Page 22 of Angel

“You going to answer the call?”

“It’s a video call.”

Hayden bites back a smile. “Pretty sure they work the same way.”

“But I look— I’m not— Ugh!” I dart around the coffee table and into my room, slamming the door shut behind me. I’m not ready to be seen on camera. My hair is in the world’s messiest bun—an actual messy bun, not an artfully messy one. I’ve already washed my makeup off. I’m wearing nothing but a pair of silk sleep shorts and the matching silk robe. “Fuck!”

I cover the phone’s camera with my hand, then swipe to answer. “Hey! Hi! Hold on a sec! Lemme just…”

Ring light plugged in and switched on. Pointed at an angle to create mood lighting. Bedcovers tugged sort of into place. I scoot all the way back so I’m leaning against the wall. The elastic in my hair comes out and I fluff up the strands with my fingers. When I finally uncover the camera, I look… not terrible.

“Hi, hello, sorry about that.” I finally take in the image on my screen and have to stifle a gasp.

Jesus fucking Christ. I might look like I’m about to slide into bed, but Angel is already in bed. Lying on his side, pillow tucked under his head. Warm, yellow light casts shadows across his face, but the camera clearly captures the angle of his collarbone and his very naked shoulder. The gold chain of his necklace rests on his skin.

Oh, fuck me, right fucking now, please.

“Hey, um, I hope it’s okay that I called. Is this a bad time? I can call back later. Or not call. Or whatever.”

“Yes! No!” I wince. “I mean, no, it’s not a bad time, and yes, it’s totally cool that you called. What’s up?!”

What is up is my cock, growing from sleepy to chubby to plump in zero point five seconds. I grab my pillow and press it into my lap. Angel can’t possibly see the tent in my shorts, but I’ve suddenly been hit with a bout of bashfulness.

Angel is so sweet and I am so very not. I’m super comfortable in my own body and clearly sex positive, but when faced with Angel’s obvious innocence, I kinda feel like I’m corrupting him.

Which is ridiculous, of course. Hello, he was just telling me about which gay porn videos he likes to watch. But still! He’s just so… ngh!

“You… you asked if I wanted to talk about… you know.” His voice is all low and rumbly, exactly how I imagine a bear would sound if the animal could speak. I swear I can feel it vibrate all the way through the call and into my chest.

“Ye—” I clear my throat. “Yeah, for sure. Did you have questions? What were you thinking? Sebastian’s the best person to talk to, but I’ll try to answer the best I can.”

Great. Now I’m rambling.

“I just…” Angel blinks his incredibly long, dark lashes. When he speaks, it’s barely a whisper and I have to bring the phone closer to hear him. “Can you… can you tell me how you got into… you know. And um, why?”

He can’t bring himself to say the word “porn”. I fight back a doting sigh.

“Of course I can.” I shift to get more comfortable and prop my arm up on a pillow so the camera is angled just right. “It’s not a very interesting story. I moved out of my parents’ house when I was eighteen and I needed money. Camming was an easy option. You don’t really need any skills to get started. There’s no manager you have to convince to hire you.”

There’s the slightest furrow in Angel’s brow, and his lips are pressed together in concentration. He’s really listening to my answer, like he really wants to know.

“I was good at it and it was fun. I built up a following really quickly, then I met my friends—Hayden and Sebastian and Noel. We work together a lot, especially since Sebastian started The Camboy Network. And now it’s kind of, like, a career?”

I hate that my voice goes up at the end, as if I have doubts. Because I don’t. Camming is my career. Sex work is work, damn it. We’ve all put a lot into making The Camboy Network successful and our efforts are totally paying off.

“But that’s not the only thing you do, right? You also dance?” Angel asks. There’s no derision in his voice, no hint of accusation. He’s genuinely interested in my life. He actually wants to understand.

No one’s ever done that before—taken an interest in what I do for a living. My family makes a point of not asking, and all my friends are already in the industry. I’ve never had a chance to explain why I do what I do.

My stomach flutters with butterflies at the chance to brag about myself a bit. And the intensely focused look in Angel’s eyes makes me warm all over. I can’t help sounding a little giddy when I speak.

“Yup! The camming pays for the dancing. Especially at the beginning when I was taking a lot of classes. I get paid for pole dancing now, but nowhere near enough to live off of. If it wasn’t for the camming, I wouldn’t have the time to dance.”

Angel’s quiet for a moment, gaze drifting off to the side. It looks like there’s a lot going through his head and I don’t want to rush him into talking if he’s not ready. Then suddenly, he buries his face into the pillow and mumbles something I can’t understand.

“Uh, I didn’t catch that.”

He pops open one eye and shifts just enough to unmuffle his lips. “I can’t stop thinking about it?”

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