Page 2 of The Mayor and the Mystery Man

I put a reassuring hand over hers. “All of my meetups were consensual with of-age adults, and we practiced safe sex. I didn’t use a dime of taxpayer money to pay for supplies.”

“Do I need to know what supplies entail?”

“Don’t judge.”

“Why go through the trouble of having one-night stands? I know three guys off the top of my head I’d love to set you up with.”

“I’d rather have the swastika anal beads.”

She rolled her eyes. Fortunately, we’d been through so much shit that there was pretty much nothing we could say that either of us would bail.

“Look, I like to blow off steam without the sticky entanglements a boyfriend brings, and I’m not going to feel bad about it. I have enough on my plate. I tried the marriage thing, and it didn’t work. Not all of us are lucky enough to find Professor Charming and live happily ever after.”

She chuckled at my nickname for her husband. He was an ethics professor at a local college, and it’d rubbed off on her. She could’ve been making a lot more money working for a lot more powerful political figures, but she turned down opportunities if candidates didn’t abide by her ethical sniff test.

“Leo,” she said with concern.

“I don’t see why the people of Sourwood should care about any of this. It’s personal. It’s legal. Their property taxes aren’t going up.”

Before she could answer, her phone buzzed. “The article’s live.”

We navigated to the website. ONE HOT NIGHT WITH THE MAYOR, read the headline. My flesh crawled.

His essay detailed our “courtship” and then the night I met him at his apartment for sex. I breathed a sigh of relief because everything on the surface was above board. I couldn’t help read the part where he praised my lovemaking skills and stamina.

“Stop smiling,” Vernita said.

“Sorry.”

I kept reading, and my stomach dropped. Damian talked about how I never contacted him again, how his heart was broken, and he felt used. Um, we met on a gay hookup app! He knew the rules.

He included screenshots of our texting, complete with–

“It’s not a dick pic!” I shouted way too loud for a bakery in the middle of the day. “I’m wearing underwear.”

A picture of me laying on my bed, grabbing my erection through my boxer briefs and smiling stared back at us. Vernita’s eyes bulged open. After a career in politics, she thought she’d seen it all, and apparently, she had not.

“These types of pictures are common. Damian sent one, too. People want to see a picture of the merchandise before they make a purchase.” I laughed to mask my terror at having the town of Sourwood see my junk on display.

“Why do guys always look so proud when they show off their genitals?”

I was giving the camera my best you-know-you-want-me face, which admittedly made me look kinda douchey. “You can’t really see anything.”

“I can see enough to know we’ll have no problem landing the Jewish vote.”

I crossed my legs under the table. “How bad is it?”

“Bad.” She pursed her lips, but already the strategic gears behind her eyes were moving, which gave me hope. “True, you’ve committed no crimes. This is embarrassing but not illegal. We have a month until election day, and this image is what people will think about. We need to change the narrative.”

I rubbed my temples. “Fucking Damian. Guy gave the worst blowjob of my life.” He treated my dick like a teething ring, and his idea of dirty talk was asking me,Do you like that?every two seconds.

“He’s not our only problem.” Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Rita Buchanan entered the race.”

“Rita?” I nearly spit out my dessert with laughter. “Are you serious?”

She nodded solemnly.

Rita’s been a thorn in my side ever since she got elected to the city council. Her father owns a major real estate development corporation that’s been trying to get their hands on Sourwood’s riverfront property for years to build luxury mansions for the highest bidder. I’ve kept the land as a public park space so everyone can enjoy the view, not just a handful of rich people. To try and pressure me, he bankrolled Rita’s city council campaign a few years ago, despite her having zero political experience and never being prepared for a single meeting. And now it seems the Buchanans are trying to remove me completely.

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