Page 20 of Switch
“Hey.”Fallon stands right as I’m about to make my exit.“I’m sorry.I’m kind of a hot mess right now.And I’m sorry for basically using you last night.And biting you.That was really… Anyway, I’d like it if we could be friends, though.If you’re up for that.”
Say no.Say hell no.Tell him you won’t be happy with friends after swallowing his moans and marking his face.Tell him you’d like to cut whoever made him think he needs to apologize all the damn time from nose to fucking balls.Tell him you’ll wear that bite mark with pride because nobody’s ever claimed you before and probably nobody will again.Even if they did, you’re not sure you’d want them to because something happened last night that won’t happen again.
Maybe I’m stupid enough to think it, but I’m not stupid enough to say it out loud.“Friends.Sure.”Fucking idiot.“I’d better go now.”
“You’re a pretty great guy, PJ.”
“Nah.I’m not.”
I don’t let myself touch the bite mark on my neck until I’m back in my car.
ChapterSeven
PJ
Ravi:You know what I don’t quite understand?Cock cages.
PJ: I hate even to ask
While I might hate to ask, I am morbidly curious, so I do a quick internet search, which—oh, hey.I had no idea that was a thing people did.
Guess my world’s opened up lately to a lot of things I didn’t realize people did.
Simon: Really?Because I’ve got ALL sorts of questions…
Honestly, I need to get some sleep.My “real” job requires me to be in at six in the morning, and it’s almost three.My night ran long thanks to a gig as someone’s wedding date, and said date was in love with the fucking groom.Who the hell knows what to do when their date is sitting in the back of the ballroom in the historical Belle Argo Harbor House, crying into a flower arrangement?
Needless to say, I got my date’s game face on long enough to make an appearance at the reception, stole a bottle of champagne from the bar, and took the guy for a walk down the beach before he could do something stupid.Now I’m the one with regrets after hours of alcohol-fueled heartbreak.Poor fucker.
Love’s a scam, I know that much.Growing up I had a front-row seat to my mother’s stupidity, and the truly fucked-up things people do for love.If that shit didn’t teach me a lesson, this guy’s meltdown sure did.
The question is, which is worse?Falling in love or being alone?It doesn’t help that listening to Quinn’s tales of woe gave me the same hollow feeling I got when I walked out of Fallon’s house a couple of weeks ago.But we’ve already established that love is stupid.So.
Ravi: I’m not trying to yuck someone’s yum or anything.I got lost down a research rabbit hole, and I don’t get how some of this stuff is pleasurable, that’s all.
Simon: Kind of the point of kink, Rav.Not everyone is into gangbangs.
I know I’ll regret asking, but…
PJ: Rav, I thought you were still a virgin?
Adam: Gangbangs are a little impersonal if you ask me.A good threesome tho…
Ravi: I’m not into gangbangs.I’m not sure what I’m into.That’s the point of doing research.
It’s not like I can judge.I’ve recently discovered I’m into some things I hadn’t realized before.Maybe Ravi’s got the right approach.
Not sure about the cock cages, but…
Troy: Why do research when you can just watch porn?
“Fuck off!Goodbye!”Jolene’s high-pitched squeal has me peeling myself off the ceiling.I look over to see her waddling through the doorway of my sparse bedroom with her head feathers raised.Pretty sure cockatoos are supposed to sleep at night, but like me, she hasn’t been the same since Evans disappeared.I’m still learning how to take care of her properly.
Turns out birds are kind of a pain in the ass.They live a long time too, so Evans had better come back.She’s not nearly as fun as Fallon in the shower, and when I don’t give her enough attention she starts screaming at me.I cannot handle being stuck with this bitch until I die.
“Sorry, Jojo, I forgot to tuck you in, didn’t I?”Do I think it’s cringeworthy when people baby-talk to animals?Hell yes.Do I baby-talk to my brother’s cockatoo?I sure as fuck do.I’ve done worse things to avoid getting my eyes pecked out.
I hold my hand out so she can perch on my finger, then I take her to her perch in Evans’s room, kiss her on the beak, and turn out the lights.At least one of us deserves to get some sleep.
