“The part he manages will be completed a month early.”
Skylar knew all about my partial virgin status, but I knew his secrets, too. The poor guy had fallen in love with every sugar daddy he’d ever hooked up with and had been devastated every time they’d ended things with him.
“I’m sorry, Sky. You know...I’m not above a little construction site arson to help a friend.”
His laugh didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Eh, that’s okay, sweetie.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m probably the only idiot you know who suffers from an emotional hangover after a one-sided hand job.”
“True.” He chuckled, but not unkindly. “That’s on being demisexual, boo. You’re not an idiot, you just need the connection to get there, and you’ve already found out the hard way that some guys will fake it to get what they want out of you.”
“Which is why I don’t trust guys with anal.” I shuddered at the thought. “Something as personal as that would have me clinging to the poor schmuck like skunk spray on dog fur. I swear, I’ll be an ass virgin till the day I die before being that guy.”
“Even if the schmuck in question was tall, blond, and independently wealthy?” he asked, grinning. “Not to mention a fantastic kisser?”
“Ugh. I don’t wanna talk about Kess.”
“You sure about that? ’Cause he’s the only thing you’ve talked about for, like, two years now.”
“Why are we even friends?”
“Because we have a solid foundation of mutual miseries and because I live in a killer downtown condo with a delicious little guest room.”
“True,” I said, scrunching my nose at the camera. “And you are, I suppose, a semi-decent friend.”
“I’m better than decent, sweetheart,” he said with a familiar grin. “I’mindecent as hell.”
I cracked up. “True that.”
“You still coming by at the end of the month?”
“Yes, sir. And thank you.”
He made heart hands. “Anytime, sweets.”
We hung up, and I picked up the guitar again, peering through the front window to the gorgeous house across the way. I couldn’t see any details when it was this dark and from this distance, but I let my fingers find the melody as the lights inside the house winked out, one at a time.
I might not have been the lovable slut I led everyone to believe, but I didn’t spend the entire time hidden away in Sky’s condo, either. We enjoyed checking out the Austin food and music scene together, and I also spent a lot of time with the after-school youth group, which was queer friendly and based in a local community center in northeast Austin.
Besides teaching the occasional guitar class, I managed the twice-monthly LGBTQ+ group sessions. My responsibilities included booking counselors and guest speakers, a fact that would probably cause the people who knew me to fall down laughing.
Woody was known for keeping his cards close to his vest, but not even he had the first clue what I did in my spare time.
I mean, who was I to manage a group like that?
Though I didn’t manage so much as listen. Even before attending Marjorie’s graduation, I’d been flying high this week after a particularly productive session. One kid had come out to their superconservative, super-religious parents six months ago, and it had been rough going for a while.
However, with the help of the kid’s school counselor and, just maybe, our little group, they parents had been slowly but surely coming around. I met his mom today, and she had given me a hug so tight it nearly cracked my ribs.
“Thank you for supporting my son when I couldn’t. You saved his life.”
Despite the issues I’d had with my parents, I’d realized over these last few years of working with families that most parents just wanted a healthy, happy kid. I didn’t know if that healed anything, but it sure as shit didn’t hurt.
As I strummed, my mind drifted to Kessler’s kiss and the way his body felt against mine. I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d think if he ever got to know the real me.
4
KESS
