“I have no idea. It’s new. We’re still getting to know each other. But it’s intense, and I definitely like him.”
“Well, now I want to meet him.”
“Ha. No, that’s gonna be a while.” He can’t imagine Mark or any of his friends meeting Sebastian. He looks young. Which makes sense because he is young.
“Well, I’m happy for you.”
“There’s a bit of an age difference,” Peter says uncertainly.
“How much of an age difference?”
“Almost a decade.” God, he wishes he hadn’t said anything. It had slipped out. Maybe he wants to talk to someone about it. And it’s more than a decade. “Actually, it’s a bit more than a decade. Uh, thirteen years. I don’t know why I said that. Well, I do. Shame.”
Mark laughs. He chews slowly, looking at the ceiling. “Okay, I can see that. Someone with experience. I don’t think there’s that much of a difference between thirty-five and forty-eight.”
Something in his expression must give it away.
“Oh fuck. He’s barely twenty-one?” Mark winces, which is a much more appropriate reaction.
“Twenty-two,” he says, because every year counts. “And it is something I worry about,” he says, pissed off at Mark’s judgmental tone. Well, he’s pissed at himself and trying to deflect.
Peter is vaguely self-aware.
“Well, the biggest problem with dating someone young is that you don’t have shared life experiences. You need someone who can understand you when things are difficult. Understand certain stressors of your life and want the same things.”
Physically, Peter thinks they line up pretty well. Sebastian is easy to talk to. Understanding and sympathetic. But Mark is probably right.
“And, you know, are you taking advantage of him?”
Peter barks out a laugh. “No, I am not taking advantage of him. If anything, he’s taking advantage of me.”
“Oh,” Mark says, a little confused.
“He has a lot more experience than I do. He has all the experience. I mean, it’s a relief because I have zero experience, and he’s terrifyingly good at communication. And I am… well,I’m thirty-five and it’s all new. I was getting nowhere before him.”
Mark grins. “So the argument is you’re basically the twenty-two-year-old?”
Peter chuckles. “Yeah, I suppose so. He’s the one setting the pace. Telling me how we do things, and I’m just sort of along for the ride.” And then he blushes.
Mark smirks at him.
“Well, if you think about it, you are kind of a celebrity. And most celebrities date people who are significantly younger than they are. If you go for anyone under twenty, then that’s sleazy and might mean you have issues. Daddy issues probably.”
Peter chokes on his rice. “My father is dead.”
“That doesn’t help your case.”
“The age difference is something that worries me,” Peter says.
“Look, you’re not a narcissistic asshole. It doesn’t sound like you’re coercing him. If you stay together and he’s twenty-five and you’re thirty-eight, no one‘s going to make much noise about it. Sometimes, the right person is the right person, and age really is just a number.”
Peter’s phone buzzes in his pocket. It’s a message from Sebastian.Thinking of you. I’ve got time before I have to go back to class, and I keep thinking about how I just want to breed you up. If you want to send me a picture of what’s left of the marks I gave you, I’ll put it to good use…
“What’s wrong? Is the world ending?” Mark asks.
“No. He wants me to send him something,” he says absently. Mark leans forward, his voice quiet.
“Please tell me you know not to take a dick pic where he can see your face?”
