I’m learning very quicklythat I enjoy making Ericlaugh.
There’s this facade he presents—this stoic, serious side that I figure suits him very well in the business world. When I get to him and see him cave, I feel so proud ofmyself.
It reminds me of when he caved to his desire in his bedroom, when his lips were locked against mine and he was letting it all go and just taking me, wantingme.
Despite that he’s, as he said, old enough to be my dad, there’s a part of him that’s a big kid. That’s the part I enjoy…and the reason I poke at him, in hopes that he’ll let down his guard and show that playful side to meagain.
Judging by his reaction every time I see that big kid he can be, he enjoys ittoo.
Considering my friendship with Ty, I shouldn’t be encouraging this, but I can’t help these desires Eric stirs within me. Just like I can’t help that being around him makes me want to explore these things I’d never really considered until I methim.
“I’ve always enjoyed programming,” I spit out, and he winces. “You were asking about my job. Because we were going to have one of those safe conversations between a dad and his kid’s bestfriend.”
“Oh, right,” he says as though he’s disappointed, as though he knows there’s a way weshouldbe interacting and it contradicts the way hewantsus to beinteracting.
“Are you just going to stand there and listen to me, or are we going to keep going on this hike? I don’t want to be that guy you accuse of turning a twenty-minute hike into an hour-long hike.” I wink at himagain.
“You like to wink, don’tyou?”
“I’ve heard I do itwell.”
“You do, but don’t get cocky aboutit.”
Eric turns around and starts back down the path, and I enjoy the view of hisass.
As much as I’ve been thinking about him putting his dick in my ass, I’m just as curious to play around withhis.
Back to normal chatter, I remindmyself.
“I wasn’t very good at a lot of shit when I was in school,” I say. “Part of it was bouncing around to different fosterhomes.”
He stops again and turns back to me. “You were in fosterhomes?”
“Yeah. Don’t be weird about it. I don’t need a pity party or anything. It is what it is, so you can keepwalking.”
He doesn’t make a big deal out of it and keeps on down thetrail.
“I wasn’t great at math or history or English, really,” I continue. “Going through the motions and doing what I needed to get by. I took this computer-science elective in middle school, and we had to create a simple program, and it was like solving a puzzle. I got anAon the project, and the teacher was impressed with all I’d done. Most of the time if I worked on a project, I just sort of did the bare minimum to get a decent grade. But with that, I went above and beyond, and the teacher was thrilled at how much I’d done. It was the first time I felt like anyone really acknowledged that I was great at something. So I kept at it. My adoptive parents, the Morgans, had a computer, so it was easy for me to look up information, and once they saw how passionate I was about programming, they got me a laptop for my birthday, and I just never stopped from then on, straight through high school. I even started to get freelance work for designing websites, shit likethat.”
“Sounds like you really undersold yourself to me when you said you were betweenjobs.”
“A little, maybe. The job I’m up for is a pretty decent one, not gonnalie.”
“That’s impressive for twenty-three.”
“If we’d kept going the other day, you would have said that for a whole otherreason.”
He laughs. This time, it’s clear he’s not ashamed of it, and he lets it out and keeps onwalking.
Anothervictory.
I talk to him a bit more about the jobs I’ve had in the past before we walk down a set of steps that lead onto a sandy beach. The clear sky assures me this was the perfect day for this hike. The water is a mix of blue hues, darkening toward thehorizon.
“Holy shit!” I say mid-story as I look out at the empty beach, the waves foaming as they crash against the shore. “You weren’t kidding when you said the tourists don’t really come outhere.”
This is totally different than the beaches Ty and I have visited since we arrived in town. Most are jam-packed full of people in lounge chairs, sitting under their beach umbrellas, while vendors run around with trays of margaritas and piñacoladas.
Eric finally turns back to me, the first time he’s been willing to look at me in a while. “I told you it’s a nice secludedbeach.”
