Page 54 of Jacked
I chuckle and stare at the text for a second, working up the nerve to actually type what I want to write back. Fuck it. Balls to the wall.
SLATER: Sadly, I think you’ve ruined me for everyone else. Butch will never be able to make me sweat and get my blood pumping the way you do.
The text bubble pops up and disappears several times before his reply finally comes through.
AJ: Dude! You can’t give me a boner when I’m working. These shorts don’t hide anything.
SLATER: I know
AJ: Have you been checking out my dick print all this time?
SLATER: Maybe. At first it was totally no homo, I swear.
AJ: But now it’s fully homo?
SLATER: Now it’s hardcore bisexual.
The bubble doesn’t pop up right away, so while I wait, I get up and shuffle into the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee since I never drank the first one. My phone buzzes with a text while I’m pouring the water into the machine and I end up spilling it all over the counter in my excitement to check for his reply.
AJ: I might be a tiny bit jealous about how easy it is for you to just embrace your new identity. Please tell me you’ve been internally freaking out for the past week and I’ll be shouting it from the rooftops in six days too.
SLATER: There’s no time limit, man. It’s okay if it feels weird or you need to process. We can talk about it if you want. Maybe that’s weird since we’re hooking up, but we’re still friends, right?
AJ: Fuck yeah, we’re friends. I’m just shit at talking about stuff. More of that bullshit from my dad I think. All that ‘guys don’t whine about their feelings’ stuff.
SLATER: It’s not whining, and I’m here for it, I promise. If it makes you feel better, you can tell me your feelings while we watch baseball and chug beer.
AJ: haha, deal.
SLATER: Sooooo… should I come to Sweat or not?
AJ: If you want…
AJ: But it might be hard for me to focus on my job if I keep looking across the gym and seeing you looking fucking lickable and shit.
SLATER: Oh my god, you text flirted with me!
AJ: I did. How’d I do with my first gay text flirting?
SLATER: It worked for me. Wouldn’t hurt to throw in an eggplant emoji next time if the vibe is right, but other than that, no notes.
AJ: I’ll try to remember that.
AJ: Damn, I’m hungry for eggplant parm now though.
SLATER: I bet I could cook that for dinner!
AJ: No. Please don’t.
SLATER: Already looking up recipes. Byyyyeeeeee.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
AJ
“How necessary is the eggplant?”Slater weighs the purple fruit in his hand with a frown.
“In eggplant Parmesan?” I ask dryly. “Pretty necessary.”
