Page 2 of The Virgin
Jonah opened his mouth, intending to spill all his secrets to Spencer, when Damon appeared. He dropped down next to Jonah and flung a friendly arm around him, pulling him into a side hug. “Sorry I’m late. I got hung up.”
Jonah’s nose wrinkled. “You smell like Tom Ford and sex.”
“You’re full of it. I do not.” Damon’s cheeks turned slightly pink, indicating that not only was he lying but also feeling sheepish about being caught.
Jonah and Spencer had chosen not to pry into his secret love affair a while ago. Damon seemed happy, and whoever he was with had to be at least partially responsible for that, so they left well enough alone. Having a closet full of secrets himself, Jonah knew what it was like to want to keep things from spilling out.
“I started that bear last week, did I tell you two?” Spencer steered the conversation away from Damon’s love life—and Jonah’s lack of one—and onto his art. Spencer was the shop teacher at the high school where Jonah taught mostly math and science. Spencer also built sculptures out of scrap metal in his spare time.
“You better be taking progress photos this time.” Damon reached over and stole Spencer’s drink. He took a sip and gave it back with a shudder. “Yep, that’s still fucking gross.”
“You do that every week,” Jonah said.
“Someone once told me beer was an acquired taste and I have yet to acquire it. I figure, one of these weeks, it might not taste like something that sat in the bottom of a boot.”
“I still don’t see why you think I should bother with photos.” Spencer moved his beer out of Damon’s reach.
“I keep telling you to post them on the internet. Start an Instagram or something. People love creative shit like that.”
Spencer arched an eyebrow and even Jonah had to wonder about Damon’s choice of words. “Creative shit?”
“Oh, shut up. You know you impress me with your sculptures. You’re this giant, talented, hot-as-hell mountain of a man. People will eat you up.” Damon was always free with comments like that. If he thought someone looked good, he said so. If he thought someone was talented, he made sure they knew about it. While it threw some people off, over time Jonah and Spencer had gotten so used to being on the receiving end that they almost never noticed when he said something about how hot they were.
Spencer was hot. Most easily described as a bear, he had a short, well-groomed beard and hair just long enough to pull back into a low ponytail.
Jonah always considered himself to be on the plain side, which was part of the reason he was still single—and a virgin. Mousy brown hair, cut short enough he didn't have to bother styling it but longer than a buzz cut didn’t exactly inspire people to line up around the block.
Spencer didn’t hide the disgust from his face. “I don’t think I’m interested in that. In fact, the more you talk, the less appealing it sounds. If—big if—I started something like that, I’d only show off my art. I’m not interested in someone who sees my face online and decides they need to be with me.”
“Well, that’s fine too. People love a good mystery.”
“I don’t think you’re helping matters, Damon.” Jonah finished his beer. He thought about ordering another one, but he still had stacks of grading to do over the weekend and he loathed working through a hangover. He shoved his empty glass away, earning him a look of concern from Spencer. Jonah appreciated that Damon had interrupted their previous conversation, but part of him knew Spencer wasn’t about to let it go so easily.
“I’m always helpful.” Damon grinned, looking far too pleased with himself to be talking about Jonah or Spencer.
“Unless you’re going to reveal details of Mister Expensive Cologne to us, don’t be a tease, Damon,” Spencer said to him, acknowledging for the first time that there was definitely a someone they all knew existed, even if Damon was keeping him a secret.
Damon batted his eyelashes. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m absolutely one hundred percent single.”
Jonah doubted the validity of that statement for a moment, then immediately second-guessed himself. Maybe that was his problem. All this time he’d wanted to do things in a specific order, but life wasn’t a math equation. He didn’t necessarily have to follow the typical steps—meet a guy, date a guy, fall in love with a guy, fuck a guy. Especially if the result was always going to be the same. Maybe it was time to rethink his formula. He could take a page from Damon’s book and have lots of casual sex.
Damon was bisexual, but mostly he partnered with men, especially recently. It had been a while since Jonah had heard Damon talk about a woman he’d been interested in. But since Damon started seeing his mystery man, he’d been tight-lipped about any of his escapades.
At least Jonah wasn’t bisexual. He doubted he could stand being rejected by more than one gender. It was bad enough being rejected by men like Tom, who was as interesting as a blank sheet of paper.
Jonah forced himself to be social for another hour, sipping at one more drink just to have something to keep his hands occupied. But the conversation often drifted past him and he felt like an ass for not being able to pay attention to Damon or Spencer. Damon might not have noticed Jonah’s silence, but Spencer had. The weight of his stare bored into Jonah, and he could almost see all the questions Spencer was itching to ask him.
“I need to get going. I have papers to grade and plants to water.”
“If you got plastic plants, you could hang out longer,” Damon joked.
“Next weekend we’ll do dinner at my place. Spencer can bring the drinks and you can bring dessert.”
“Why don’t I get to bring the drinks?” Damon asked.
“Because you think beer tastes like boot water. Spencer can pick the drinks. You can bring dessert,”Jonah repeated before he rose and patted his pockets, making sure he had his wallet, keys, and his phone.
“Are you okay to drive?” Damon asked. “I can give you a lift home.”
