Page 90 of The Idiot

Yup. There go the girls. His shorts come flying off, separating at the seams.

He’s… oh, for fuck’s sake. Like this couldn’t get any worse.

He’s wearing that damn red Speedo we bought on the trip. Way to kick a guy while he’s down… and gagged… and handcuffed.

Kill me. Kill me now.

Stalking forward, he grips the next pole and hikes himself up, grappling his legs around it. What is he…

Oh, no.

Arching back, he extends an arm toward the floor. He’s flexible. I’ll give him that. It’s impressive how graceful he looks. I might even call it erotic, but the painful squeal of his thigh skin as he slides down the pole is like fingernails on a chalkboard. Couple that with the grimace of agony on his face, and I find myself wincing in solidarity.

Shit. That has to hurt.

I just heard a groan. Yeah. Totally hurt.

Face red and panting, he scrambles onto his knees and does some kind of sultry prowl toward the end of the stage. Anglingaround, I’m treated to the tight stretch of the fabric over his ass.

Fucking hell. Bouncing?

Does he really need to ass-bounce in my face? Now, he’s just being cruel.

Shifting in my chair, there’s little wiggle room to shake off the awakening of my cock. I should not be getting turned on right now.

Fortunately, he gets up after a few bars, but my hopes are in vain. Stepping off the stage, he shimmies up to my chair. I want to believe that adoring smile on his face is the kind I’ve always wanted to see, but I’m sick of deluding myself. I just have to get through one more damn verse of S.O.S. and then I can get the hell out of here. If he doesn’t free me after this, there will be a murder.

Oh, come on. He’s straddling me?

His pelvis makes a few air thrusts. I pinch my eyes closed when his cock bashes into my stomach.I’m only human, I chant.I’m only human.

Make it stop. Please, make it stop.

My chair finally stops rocking. I hear the soft panting of Jesse’s breath close to my face. His hand touches my cheek. I force myself to open my eyes. My heart slams into my throat at the vulnerable-looking smile on his face.

“Hi,” he says softly. “Um, I never said anything about gagging you.” He cringes impishly, fingering this contraption on my face. “Sorry about that, but… maybe it’s a good thing. I need to say some things to you, and I think we’re not good at communicating. It’s kind of hot, though, to be honest.”

Fuck him and that cheeky grin. I almost gave him points for that weak-ass apology, but now all he’s getting is this glare.

“Okay!” He chuckles, holding up his hands in surrender. “We can talk about that later. I hope.”

Give me strength. Give me freaking strength. Sighing, I try to calm myself and muster what I hope is a modicum of patience in my eyes, showing him I’m prepared to listen.

Exhaling, he chews his lip anxiously, looking like he’s in pain. “I’m mad at you,” he blurts.

What? Not what I was expecting. He’s a free man. I’m the one in fuzzy cuffs.

“You threw all this growing old, hand-holding, and loving-me stuff at me and then told me to leave when I didn’t say anything! Andthenyou were going to skip town on meagain, just like you did the last time you dropped a bomb on me.” Mouth set in a pout, he grips my shoulders and gives them a little squeeze. “That’s not fair, Murph. You’ve had a long time to think about how you felt about me, but I’ve only had a day. I didn’t know I wasallowedto be anything other than your friend until you said so.”

I’ve looked at and dreamt about those eyes countless times. They look so much deeper now; open, exposed. What is he saying?

Rolling his eyes, he lets out an exasperated sound, obviously reading something on my gagged face. “You got pissed off at me when I came after you on the cruise,” he reminds me. “And that guy at the bar?Rod—what a stupid name, by the way. You can’t hang out with a guy named Rod. Anyway, I was jealous.”

He looks like he’s concentrating on where his fingers are playing with the seam of my shirt on my shoulder, but his face is like an epiphany to me. Jesse… jealous?

“I didn’t realize it at the time,” he adds with a grimace, darting his attention back to me, “but now I know for surethat’s what it was I felt. It made me sick. I thought we were just screwing around because you never said anything different. I thought I was the only one feeling…different. Different like I needed you more than I ever have—needed youlike I need to see your face all the time and… and to know that I’m the only one you want to do those things with. And when you kiss me,” he pauses, swallowing hard as I listen in awe. “Sometimes I can’t breathe because there’s this feeling in my chest like I’m going to die if we don’t stop, but also like I’ll die if we do stop. But now that I know how you feel, that scary feeling is gone. All that’s there now is happiness,” he says, tapping his chest. “I didn’t want you to go away again without knowing that. So, that’s what I had to say.”

Reaching behind my head, it takes him a few tries, but he releases the straps on the ball gag. The ball slips out of my mouth along with a long bead of slobber. Angling my head, I smear my chin on my shoulder, hoping I look slightly dignified for what I have to say.

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