“Ah. Got it. So, even watching, it doesn’t bother you to see your husband having sex with someone else?”
Alka grins. “No. It’s…” He trails off and remains thoughtful for a minute. “This is going to be hard to understand for most people, but Iknowit’s a job. That’s his nine-to-five. It’s business, not personal. When he clocks out at the end of his shift, he doesn’t think about them at all.”
“Really?” Ruby asks, meeting my eyes.
“Really. You’ll find that the vast majority of content creators are incredibly different from the personas you see online. I’m not Honey Sin when I get home. The workday is done, and I don’t have to think about it again until I clock in tomorrow.”
“I think calling it a nine-to-five can be a little misleading,” Alka says.
I nod in agreement. “I don’t actually film every day. Rarely do I film even once a week. When I collab, we spend the day together, filming a few different scenes and a whole lot of thirst trap shit that we can use to point people to our adult accounts. The rest of the time is spent editing and posting, answering questions, and talking to others.”
“Huh,” Ruby says. “I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
“Because you see a new video every day,” I guess.
He nods.
“I have a folder of videos I’ve never used just so I have material to work with if I don’t feel like creating anything new. I bank a bunch of stuff as often as I can. It comes in handy when we go on an eight-week holiday over the summer and filming/posting is impossible. It’s also there so I can extend my career without being active in it when I’m ready to move on. It’ll give me time to figure out and get established in whatever my ‘next thing’ is.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Ruby says.
“Knowing this, how do you feel about it now? I know it might change when you see it, but after this conversation?” Alka asks.
Ruby smiles. “I think it’s cool. I don’t anticipate it bothering me. Again, I’m not sure why it would since it doesn’t directly affect me, but…” He shrugs.
“It affects you,” Alka assures him. “That’s not me pushing you to get involved with Oscar.”
“I’m going to ask this and try not to crawl into a hole,” Ruby says, his cheeks heating once more. “This is also not me… like… hinting or whatever.”
Alka grins. “Oh, do ask. I love this pink on your cheeks.”
Ruby huffs. “So… Does that mean you’re open to, like, your husband and a boyfriend being involved?” He covers his face with his hand. “That sounds more presumptuous out loud. I’m just asking. I’m curious, I swear. I’m not even saying I’m interested. I?—”
Alka laughs, pulling his hand away and kissing his lips. He kisses Ruby for a long time before releasing his mouth. “Yes. I’d love that, but it’s not a requirement. I will never push it or hint at it or anything. It’s not like that. I want my boyfriend to be comfortable with my relationship with my husband. He doesn’thave tobe involved with my husband romantically or sexually. Okay?”
Ruby takes a deep breath and nods. I think the inhalation was to push away his mortification at asking. Now, he’s avoiding meeting my eyes which only makes me grin more.
“This was a productive conversation,” Ruby says.
Alka laughs. “It’s a very satisfying conversation. You want to kiss somewhere else or stay here? Either way, I want to keepnecking, as you said.”
Once again, a lovely shade of pink colors Ruby’s cheeks. He glances at me, and that pink deepens into red. “We can stay here.”
Alka hums in pleasure.
I have a feeling this man is the one we’ve been looking for since we got together. Funnily enough, one of us hadn’t even been looking for a second man to love, yet here he is.
Learn something new about myself all the time.
CHAPTER 13
ROUX
Irun down the path, careful to avoid everyone in front of me. I’m not exactly late, but I think I’m going to be. When I get to the tech hut, I shove the door open. It slams into someone then hits me. Since my hands are already in front of me on the door, I’m only knocked backward rather than getting the door in my face.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, righting myself as the man I just hit opens the door. “Sorry. I’m sorry.”
The man chuckles. “It’s fine. I’m glad I was wearing shoes today.”
