Page 31 of Free Fall

Fuck, Sejin smells good, and I like how his breathing is timed with my own. There’ve been men I haven’t kicked out of bed directly after fucking in the past, and the way their breath didn’t hit evenly with mine always made me crazy. But Sejin’s intake and outtake syncs with my rhythm perfectly. It’s like we’re one unit right now, breathing and existing together in my cozy van, warm and snug.

I’ve rarely felt so content in my life, and never with another person. That’s what great sex will do, I guess. Leave you limp and soft, willing to accommodate and accept almost anything. Like this VLive thing. I don’t get why he’s watching a livestream of young men from a KPop group who all speak and sing in, presumably, a language he doesn’t know. But I’m curious about what’s going to happen, or not happen, next. Will they sing songs? Dance? What?

Before I know it, I’ve been watching these dudes for about ten minutes, and I haven’t hated it. It’s been…enjoyable? Leaning against Sejin, resting my cheek on his shoulder, and just absorbing this sparkling bit of human interaction from across the globe.

“Who are those guys? I mean, what KPop group are they?” I ask when it’s over, and Sejin closes the app.

“Astro,” he answers. “Fans or staff will translate what they said later, and I can rewatch it then if I really want to know what they’re saying. But the important parts will be live-translated by fans on social media.” He opens an app and tapsin a few search terms, showing me how various fans have been posting translated snippets from the broadcast. It seems that some members of the group like mint chocolate ice cream and others don’t and, for some reason, that is a very important divide, requiring debate and noogies. It’s beyond me, but Sejin smiles his particularly gorgeous grinat his phone, and I’m simultaneously thrilled to see it and disappointed that, once again, it isn’t for me.

“You’re a fan of them in particular?”

“Yeah, I’m really into their music right now. They just released a new album, and I can’t wait to teach the dance for their comeback song to the kids. I’m still learning it myself, though. Then I have to kind of dumb it down for them.”

“Comeback song? Were they on a hiatus?”

“No, that’s KPop slang for a new lead single on an album.” He shrugs. “And they call the lead single a title track, even if it’s not the title of the album. It’s a thing.”

But I have more questions. “You’re a dancer? Were you trained or self-taught?”

Sejin laughs. “I’mnota dancer. I’m just a KPop fan who likes kids.” He stands up, and I’m afforded a full body, naked view of him stretching. God, he’s gorgeous. I don’t want him to go yet, and I reach for him.

“Sorry, I have to work this morning,” he says. “I need to find a shower and…” He glances at his phone again. “I’ll still be late, but whatever. What do you recommend?”

“For a shower?”

He nods, gathering his clothes and sadly covering himself so that I can’t see his pretty butt and the sleekness of his back or the sexy way his balls nestle under his cock. I really want to get my hands on him again, but I guess I have to wait because consent has been withdrawn now, and he’s on his way out.

“The campground showers are that way.” I gesture with my hand. “But they’re pretty gross. If you head into the woods,”—I wave my hand the opposite way—“you can find a fresh waterfall, and I prefer it. The water’s cleaner, believe it or not.”

Sejin stares at me, glances at his phone again, and seems to calculate. “A waterfall?” he says uncertainly.

“It’s not far. Not that much farther than the shower block.”

That’s not entirely true, but I want to show him the waterfall and see him wet and slick beneath it. No idea why, but I do.

“You’ll have to show me another time,” he says. “I really do have to get to work. Campground showers seem like the best bet.”

“Okay.”

“But, hey, I mean it,” he says, his eyes earnest and intent on mine. “Next time? I’d love to see it. I’ve never used a waterfall as my shower before.”

Next time.Yes, he said next time. I smile, feeling like I’ve won a prize of ice cream, pancakes, Jolly Ranchers, and every other yummy thing in the whole world.

“You’re in for a treat,” I say about the waterfall. “An ice-cold treat.”

Sejin’s eyes go wide and he looks like he wants to ask more questions, but then he glances at the time on his phone again, grabs his pants, and says as he puts them on, “Do you have a towel I can borrow?”

I point toward three folded into a cubby. “And take that bar of soap too.” I point to one of the half-used soaps on a rope hanging on a hook next to it.

“I’ll return these to you next time we…” Sejin pauses and uncertainty washes over his face.

“Next Friday?” I suggest.

He nods.

“I’ll be looking forward to it, Doc.”

After Sejin leaves, I sprawl back in my bed and feel something hard under my hand. I grab it and smile. The ball gag.