Page 24 of Not That Impossible

“Hello?” I said. “Liam?”

I had to dial three more times, but he eventually answered.

“What now?” He was definitely no longer sounding warm or mellow.

“Uh, same, actually?” He didn’t say anything. I ploughed on, “So. You’re gay. How about that?”

“You want to try that one again? You know I was married to a woman. And it wasn’t a platonic relationship.”

“You’re bisexual. How about that?”

“Jasper,” he said. “I have to be up really, really early tomorrow for work.”

“Okay, sorry. Me, too. I have a class at six. Ugh, they’re the worst.”

“Jasper.”

“Um.” Do it, I told myself. If you can offer to let him explore your nude and quivering body, you can ask him out.“Would you like to go and get a coffee sometime? With me?”

“No.”

“Wow. You didn’t take, like, even a second to think about it.”

“I don’t need a second to think about it.”

“Have you given up caffeine or something? I’ll buy you a herbal tea.”

“I haven’t given up caffeine,” he said, his voice softening. “It’s not a good idea.”

“Two bros meeting up for a hot beverage? How could that possibly be a bad idea?”

“For a start, I’m not your bro—”

“Two dudes, hanging out in a coffee shop, getting their drinks on. I’ll have an almond milk macchiato. You can have a camomile or whatever. I’ll even spring for a doughnut.”

“Hard no on the camomile. I take my coffee black, and I’m not exactly a hang out in the coffee shop kind of guy. I drink it on the go.”

“Excellent. We’ll meet for a walk in the park, with coffees.”

“Jasper,” he said. “We’re not meeting for coffee.”

I sighed. “Why not?”

“I don’t think of you that way.”

“Bullshit.”

Liam laughed. “Yeah, okay. No point pretending I don’t find you attractive. I should have said, I don’t want to think of you that way.”

My hand tightened on the phone. “Why not?” I was vaguely irritated at myself for sounding like a two-year-old with all thewhyquestions. Mostly, I was grinning like a fool because he’d admitted it, out loud, in actual words.

Liam Nash found me attractive.

It was one thing to feel his heavy erection against me, his body against me, his mouth on me.

Butwords.I had the words!

“You’re not my type,” he said frankly. “And you’re too young.”

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