Page 54 of The Photograph

Alex’s eyes light up. “Oh, yes, definitely.”

All his reticence and yet he loves sexy photographs. I pick up my phone, taking a few quick photos of him, before grabbing some more arty ones from lower angles and his hard length behind his boxers, close up.

Alex beckons to me. “Give me the phone—let me take some of you.”

He takes shots as I finish unfastening him, and more when I press my palm down on his cock through the fabric of his boxers.

“I’m obsessed with this,” I say, and he laughs.

“I bet you’re not as obsessed as I am,” he chokes out as I rub my knuckle up and down his shaft.

His hand with the phone drops onto the bed. “Des.”

“Mmm … hmm,” I say, staring down at where I’m playing with him.

“Come up here.”

I glance up at him.

“This is a bit overwhelming,” he says.

I stop and climb up his body, nipping his lips and collapsing to his side. “Sorry. God, I’m so sorry.”

He reaches out and squeezes my hand. “No, no, it’s fine. I just …” A frown trips across his face. “I don’t know what I’m doing here, and when you take over and go fast I’m nervous about how long I’ll last and how many times we’re doing this tonight and how much I need to hold back.” All his words spill out in a rush and then he sucks in a deep breath. “All that about having sex all night,” he whispers. “I’m not sure how often I can come in one evening.”

Propping my hand on my elbow, I close my eyes.Calm your blood, Des. I lean in and kiss his temple.

“Well, now you’ve made me determined to discover the number of orgasms I can give you in one night,” I say with a wink, but I drop my hand to his hair, soft under my fingers. “It’s fine, Alex, coming once is perfect. God, more than perfect. There’s no expectations, no obligations here. I’m just excited, that’s all. Having you here, waking up with you … Sorry if I’m getting carried away.”

He laughs. “I don’t want you to think I wasn’t enjoying that.”

Taking one of his curls, I wind it around my finger. “There’s no pressure to do anything. I’d be happy watching some TV with you and curling around each other all night.”

His face goes soft. “I’ve never slept with someone else.” His Adam’s apple bobs. “As in: shared a bed with a guy.”

And how did this little detail escape me? Of course he hasn’t spent the night with a guy. He’s been living at home and they don’t know he’s gay. They’re lining upfemalepartners for him.Wow.He’s twenty-four. But hang on, he was at college, wasn’t he?

“What happened at college?”

He shifts and props himself up on one elbow so we’re facing each other on our sides.

“I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself that I was bisexual.”

“You said that when I first met you.”

He sighs. “I … The girls I dated girls at college, I think I told you I was never into it. The sex part was a struggle.”

“But you went out with someone for a year?”

He nods. “A Jewish girl I met at college. But we didn’t sleep together. That isn’t something she would have done. My relationship history probably sounds pretty weird to you.”

“Well, mine would probably sound weird to you. Lots of hookups and a few more longer-term relationships here and there. It’s characterized by always moving on.”

Groaning, I tip forward until my face is in his shoulder. “That sounded bad, didn’t it?”

Alex laughs. “Yes. Yes, it did.”

Sighing, I roll fully onto my back, spreading my arms out on the bedcover.

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