Page 7 of Choke Up

JOHNNY: …

JOHNNY: …

The three little dots that indicate he's typing keep showing up and then disappearing, like he's repeatedly deleting whatever it is he's trying to say.

ELLISH: What?

JOHNNY: I should probably leave this one alone. LOL

ELLISH: Why?

JOHNNY: Because I’m not trying to come off like a total creep.

ELLISH: I can handle it.

JOHNNY: My mind is running a little wild with what he possibly could have walked in on.

JOHNNY: Especially given the last question I asked.

ELLISH: Ha! Not that bad, thankfully.

JOHNNY: Oh yeah, thank goodness…

JOHNNY: ??

I contemplate long enough that my phone screen times out, and I have to open it back up again before Johnny sees my icon change to ‘away.’ In my scramble to find something to say, I end up just sending him the picture that is the least compromising and needs to be cropped the least. Neither of us has sent each other this much of ourselves yet. It's almost my full body, taken from above my head and looking down. My eyes and nose are mostly obscured by my unruly mop of damp, messy hair. I'm kneeling on my bed, thighs wide apart, sitting back on my heels. The filter I used created some extra shadows, so only half of my exposed stomach and black Calvins are in focus. It's enough, and I'm immediately worried that what I just sent was too much.

He doesn't answer for several moments, and I'm ready to apologize.

ELLISH: That's what he walked in on me taking.

ELLISH: Embarrassing, right?

JOHNNY: Sorry, I need a minute to recover.

ELLISH: Recover?

JOHNNY: Wasn't expecting that.

ELLISH: I'm sorry. That probably wasn't appropriate. I panicked.

JOHNNY: For fuck's sake DO NOT apologize. That's not the problem, I promise you.

JOHNNY: I'm just trying to mop the floor before one of my roommates slips in drool.

My shoulders relax, and I let out a quiet huff of laughter. That's certainly a better reaction than I could have hoped for.

ELLISH: You can see now why my roommate hates me more than yesterday. ?? LOL

JOHNNY: To be fair, I kind of hate him more than I did yesterday.

ELLISH: ?

JOHNNY: Because he got to see all of that in person.

ELLISH: LOL jealous?

JOHNNY: Hell yes I'm jealous.

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