Page 29 of Gratification in Gluttony

With a noncommittal head waggle, Toni see-sawed his hand. “Teasing? Yes. Joking? No. Because if you ever wanted make-out, I’d be so on board for that. But also, I want to be your friend more than I want to suck your dick.”

“I don’t have a dick, remember?”

“Equipment don’t matter, baby. I’ll enjoy having my mouth on any part of you. With your express consent, of course.”

“Oh my god, the things you say.”

Toni waited for Jude to finish his thought, but when he simply trailed off, Toni said, “Life is too short to not say what you want, and I’m a man that knows what he wants.”

For the first time, the silence between them was strained, and Toni regretted being so forward. His mouth ran away with him sometimes, and while he liked playing with the line betweensocially acceptable and outrageous, he never wanted to make people genuinely uncomfortable.

“Sorry,” he said when the quiet stretched. “I talk a big game, but I don’t ever want you to feel disrespected.”

“It’s not that,” Jude said carefully. “I told you last night, I don’t have space for anything except friends.”

“Okay,” Toni accepted readily. “Then we’re friends. I’m still gonna flirt with you, though. Unless you don’t like it.”

“I don’t want to lead you on,” Jude side-stepped.

Toni blew a raspberry. “You’re not. You’re being very upfront with what you’re offering, and I’m accepting the terms. And as a good faith gesture of friendship, I promise I’ll pull back on the flirting by… sixty-six percent.”

The tension in the atmosphere cracked, then broke as Jude snickered. “Okay, I can live with a thirty-four percent flirting margin.”

“Then we have an accord,” Toni said with an air of pomp and circumstance.

“We’ll sign the treaty the next time we see each other,” Jude joked.

“I’ll draw up a contract. I got a guy for that.”

“Sure,” Jude said, then he yawned. “Okay, I’m going to bed now. For real.”

“Get some rest,” Toni said.

“You too.”

“And thanks,” Toni added. “For calling. I like talking to you.”

“I like talking to you too.”

“Cool. Then, uh, talk to you later?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Jude,” Toni said.

“Goodnight, Toni,” Jude said.

Then the line clicked, and Jude was gone.

Chapter nine

The Other Side of the Kitchen Doors

The next day, Toniwoke before Gem so he could head to Envy to see his mother before work. It was easier, he reasoned, to stop in early when the other family members were, presumably, not around. And having a hard out—like work—was also helpful. His mother couldn’t exactly guilt-trip him for not staying long since he was being a responsible adult, making responsible adult money to pay his responsible adult bills.

Of course, it didn’t stop her from trying.

“You just got here,” Goldi pouted, attention on her compact mirror as she applied eyeshadow. “And now you’re gonna leave me all alone, by myself, in this horrible hospital room.”

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