Page 18 of Jacked (Gymbos #1)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

SLATER

I fidget in my quiet office, tugging at my tie and then leaning back in my chair and tilting my head to stare up at the popcorn ceiling. I have about a dozen emails to answer and a whole to-do list of pointless bullshit to tackle, but it’s fucking impossible when all I can think about is AJ.

He managed to dry his stuff out and the weather cleared up, so our second night in the woods we were in our own separate tents.

I had no fucking idea that a dinky one-person tent could feel so big with just me in there.

I tossed and turned all night thinking about how it felt to be pressed up against him like that, about the feeling of his cum on me, about his mouth and what it would feel like to kiss him.

Maybe it really is time to call in the experts on this one.

I stand up and close the door to my office, then pull out my cell and call Nolan.

It rings until it goes to voicemail. I frown at my phone.

I know he’s another adult with a life and a job and fuck knows what else, but I feel annoyed and pouty anyway that my supposed best friend isn’t at my immediate beck and call when I need him.

I hit the button to call again, and when it goes to voicemail a second time, I do it all over again.

Nolan finally answers on the third ring.

“Slate, it’s not a great time,” he sounds breathless and his voice is strained.

“Is everything okay? Are you working out or something?” I sit up straighter in my chair. “Are you hurt?”

Nolan laughs and then makes a strangled sound that he tries to muffle.

“I’m fine, just…” There’s rustling, and then he hisses “Stop” distantly, like he’s holding the phone away from his mouth.

I tilt my head with curiosity and strain to listen a little closer. Is he really okay? He sounds…

Oh.

Ooooooh.

“Gross, dude, did you seriously answer the phone while my brother was sucking your dick?” I wrinkle my nose and try not to picture my baby brother doing… that .

He makes another strangled sound and then Cas’s voice comes over the line.

“I’m not sucking his dick, I’m tonguing his ass. Now, unless this is an emergency, he’s going to have to call you back.”

A jolt of surprise and, yeah, maybe a little bit of horny curiosity makes my ass clench and my dick perk up.

“That’s fine,” I mumble quickly and end the call.

Still definitely don’t want to think about my little bro with his face buried between my best friend’s ass cheeks, but the general idea of it lodges itself in my brain.

What does it feel like to get your hole licked? If it’s half as good as getting fingered…

I think back for half a second to that one time a chick played with my hole while she blew me. My cock swells a little more at the memory, the nerve endings around my rim all tingling. What’s it like to have a guy do that? Thick fingers, the burn of stubble dragging against my skin…

I swallow hard and drum my fingers on my desk. I just fucking wish I could sort out whether I’m just touch starved and also horny for being on the receiving end of ass play, or if all these things are adding up to something more.

There’s a tap on my office door. I drag my fingers through my hair, missing my baseball cap like I always do when I’m at work and can’t wear it. I take a deep breath and pray I look less frazzled than I feel, then I call out for whoever it is to come in.

The door creaks open and one of the other managers, Alvin, peeks his head in.

“Hey, are you busy? I just wanted to go over the agenda for tomorrow’s all-team meeting if you have time?”

“Yeah, come on in.” I wave him in and gesture to the chair on the opposite side of my desk.

He steps in and closes the door behind him.

I haven’t made as much effort as I should have to get to know my coworkers here yet, but in the few interactions I’ve had with Alvin so far, he seems like a cool guy.

His suits are always just a little bit nicer than mine and he definitely has more of a corporate vibe than I ever have, but not in a douchey way as far as I can tell.

He takes a seat and sets his notebook on the desk, pulling a pen out of his breast pocket.

He unbuttons his suit jacket to get comfortable and a rainbow tie clip catches my eye.

I sit up straighter, scooting right to the edge of my seat.

“Sorry if this is totally out of line, but are you gay?”

He raises both eyebrows, glancing down at his tie clip then back up at me.

“Is that a problem?” he asks sharply.

“No.” I answer in a rush and then chuckle. “No, sorry, um… this is going to be so fucking weird, but I tried to call my best friend and he was…” I clear my throat, heat rising in my cheeks. “ Busy . And I know we don’t know each other at all but I’m desperate, man.”

Alvin’s eyebrows knit together. “Desperate for…?”

