Page 22 of Touch In Excess

“You like that?” Skye asked.

Rami jumped, startled by his date’s voice. “Oh. Um…”

“I don’t mind if you do. I picked this shirt out for you.”

Rami’s core heated. “Why?”

“Because on our date, I noticed you gravitated toward soft textures. You hated the bar napkins, but you really liked the ones the server brought over with the food. You touched my sweats, then my T-shirt, but you liked my pullover best. And you really liked the vinyl in Avan’s car.”

Rami knew that about himself, but most people never noticed, and when they did, they usually gave him a weird look and walked away. When he was little, his mother would allow him to run his hands all over clothing racks, and he never hesitated to crawl into someone’s lap when they had people over and play with the hems of shirts, and sweaters, and hijabs.

But the older he got, the more he was scolded for it. It took him a long, long while to understand why he wasn’t allowed to touch things as much as he wanted to, and restraining himself was like a physical discomfort. Eventually, his mom gave him her softest, light blue jersey hijab to keep with him. He could hold it against him and roll the ends in his fingers to soothe himself. He kept it until he was seventeen, like a security blanket.

People thought he was weird for it, but he didn’t mind that as much as he minded masking the stim, so he lived with the odd looks and rolled eyes.

“Did I say something wrong? Is that one of those things I wasn’t supposed to mention out loud?” Skye asked.

Rami shook his head and leaned his cheek against the side of the seat, allowing himself to fully indulge in touching Skye. He used the pads of all five fingers and ran them along his arm, over his shoulder, down his ribs, and across his stomach.

Skye let out a trembling breath and shifted in his seat. Rami knew what he was doing to Skye, and he felt a little bad for it, knowing that this date wouldn’t go beyond kissing, but Skye didn’t ask him to stop, so he didn’t.

“I did good, then?” Skye asked after another long pulse of silence.

Rami realized that Skye actually needed the confirmation that he was getting this right. It almost made him laugh. He was a man who was paid absurd amounts of money to seduce and fulfill the fantasies of rich strangers. The idea that he’d be not just coy but insecure and uncertain was like an oxymoron.

But Rami also understood that someone could play a role very well that didn’t come naturally to them.

“This is very nice. I like it a lot.”

Skye’s whole body relaxed. “Cool. And if there’s anything I ever do that you don’t like?—”

“I’d have a hard time keeping myself from letting you know. Usually, I just say whatever’s on my mind,” Rami told him.

“I’ll brace myself,” Skye answered with a grin.

“Oh. I won’t be mean.” Rami stopped and shook his head. “I’ll try really hard not to be mean. It’s not my intention. I just?—”

“I was joking,” Skye said with a wink. “Just be yourself.”

People said that a lot—just be yourself. They rarely meant it. They said it when they wanted to disarm someone, but Rami had only met a handful of people over the course of his life who said it and meant it without conditions attached. Be yourself…so long as it doesn’t make me uncomfortable.

But in that moment, he trusted Skye. He allowed himself to sink into a silence as his hands slowed, settling on rubbing gentle circles against the hem of Skye’s shirt. He could see the GPS directing Skye, though the volume was all the way down, and Rami watched the little blue dot on the screen ticking down the miles until the car began to slow.

“We’re here,” Skye said softly.

Rami sat up. He felt oddly rejuvenated, like he’d taken a long stress nap, though he hadn’t slept at all, and it had only beentwenty minutes. But he supposed he’d needed that quiet time to unwind from the way he’d gotten himself anxious and worried about how the date was going to go.

How? How was Skye so good at this without even trying?

Rami said nothing as Skye pulled into the parking lot, and he used his phone to pay for the spot they took. After a beat, he looked over at Rami and licked his lips.

“Kiss me,” Rami said.

Skye blinked, then grinned and reached for him. He cradled Rami’s cheeks in a tender hold and guided their lips together. It wasn’t as deep as it had been in the house. A little tongue, but his cocks stayed soft behind the zipper of his jeans, and his toes remained uncurled. But it was nice. It was careful and easy and perfect.

“I like you a lot,” Rami said.

Skye knocked their foreheads together. “I like you too.” He pulled back slowly, then reached for the door, so Rami followed and didn’t pull away when Skye reached for his hand.

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