“Good protection today!” West calls back, but Landon’s already around the corner.
I sit down beside him on the bench. “No. I don’t think it would be strange. You like him, huh?”
West’s eyes light up. “Oh, he’s great. He’s really not what I expected at all, and he’s a lot of fun to hang out with. He’s been at my place pretty much every night this week.”
“Well, I hope things all work out, and he agrees to come.”
He smiles at me. “Thanks, man. Me too.”
I have a dinner date with Parker, so I pat my thighs. “Alright, well, I’m gonna hit the showers.”
“See ya, dude,” West says, glancing back at the playbook.
Pulling off sweaty clothes is the actual worst thing ever, but when I’m naked, I step into the shower stall a few down from Landon. Having him naked and wet and in close proximity isn’t going to be good for me, and that’s a lesson I’ve learned the hard way.
I’m not ashamed of my sexuality, but there’s nothing worse than some homophobic asshole seeing your hard dick and thinking his ugly ass somehow managed to make it happen.
I take my time, but I still finish up before Landon. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I step out of the shower and go grab some clothes before drying off and getting dressed.
Landon’s still in the shower with the water running when I’m ready to leave, so I call out to him. “I’m heading out, Lan. Text me if you need anything.”
“Will do!” he yells back.
I leave the training facility with a pep in my step, heading straight to Parker’s. When I knock on their door, it takes a second for them to open it.
My heart skips a beat when they do.
Parker looks a little crazed, if I’m being totally honest. There’s red and black paint splattered across the skin-tight white jeans they’re wearing, and more of it up their arms and across their face. There’s a streak along their eyebrow, the red precariously close to dripping onto their lid.
Without thinking, I reach out, swiping the paint away. Parker jolts. “You’re early.”
I glance at my phone. “I’m actually ten minutes late, Cotton Candy.”
Parker gapes at me, their mouth opening and closing. “Holy shit. I must have gotten lost in painting.”
“Yeah?” I smirk. “It looks like you definitely got lost in paint.”
Parker’s gaze follows mine down to their clothes. “Fuck. I should have changed first. I loved these pants.”
“Are you gonna let me in?” I ask when they raise their gaze back to mine.
“What?” Their face twists up. “Um, yes? Give me a second to put my painting away.”
Without another word, they shut the door in my face. I still have a glob of red paint on my thumb, so with a shrug, I wipe it off on my pant leg.
A couple of minutes later, the door swings open again, and a still-paint-covered Parker steps back, ushering me in. “Sorry. I got in the zone and must have lost track of time.”
“Hey, no worries.”
I step inside, taking a look around. I think I half expected it to look like a crime scene in here, so I’m surprised when it doesn’t. It seems Parker mostly keeps the paint contained to themself.
“So, what are you working on now?” I ask, making myself at home on the plush couch. “Or is that too soul-searchy for your tastes?”
Parker snorts, plopping down beside me. “It’s for the project I was telling you about the other day.” They turn sideways, sitting cross-legged and settling their bright-blue eyes on me. “The human emotions one.”
I nod. “I remember. What’s the emotion today, Cotton Candy?”
“Are you ever going to stop calling me that?”
