Page 34 of Gratification in Gluttony

A friend date?

With a thirty-four percent flirting margin.

Wouldn’t have it any other way.

And you say I’m the dangerous one.

It’s the quiet ones you gotta watch out for, remember?

With a snort, he typed out, “I can tell you’re gonna be a real pain in my ass.”

It took Jude a while to respond, the chat bubble appearing, then disappearing, then popping up again. Finally, his response came through with a buzz.

Flirty Jude would say, I promise you’ll like it. But Friend Jude thinks that’s too far above the flirting margin.

I think me and Flirty Jude would get along just fine. But since I have Friend Jude on the line right now, I’ll be good and say, I’ll call you later.

Okay. Have a good day at work.

Have a good day of classes.

And thanks, by the way. For checking in. I appreciate it.

When Jude’s reply popped into life on his screen, Toni couldn’t stop a pleased smile from stretching across his face until his cheeks ached.

What are friends for?

Chapter ten

Bad Friends

As it turned out,Toni was not very good at friends. To the Elas’s credit, Jude wasn’t good at it either. So really, Toni couldn’t be blamed for the following weeks of flirting and phone calls. And depending on the definition of what did or didn’t constitute sexting, there may have been a few close calls.

But was it his fault?

Maybe.

Did he feel bad about it?

Well, no.

But hewantedto feel bad about it, and that had to count for something.

As it was, he and Jude had a friendly, albeit flirtatious vibe going on. Toni understood the boundary, and he had every intention of respecting it. But if Jude wanted to dance around the line, who was Toni to stop him?

Sure, it made things confusing, but Toni was willing to go with the flow for now. He could survive a few ambiguous weeks, right?

So, when Gem announced that they’d be going to the new club in Gluttony, Toni immediately thought of Jude. A lowkey, low stakes hangout at a club where they could flirt and dance. Maybe find a dark corner to kiss a little. Sounded like fun to Toni.

Going to the club Friday night! You in?

Have my final paper of the semester due Monday. Gotta stay home.

It’s just one night. You gotta live a little.

I’ll live AFTER my paper is finished.

Fine. Guess I gotta have a good time without you.

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