Page 77 of Charming Like Us

“Fuck,” Oscar groans.

He tastes bitter and salty, and I have no trouble swallowing it down.

Oscar eases out of my mouth, and I breathe harder, especially as he notices I came in my palm. I’m about to ask if he has a cum rag, but he already says, “Here.” He leaves for the kitchen and returns in seconds with a dishtowel.

I wipe myself up.

We’re both on a euphoric come-down. Oscar lowers with a satisfied breath on the couch next to me. He leans in and presses a warm kiss to my cheek.

It instantly makes me smile. I turn my head more to him, and our mouths instinctively meet. I deepen the kiss, and when our lips break, he plants kisses at the base of my jaw and says gruffly, “Christ, Highland.” He cups the back of my head in affection before standing up. “Next time, wait a bit and I’ll do that.” He nods to my unzipped jeans. “I feel like I missed out on something.”

I don’t mention how I probably would’ve erupted in my jeans seeing and feeling him come, even if I didn’t touch myself.

The thought of Oscar fisting my cock though—that almost makes me hard again. I hang onto his words:next time.There’ll be a next time…

I smile and zip my jeans. “Looking forward to it.”

He grins back and pulls up his boxer-briefs, then his shorts. He takes my cum towel and saunters to the nearby laundry room with the confidence of a king. “You’ll get some sleep now?” he asks over his shoulder.

I watch him throw the towel in a hamper. “Can I ask you a question first?”

He comes back and takes a seat on the coffee table. “Go ahead.”

It dawns on me in this moment that I’m used to discussing other people’s sex lives.Sexis such an intrinsic topic ofWe Are Calloway.From Lily Calloway’s sex addiction to Rose Calloway’s sex tapes and all the way to how those have affected the people closest to them. Their sister Daisy. And their children.

Jane struggled with guys assuming she liked BDSM like her parents, so she often talked about that to me. I listened and recorded the interviews that later would air.

Moffy always saidno, whenever I asked if he wanted to talk about sex.What’s it like to be the son of a sex addict?Really, I was happy that he didn’t feel like he had to voice this truth to the world. Maybe this part of his life wasn’t bothering him, then.

But there’s only one person I want to talk to right now. I feel more like a viewer, wishing and hoping to relate to some aspect of another person’s life. And I know that person is Oscar sitting across from me.

“When did you know?” I ask. “I mean, when did you know you were into guys?”

Seriousness draws across his face.

Shit. I scoot forward. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t feel comfortable—”

“That’s not it.” He shakes his head. “I’m fine answering anything you want. It’s just I’m thinking maybe we should have talked about this…beforethis…” He motions from me to him.

“We didn’t have penetrative sex,” I remind him. “Our agreement is still intact.”

He laughs, one that fades in a softer grin. “I like how you included the wordpenetrative.”

I smile, leaning back. “Thought it’d help.”

“I’m pretty sure I just penetrated your mouth, Highland.”

Fuck. I take a shallow breath. “No anal sex then?”

“Yeah, but to be entirely clear here, oral sex is still sex. But when I said no sex, I meant anal.” He grimaces at himself. “Sorry, I should’ve been clearer upfront—”

“No, it’s okay,” I assure. “I assumed that anyway.” I summon a brighter smile.

He still looks upset, like he shouldn’t have relied on assumption. “I’m not used to being with someone where this isallnew to them. So it’s good if you ask questions because I might forget that you don’t have the answers.” He snaps his fingers. “Penetration.”

Why the hell am I so nervous?I feel like I’m sweating. Like he’s a heartbeat away from calling this off between us, and I’m scared it’ll screech to a halt too fast. “What about it?”

“We don’t have to have it—anal sex. It’s not the end-all, be-all. So if that’s something you never want to try out, that’s cool.”