John blushed, and Mike’s face split into a grin. “You dog, were you out getting laid? That’s awesome.” He held up his hand for a high five, and John rolled his eyes. When Mike didn’t lower his hand, he reached up and gave it a quick slap.
“Was this the same guy as last time?” Mike asked. He stretched his arm across the counter and hooked his finger in John’s bowl of apples, pulling it closer and taking one of the fruits. He bit into it while waiting for John’s answer.
“Yes, it was the same guy. He called me yesterday and asked if I wanted to hook up again. We ended up staying up pretty late...” John was still blushing, and he busied himself by turning to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water.
“Good for you,” Mike said, looking happy. He took another bite of his apple and chewed it noisily. “I’m glad you’re finally getting out there again. This dry spell has been painful to watch.”
“Hey!” John said, a little offended. “It wasn’t a dry spell. I just….” He trailed off, not sure how to defend his six-month break from sex or dating. Okay, so maybe it had been a dry spell. But it hadn’t felt like one, so why did it matter?
“I’m just yanking your chain,” Mike said, flashing his teeth in a wide grin. “And anyway, I should head off. My lunch break ended ten minutes ago and we are wasting valuable police time.”
“Thanks for the soup,” John said, walking Mike back to the door. “And for checking up on me.”
“What are friends for?” Mike said, grabbing his sunglasses out of his pocket and putting them back on. He walked out the door and walked down the hall, calling over his shoulder, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you,” John said with a grin, closing the door.
John went back into the kitchen and grabbed the container of soup, removing the lid and finding a spoon from the drawer. He sat down at the tiny kitchen table and started to eat. That Mike would bring him soup when he thought he was sick was adorable, though Mike would probably dispute that characterization.
John was lucky that he had people that looked out for him.
Leaning his elbow on the table, John wondered if Carter had people that looked out for him. It was obvious that Carter made a habit of pushing people away, but John hoped that he had friends and family that he could rely on.
Finishing his soup, John rinsed out his bowl and made his way back into his bedroom. He plugged his phone into the charger and turned it on, opening up the messenger application. He clicked on Carter’s name and looked over the messages from the day before. Then, before he could chicken out, he typed out a new message.
Hey, I had a lot of fun last night. Hope you got home safe. John.
Pressing send, John stared at his phone. That wasn’t too clingy, was it? Giving himself a little mental shake, he put down the phone and walked into the bathroom. The ball was now firmly in Carter’s corner, and John wasn’t going to stress or obsess over what he would do.
Stripping off his shirt and underwear, John curiously turned around and looked at his ass in the bathroom mirror. Just as he’d suspected, there was a massive bruise shaped like a handprint covering on his left cheek. Though he’d been furious at the time Carter had delivered the smack, the sight of it now made him smile.
He shook his head.Casual. That was what Carter wanted. Getting his hopes up for anything more was just going to end in disappointment.
***