“Advice. Sorry.” I laugh again. “Ugh, I’m a mess and my thoughts are just this tangled cluster that I can’t sort out and I don’t know who to talk to since I can’t talk to—” I bite my tongue to stop my rambling.

“Your best friend?” Alvin guesses.

I nod frantically. How did he know I meant AJ?

“Because he’s busy,” he says, his lips twitching at the corners.

Busy…? Oh, right . I told him I tried to call Nolan, that’s the best friend he’s referring to. I swallow and my shoulders sag a little.

“Sorry,” I say again with another awkward chuckle, dragging my fingers through my hair roughly. “This is totally inappropriate for work. We can totally forget it and it would be awesome if you didn’t report me to HR.”

Alvin snorts a laugh and the tension in his shoulders eases.

“It’s fine, you just caught me off guard. Not sure how I’ll be able to help, but go ahead, hit me with whatever gay thought spirals are dragging you under and we’ll see what we can do.” He sets his pen down on his notebook and leans back in his chair more casually.

Fuck, okay, I didn’t really think this through but if he’s going to be nice enough to listen, then I guess here goes nothing.

“How did you know you were into guys?”

“Well, right off the bat I would say, if you have to ask, you probably already know the answer.” He just arches one of his eyebrows this time, his lips flattening like he’s trying not to laugh.

“Right.” I bounce my leg under my desk. “I always thought that too, but it feels so much more confusing than that. Shouldn’t I just know ?

I like women, I’ve never questioned that or had to think about it, it just is .

How could I get to thirty before noticing that I’m also into dudes?

And I tried scoping out guys at the gym, you know, just to see, and I couldn’t tell if I wanted to look like them or if I wanted to fuck them. ”

His eyes are sympathetic, but his lips just keep twitching with suppressed amusement. He’s probably going to leave here and tell all of his gay friends about the idiot straight dude who couldn’t figure out the settings for his own dick.

“Okay, I get it. I haven’t dealt with a lot of that myself, but I do have a couple of bisexual friends who have shared similar struggles, so I think I can help.

First, from what I understand, it’s not at all uncommon for bisexual people to take a lot longer to figure out their sexuality.

Sometimes it’s because they’re more attracted to a particular gender so they just assume that’s all there is to it.

Sometimes those preferences can shift over time, so it becomes more obvious later, and living in a heteronormative world, it’s not surprising that you defaulted to assuming you were straight since you do like women. ”

I nod in relief and agreement. Bisexual. Duh. Is that what I am? I roll the word around in my head, testing it out.

Hi, I’m Slater, I’m bisexual.

I can’t tell whether it feels right yet, but it doesn’t feel wrong, so that’s probably a start.

Alvin goes on. “And as far as not being able to tell if you want to be someone or fuck them, I can tell you that it is disturbingly common to see queer relationships where they look like they could be twins. Who doesn’t want to look hot?

It makes sense that a lot of people emulate the same look that attracts them. ”

“That… makes a weird amount of sense.” I smile and bounce my leg again, this time more out of a newfound kind of energy than nerves. “I just… How do I know ?”

“Uh…” Alvin rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, other than just introspection, kissing a guy might give you an idea?”

My stomach flutters wildly and I immediately think of AJ again, his mouth only inches from mine in the dark, the feeling of his hot breath against my lips…

I swallow and nod.

“Right,” I say gruffly. “Thanks, this helped.”

“Glad to be of service. One day when a potential baby queer comes to you in need, you can pay it forward.” He smiles, then picks his pen up again.

We transition back into work mode and I let the conversation settle into the back of my mind where I can deal with it later.

AJ

“Shit, is it that late already?” I frown at my smartwatch as Slater steps through the door to Sweat on Monday afternoon.

He usually shows up straight from work, still rocking his suit and tie with his gym bag slung over his shoulder.

But today it looks like he stopped home to change first. He’s wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and his backward baseball cap.

I stride over to greet him and an unfamiliar smell tickles my nose. I sniff and he gives me a strange look.

“Are you wearing cologne?” I chuckle and tilt my head, realizing as soon as I do it that it’s a move I picked up from Slater—his cute little puppy dog tilt. I doubt I look half as adorable.

His cheeks flame and he dips his head, yanking his hat off and anxiously tousling his hair.

“Just a little,” he mumbles.