Page 12 of Matched By My Rival
Darnell nodded. “And listen, okay? I know you’re holding a boulder-sized grudge against this dude, but youcannotkill him.”
Clearly, my actions with Parker had given me a bad reputation if Darnell was seriously worried I’d commit homicide. Not that I wasn’t pissed. Logical or not, fair or not, I didn’t want Parker on my turf. After everything that went down between us, why couldn’t he keep his distance?
The thirsty crowd wouldn’t leave me alone to fume, though, and soon I was pulled back into the rhythm of work. Darnell and his boys took off, and I tried not to think about Parker while I pulled beers from the taps, mixed cocktails, and helped Keri when she got overwhelmed.
By the end of the night, I was exhausted.
But there was also a restlessness simmering in my veins. An energy that wanted release. Short of tracking down Parker Reed and confronting him, which was a terrible fucking idea, I wasn’t sure how to handle it. Much as I tried to ignore it, it built up, winding me tighter and tighter as I closed up the bar and made the walk home.
By the time I got to my room at the frat and stripped down for bed, it had transported itself into a need to do something,anything.My blood pumped hot and heavy. My skin prickled.
My cock hardened.
I can just jerk off and get this out of my system,I thought.
But Parker was still on my mind. I couldn’t do it with the memory of his smirk front and center.
I pulled out my phone, clicking the stylized T icon on my home screen. Thrust, the hookup app for queer men I’d taken to tentatively scrolling through. Such a tacky name and yet...accurate, I supposed.
There was an overwhelming number of chests, abs, asses. Not so many faces, but some.
I scrolled through them, my body reacting—not that it would take much tonight. But this was what I wanted, what I’d been craving. To explore my attraction to men. But always, when I got to this point, I stopped short of reaching out.
I wasn’t ready to hook up. But I needed something more than a quick scroll and jerk. I wanted to connect with a real person, even if only through a screen.
I checked the match requests that had come in, stopping on one that intrigued me.
His body was nice. Trim but muscular, with tanned, toned arms and a pale belly under a sandy brown fuzz trail. The photo cut off, and I found myself gazing at the bottom edge of that image, where I could just make out the grooves on either side of his pelvis. I kept trying to imagine the rest of him. His cock, his thighs. My mouth watered—and that was a strong response. Damn.
Maybe I was just sex starved.
Yeah, sex starved for a man, I scoffed at myself, unwilling to hide in denial anymore. I’d been questioning my sexuality for years. I’d stumbled into some gay porn in high school and watched quite a bit in the name of curiosity.
Football had always come first, and it had always brought girls to my doorstep too. I’d played it safe. Let myself be pursued and taken the path of least resistance.
But now... Well, my cock throbbed between my thighs, and that really said it all. I reached down, squeezing myself, as I checked the drool-worthy guy’s profile. I half hoped he’d be another turnoff, so I could just jerk off and go to bed as usual. The other half of me hoped he’d impress me so that I’d finally take some action.
His profile could have almost been written by me.
Quietly bi/pan guy looking to explore but keep it discreet. Crazy busy schedule. Patience required. Nothing too personal. Not looking for a relationship.
He had his guard up, but that appealed to me. Before I could overthink it, I swiped his pic, agreeing to his match. It was the first time I’d done that. My heart jumped. What if he wanted to meet up right away? What if he said he’d come over and suck my dick right now? Was I ready for that?
I stared at my phone, but nothing happened.
I didn’t know if I was disappointed or relieved. The guy was probably asleep, for fuck’s sake.
But at least now, I had new imagery to go with the hard-on begging for attention. I set my phone aside and stroked my cock, groaning as thoughts of another man’s hand moving up and down my shaft sent me spinning into pleasure and fantasy.
Finally, my blood stopped boiling. My tension eased.
And I slipped into sleep.
But not before deciding that if Parker Reed wanted to toy with me, he better be ready for the consequences. I couldn’t be trusted when it came to that guy. He’d gotten under my skin, burrowed too deep to shake.
Even if I did feel ashamed of lashing out like I had.
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