Page 39 of Perfect Blend

His body tensed as cum shot from his dick all the way up his chest. I leaned down to get a taste.

“Fuck.Dave.Fuck.” He released a delighted and startled laugh.

Seeing the pleasure and pure joy on his face pushed me over the edge. His smile had always done something for me.But seeing his entire face lit up with pleasure?Nothing compared. I came so hard I collapsed on him. He rubbed my back with his right hand as the fingers of his left teased through my hair.

No matter what, I wasn’t going to let him go. I would get an airline credit card and start racking up miles to Chicago if that was what it took.

CHAPTER14

MIKEY

Mikey: Story’s done! Just emailed you. Let me know what you think?

Dave: You did it! Can’t wait to read. [smiley emoji] [heart emoji]

Mikey: [GIF of someone biting their nails]

- - -

After scrubbingmy clean kitchen sink to gleaming, I shook my phone awake to check the lock screen for the dozenth time in the past hour. It felt like I’d been waiting days for Dave to call, not the hours it had actually been. There wasn’t enough room to pace my tiny studio, but that didn’t stop me from trying.

After I’d sent Dave the final draft of my article this morning, I’d hoped to hear from him quickly. As each hour passed, my nerves crept toward the edge. Realistically, I knew Friday mornings would be a busy time at his shop with the Kiwanis Club and Red Hat Society meetings.

When I turned to pace the narrow path between my second-hand IKEA coffee table and TV, I spotted dust on my bookshelf. When was the last time I dusted there? No time like the present. I rummaged through my cleaning supplies and found one remaining disposable duster.It was the one place I had a few LEGO displays in my cramped space, and the least I could do was keep them dust free.

Was Dave not replying because he didn’t like the story? I’d poured my heart, hell, my soul into it. The week I’d spent in Dahlia Springs had changed my life, and I couldn’t be an objective observer writing about it. I infused the story with my experience because there was no separating the two.

I’d only been back home in Seattle for a week, and I’d never felt more estranged from the city I’d lived in my entire adult life. Seattle wasn’t home anymore. Even after only a few days, Dahlia Springs felt more like home than Seattle had since my divorce. Partially because of Dave, sure, but also because of the town. I loved Oregon and had been happy growing up there. I’d missed it long before reconnecting with Dave, but I never considered moving back there.

It was too soon—I knew that—but being with Dave, even for just a week, clicked in a way that nothing had in a long time. It was the first thing since my divorce that gave me hope for the future. If I were honest with myself, we’d been falling for each other for over a year. So many things aligned when we were together in person. After spending last Saturday night talking and cuddling until we passed out mid-conversation, I knew I needed to keep him in my life.

My brain merged Jack and Dave into the perfect person. Perfect forme. All the things that made me feel safe talking to Jack were there with Dave. He was warm and thoughtful, kind and funny, sexy and smart. When I’d let myself fantasize about the actual person behind the screen, I couldn’t have picked someone better than Dave.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I dropped the duster. Dave’s smiling face lit up my screen with a photo I’d taken of him in bed last Sunday morning. Smiling, sated, and relaxed. I was disappointed it was a phone call and not FaceTime since I’d gotten spoiled by seeing his face every night. I’d had to stop myself from jumping in my car this morning and driving down to stay the weekend with him because I didn’t want to seem too needy.

We’d talked every evening since I’d returned home and filled in the blanks we’d left out of our Discord chats. Sharing what happened in our lives since high school. Dave had even confessed his crush on me from way back when. It was a heady feeling being someone’s gay awakening, as he’d called it.

“Hey, you.”

“Hey.” His warm voice soothed my worry about the story.

A car honked in the background on his end. There was a lot of traffic noise—too much for Dahlia Springs.

“Which direction is your place from that soup dumpling restaurant you told me about? Was it across the street or the south corner?”

It took my brain about two-and-a-half seconds to register what he was saying and then another two-and-a-half seconds to slide my feet into my sandals, grab my keys, and start racing downstairs. My feet pounded against the concrete steps until I reached the lobby.

I threw open the front door of the apartment building and spotted Dave standing across the street. My pounding heart had more to do with seeing him than the impromptu sprint. Even from a distance, Dave’s smile when he spotted me took my breath away. I didn’t take my eyes off Dave as he waited for a break in traffic to cross the street.

My entire body relaxed at the sight of him—like I’d been meditating for hours. Dave being here to see me was right, perfect, everything I wanted. But there was something off about the scene, with all the traffic whizzing by. Dave was a small-town guy and belonged in a more relaxed environment. I was a small-town guy too. Not a big city one, at least. I wasn’t a Seattle person anymore.

Seattle was my past.

As soon as Dave’s right foot stepped on the sidewalk, I pulled him in for a heated kiss. My body responded like it was starved. I supposed I was starved—for him. My heart had grown attached to him over the course of a year, and there had been countless times I’d wished to be in the same space as Jack. I never thought I’d get it. Get him.

He wrapped his arms around me tightly, like he didn’t want to let me go either. I didn’t pull away until I heard a wolf whistle.

His smile grew. “Your story is perfect.”

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