I knew moving would be good for you."

"It really has been. I can finally be myself, or at least figure out who I am here."

We stay on the phone for a few more minutes, Alexander updating me with new things happening in his life and me telling him all about what I did this past weekend.

When we finally hang up, I'm too tired to finish grading, so I pack up all the papers to work on them another day.

Arriving home, I head straight toward the shower. I twist the knob, turning the water to burning hot. Once the room starts steaming up, I strip off my clothes and step into the shower, letting my head fall forward. The water sprays against my tired muscles, and they start slowly loosening up. I enjoy taking a hot shower as soon as I come home at the end of the day. It helps me to rinse off all the dirt, but it relaxes me enough to enjoy a nice night inside.

After I finish showering, I pull on a pair of black sweatpants, then make my way to the kitchen. Ember’s already in the room, scooting her bowl against the floor as when I walk in.

“Hey, girl,” I coo, bending down. She stretches out, a soft meow escaping her at my petting. “Is my girl hungry?” I ask, laughing when she scoots the bowl again.

After feeding her, I look through my fridge and decide on making a salmon salad for dinner. I'm not the world's best cook, but I can cook some food here and there.

The salmon salad only takes a couple minutes to prepare, since I already had all the ingredients ready and washed. I drizzle a lemon vinaigrette on top, then sit on the stool at the island. I eat my salad slowly, enjoying the quiet evening. When my bowl is empty, I clean up the kitchen before making my way to the living room.

I don't even have to pretend to know what I'm going to do. I tried to kill time and eat slowly, but it’s no use. Masked_menace posts new videos a couple times a week, so tonight I'm going to log in and see if he's posted a new one today.

Opening my laptop, I find his profile, a shiver racing through my body when I see he's uploaded a new video. I place the computer on the coffee table, then press play.

The first thing I see is an empty bed in view of the camera. The last few videos he was sitting on a chair, so I notice the new setting immediately. It only takes a couple seconds before he's entering the view of the screen, his body completely naked. He lays down onto the bed, stroking his cock as he stares at the camera.

"Are you ready for me?" His voice rasps. I nod my head even though he can't see me, pushing my sweatpants down my legs and letting my dick spring free.

"Fuck, you are ready for me, baby, aren't you?" I nod my head again, wishing I had the courage to do another live video with him. Since the first video, I haven't tried to join another one of his live sessions. I always wait for him to upload one and then I just watch that. I'm getting more comfortable with myself and what I want, but I'm not quite that comfortable yet.

My eyes never leave the screen as I watch him jerk himself while he talks to the camera. Every time he talks, I imagine he's talking to me personally.

"I want you to put one hand on your cock, stroking yourself in time with mine. I want you to use your other hand to caress the rest of your body. The one place your body is craving an extra touch. Imagine it's me grazing you. My fingers gracefully touching you all over." A tremble runs through me, and I moan loudly, doing exactly what he's asking. I imagine he's actually here with me. He's sitting across from me, telling me exactly what to do. His deep voice demanding I touch myself a certain way. His voice going soft when he praises how good I am and that he's proud of me.

"You're doing so good for me." All I can hear is his voice. My eyes are closed and all I can do is stroke myself, listening and imagining what it would be like to have him here with me.

"I want you to come for me, baby. I want you to come the hardest you've ever come in your life."

I stroke myself faster, a tingle letting me know that I'm close. I'm so close, I'm waiting to be pushed off the ledge.

"Come now."

And that does it. My hand freezes and spurts of cum shoot out of my dick and lands on my stomach. I'm breathing deeply, my pants filling the room, but I can still hear masked_menace in the background telling me I did such a good job.

The video goes black and I reach over, closing the computer. I quickly clean up before lying back against the couch. Ember jumps up beside me, rubbing her head against my hand. Grabbing her, I put her on my chest, closing my eyes. The high from earlier is fading, melancholy taking over.

I know I have Ember, but sometimes it really fucking sucks being alone.

I'm walking back and forth in front of the lectern, explaining the requirements of the next research project I'm having the students complete. Looking out into the crowd at all of their faces, I see most are bored, either yawning or their eyes slowly closed. But there are a few who seem wide-eyed and eager to get started on their assignment.

Being able to share my passion with others is everything. And seeing those students who are taking what I'm saying and learning from it is everything.

I scan the crowd again, locking eyes with Ronan. He's hastily taking notes in his notebook, and I smile before continuing my lecture. There’s something about seeing him work so hard that causes a flutter in my stomach.

Once class ends, I'm standing at the lectern packing up my messenger bag when a throat clears next to me. Lifting my head, I lock eyes with Ronan's warm brown ones.

"Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, Professor Carson. I'm excited about getting to work on this assignment. I was wondering if you would have time to meet with me this week and go over some key points before I start trying to write this paper."

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