Page 66 of Charming Like Us
I think he needs a stronger pitch, so I keep going, “My friends aren’t like yours. I don’t have one that can shit on my lawn and we laugh about it a whole ten-years later. Not even my fraternity brothers—”
“You were in a frat,” he realizes with wide eyes.
“Yeah. All four years at Penn.” I study his reaction. Shit. My chest caves. “You hate frats, I take it.”
“I’ve just never been into a frat bro before…” He nods to me. “Sorry I cut you off.”
Lungs on fire, I speak up. “I was just saying that none of my friendships were deep. The ones now are I-scratch-your-back, you-scratch-mine. People call me up because they need something from me down the road: a connection to a producer, a director. All I am is a useful contact, and I’m just as guilty of forming surface-friendships.” I take a breath. “And I think Akara is one of the few genuine friendships I do have, but even then, there’s topics we won’t touch because he’s security, I’m production.”
Sulli.
She’s off-limits, and I understand he’s protective of her.
“I’m security,” Oscar reminds me.
I’m fumbling left and right around him. “You’rethe onlyone I want to talk to about this, Oscar. I don’t even know how’d I go about telling Akara. Do I say the truth? That there’s this extraordinarily hot guy who I’ve pictured sucking me off until my eyes roll back—who I’d drop to my knees for, and I’d love to find out what it’s like to take him in my mouth today, tomorrow, weeks from now.”
Oscar shifts at my words. His hand drops, splaying over his lap like he’s hiding a semi. But he’s so confident and casual about the arousal that it literally stirs my own dick into action.
Successful pitch.
“Eyes up here.” Oscar points to his face, and I follow the guidance with a smile. Damp pieces of his hair fall to his lashes, and he shoves them back. “You haven’t been attracted to any other guy besides me?”
I shake my head, contemplating. “I think I was so set on being with a woman that I didn’t even consider I could be attracted to a man. And then you came along. So are you the first guy I’ve been attracted to and acknowledged it? Yeah.”
He lets out a noise.
My pulse jackhammers. “Is that bad?”
“No, of course not. It’s just…” He pushes aside a worn hardback on the table. “Jack, you’re like a literal wet dream. Do you know how many motherfuckers wish the straight guy they’re crushing on could say what you’re saying to me?”
I skim him, up and down, smiling. “So it’s good?”
“It’s complicated,” he rephrases. “You and I are complicated. You’re still figuring things out, and that’s fair. But I don’t want you to get hurt. And I don’t want to get hurt.”
“I won’t hurt you,” I say, adamant. Even thinking I could starts churning my stomach. “I genuinely like you, and I just want to see where this goes.”
Oscar stands off the table. “I’ll help you.” My smile brightens, and he explains, “I’ve been where you are. It’s confusing, and I didn’t really have anyone to talk to until college. I wish those people were there sooner.”
I nod and walk closer. At first, I plan to touch him, but as soon as we’re in distance, I bail and pick up the thick, worn hardback next to his phone.War and Peace.
Tension stretches at our closeness. I examine the spine of the book, and his voice sounds huskier as he tells me, “You can ask me questions, and if you want, I can ask you questions too.”
I slip a smile over to him. “You can ask me anything.”
His grin edges. “Don’t tempt me, Long Beach. I have a laundry list when it comes to you.”
So close, the warmth of his skin radiates off the swelter of mine. I’mradiatingheat because of him, and the more strides we’re making, the faster I want to run towards Oscar. Even if a lot is new to me, he’s experienced.He’ll show me, and Jesus, I want him to. The thought alone sends shockwaves.
“I’d want to go through your laundry list,” I tell Oscar. “Consider yourself tempted.”
Our grins are matched.
“Alright,” he says. “Before we go there, we should agree to something.”
I rest part of my ass on the table and hold my camera. “What is it?”
“We shouldn’t fuck each other.” He drops the gavel. “No sex.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66 (reading here)
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192
- Page 193
- Page 194
- Page 195
- Page 196
- Page 197
- Page 198
- Page 199
- Page 200
- Page 201
- Page 202
- Page 203
- Page 204
- Page 205
- Page 206
- Page 207
- Page 208
- Page 209
- Page 210
- Page 211
- Page 212
- Page 213
- Page 214
- Page 215