Page 32 of What I've Tasted of Desire

Is that what he was about to tell me? He wanted to drown me in his piss?

Love of my life??:I like pineapple on my pizza.

I barked out a laugh, completely thrown off by his misdirection. “You are something else, baby. So fucking funny!”

Me:LMFAO. You are something else, Alex. I’ll see you tonight.

I was glad Alex had agreed to meet me. I couldn’t help but wonder when he was going to tell me about Tom and the stalking. I pretty much expected the shit to hit the fan here any second, and I wanted to be the one to comfort Alex. I wanted him to be comfortable enough with me to tell me about these kinds of things. We had only had our first date, but I was really curious to see if he was going to cancel after he went downstairs and found the note. I was going to come by and check on him, even if he did.

It was time to start showing Alex that I was strong, loving, and more than capable of taking care of him and keeping him safe.That starts tonight.I closed my phone, turned over onto my side, and ran my hand down the towel I had spread out to take up the space that Alex should have filled. It was all dry now, but it still smelled like him. It had his essence and DNA all over it.

It should be displayed in a museum of fine art.

I got up and walked around to the other side of the bed. I carefully picked up the towel and folded it into a small cube, leaving the section with Alex all over it on the top. I brought it to my face and inhaled, long and deep, breathing him in.

I adjusted myself in my briefs, went into the second room, and crawled through to my man cave, careful to keep the towel from dragging across the ground as I moved through the wall.

Once inside, I hit the light and stepped over towards the back shelf. I held the folded towel up on one hand, like a waiter would carry a tray, while I used the other to clear some space on the shelf. I grabbed Alex’s gym shorts from his senior year PE class and the sock (the one with the hole at the toe, not the black ankle sock he’d left in the dryer at the laundromat last month—I keep that one under my pillow) and pulled them down. I set them carefully on the desk before sliding his name tag from McDonald's over towards the edge of the shelf, making enough room for the towel.

Once the towel was perfectly centered, I carefully re-folded the shorts and laid them gently atop the towel. I folded the sock in half and set it on the shelf behind the name tag to help prop it up, so his name could easily be seen.

Perfect.

***

As I pulled into Westing House, I saw Mike disappearing around the side of the house. “What the fuck are you doing here, lover boy?” I rolled my eyes and huffed. “I amsogoing to enjoy killing you one day.”

I took a deep breath, willing my pulse rate to remain at a normal level as I grabbed the pineapple pizza off the passenger’s seat and hurried up to the front of the house to be there in time for him to come around the corner again. As I head his footsteps approach, I turned.

“Who are you? What are you doing sneaking around the house at night?”

Mike startled, his eyes going wide as he laid eyes on me.

“I’m checking on Alex. I work here.” I could smell the beer on his breath as he spoke. “What areyoudoing here?”

I steeled my expression and took a step closer to him. I was a good four inches taller, and in way better shape. “I think that you should learn how to mind your own business and take a hint as to when you are not wanted,” I hissed through gritted teeth.

Mike puffed his chest up and opened his mouth to respond when the door flung open and Alex came rushing out onto the porch.

“G-gabe?”

I looked over at Alex. He looked confused until Mike finally took a few steps forward and into the glow of the front porch light.

“Mike?”

“I found this guy skulking around the bushes when I pulled up,” I said, keeping my eyes fixed on Mike. “Says he knows you. He works here?”

“W-what are you doing h-here?”

He must have been talking to Mike, as he’d been expecting me.

“I could ask you the same thing, Alex. You are supposed to be lying low for a couple of days…away from the house,”Mike spat.

“Why are you sneaking around the house after dark?” I asked Mike, before turning back to Alex with a frown. “What is he talking about, Alex?”

“I wasn’t sneaking,” Mike burst, his blood alcohol level bubbling with his temper. “I was making sure Alex was safe, and then I was going to demand to take him to a hotel.”

He walked right into it!

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