Page 68 of Structure of Love

He tilted his head so he could give me a baleful stare through his fingers, which was hysterical. It wassohard not to laugh.I’d be in trouble if I did though. Lips, stop twitching. Hold it in. Hold it!

“I can do it alone, or with someone else, if you’re uncomfortable?” I offered. I didn’t want to force him into it. I just thought it sounded fun and super cool to be a model for a webtoon. Not many people could claim that.

Gage immediately panicked. “No! You’re not going to be in sexy positions with some other man!”

“Eh? Sexy positions?” Now he’d lost me. He’d told me getting up close and personal with a friend had been awkward as fuck, but sexy positions?

Shanice helpfully pulled up a few photos on her phone—something from Asher’s photoshoot with his boyfriend—and three pictures in, I got where Gage was coming from. Those were definitely sexy pictures, despite them still having shirts on. Whew, was it hot in here or was just me?

“Wowzer,” I murmured, fascinated.

“We never do nudes,” Shanice tacked on hopefully. “But we would ask you to go shirtless at one point. Is that okay?”

Gage started grumbling about “Why is this a done deal already?” but I ignored him for a second. Was I comfortable? I checked my inner shame level. Found it completely missing. Oh look, seemed I was. “Sure, I’m fine with that.”

Gage’s glower was back. “You’re not doing this with some other man.”

“Okeedokalee,” I agreed brightly. “So when are you available?”

He let out the sigh of a man who was damned and knew it. “Fine. Fine! I can’t believe I’m doing this again. Ami, Shanice, when are you wanting this done?”

“This weekend too soon?” Ami asked hopefully.

“No, I’d rather get it over with. Logan?”

“I’m not forcing you,” I pointed out. “I just think it sounds fun. You don’t have to do it.”

He continued glowering at me. “Can you do this weekend or not?”

Unwilling to let another man put hands on me, eh? Damn, this possessiveness of his really did something to me. Might need to fuck him after lunch and bring him back later. Much later. He had me all hot and bothered now.

“I can do this weekend, I think. Let me double-check with my managers and confirm.”

We conferred a bit, exchanged numbers and shit, and finally I was able to take Gage out to lunch. Coney Island was something of a staple up here, with branches here and there, but I assumed Gage meant the one closest to his office, which I knew well. He drove us there in the truck, grumbling the whole time.

I couldn’t take him seriously. It was like having Grumpy in the seat next to me.

Right, time to change the subject. “So how was your morning?”

“After leaving your house, it apparently went downhill.” Gage sighed, then gestured to the phone in the dash holder. “I’m glad I have my mother and Cooper muted. They’ve blown up my phone ever since I turned it back on.”

“Ah, right, because of the call last night.”

“Turns out it was a bigger boo-boo than usual for Cooper, so he spent the night in the drunk tank. He’s now being arraigned to meet a judge. It was a misdemeanor offense.”

“Oh, I know. One of my misdemeanors was a drunk and disorderly.”

Gage paused. “I sometimes forget you have a past. You’re just so down to earth now.”

“Lots of therapy went into that, trust me. So he got a lawyer?”

“Mom’s spinning, trying to get me to find one for him. I’m not inclined to help with this process at all. The stress of it is part of the whole package. Cooper now gets to sit, anxious, worried that this time he can’t get himself out. Maybe it’ll slow him down some.”

“It sure did me, when I got my first misdemeanor. I ended up getting a light sentence, plus a five-hundred-dollar fine, but I didn’t have that kind of money at the time. Had to work double shifts to pay it off. You can bet I was more careful how I drank and where I was afterward. This Cooper’s first misdemeanor?”

“Surprisingly, yes.”

“Then, yeah, it’ll probably be a fine. They don’t do serious jail time until you’ve racked up some offenses.”