Page 13 of Just Watch Me

Me:yup, I’m around

Skylar:good. I’m recruiting you to eat my dick

I squeezed my eyes closed and leaned my head back against my couch. If I were being honest with myself, I had to admit our hangouts included flirting, but I couldn’t let it mean anything. It’d been eleven days since we’d jerked off in front of each other, andthatI was definitely counting. Skylar had the unnerving ability to simultaneously put me at ease and wind me up with a single look. I loved it. It was so safe to flirt with him in the confines of our apartment building, where I could be who I wanted to be—possibly a little bit of who I really was.

Me:Leave a ball for me

Skylar:you got it ;)

He hadn’t specified where we would hang out, but in case he wanted to come to mine for the first time, I wanted to make sure my place was presentable. My favorite novels were arranged with care on the cheap IKEA bookshelf with some fandom swag scattered about. It wasn’t Instagram-worthy, but it worked. My place had a mismatched college-chic vibe, but I didn’t think Skylar would mind. I kept it clean, so it didn’t take long to tidy my dishes from dinner and put my work clothes in the hamper. I changed my T-shirt to an electric-blue one that read “I’m not weird. I’m a limited edition” then sprayed some Febreze. I coughed.Too much Febreze.I opened the window to let out some of the intense smell.

My mind went into overdrive thinking about what to put on the TV if Skylar came by instead of waving me over to his place. TV off and reading was too nerdy. I could go with a safe show, likeSchitt’s CreekorThe Office. Through my conversations with Skylar, he’d dropped some geeky hints, but I wasn’t sure how deep his geek streak ran. Is he the kind of guy to see a new Marvel movie because it’s cool, or does he watch the entire universe in chronological order to prepare for each release?I was firmly the latter.

I turned on theSchitt’s Creekepisode where David Rose met the charmingly teasing Patrick Brewer in his pursuit of a business license. By the time I’d reached their talk of business partners and overly corporate firms, there was a knock at my door. My nerves threw a party.

I opened the door to find Skylar’s wide smile. He still wore his work clothes. I loved that he’d come straight to my place.

He lifted the lid of a Pepto-pink pastry box. “Like my dick?”

I busted up and ignored the heat in my cheeks because yeah, I did like his dick. A lot. I would love to get intimately acquainted with it, but we were coworkers, and that was a terrible idea.

“Your dick looks delicious.” The words tumbled from my lips.I swear the man has a spell on me.

Skylar’s tongue darted out and wet his bottom lip, and he looked like he wanted to push me down to my knees and show me how delicious it was.

I wanted to lean forward and nip his lip, but instead, I stepped aside and gestured for him to come in.

“Is it okay that I came by? I probably should’ve asked first if you wanted to hang here or at my place. Since I haven’t been to your place, I was curious.” Skylar strode into my apartment like he’d been there a dozen times before. He set the pink box on the counter and began to reach for my cupboards, then paused. “Sorry. That’s rude of me. Plates?”

I smiled. I loved that he immediately felt comfortable enough in my place to search for dishes. “Help yourself. Cupboard above the sink.”

He flashed a shy smile as he pulled out two plates. Then he grabbed a knife from the magnetic strip I had mounted behind the stove. “Avert your eyes. I don’t want you to have to witness this penile destruction.”

I covered my eyes with my hand and made a show of peeking through my fingers. “For the love of god, leave the balls intact.”

Skylar laughed as he sliced the donuts into pieces and made a tasting plate for each of us.

I spotted a large piece of my favorite donut and smiled. It was just a donut, but it touched me that he was considerate enough to buy my favorite. “Thanks. This is a nice treat.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Beer?” I stepped behind him to reach the fridge.

“Sure. Whatever you’ve got.” He walked over and settled on my futon.

I followed with two bottles of the same kind we’d been drinking at his place. When I handed one to Skylar, his lips turned up in a smile, but he didn’t comment on it.

I sat next to him and popped a piece of donut topped with brightly colored cereal in my mouth. Skylar examined my place and commented on various bits of my geekery. He laughed at the framed pencil drawing above my bookshelf of Jeff Goldblum’s head on a T. rex body.

“I haven’t seenJurassic Parkin ages.”

“We’ll have to fix that,” I suggested.

Skylar grinned. “What kind of food goes with a dinosaur film?”

I tapped my chin. “Frog legs? Egg-based dishes? Ooh, a spread of tropical fruit.”

“You’re so weird.” He looked absolutely charmed.

---