“You can show me.”
He chews his lip, then looks away.
“Wait. Are you blushing?”
He doesn’t reply.
“Okay, now I’m really curious. What did you get?”
“It’s nothing, Miles. You’re busy.”
“So! You can’t tease me like that and then not show me.”
Jordan shifts, then angles his camera downward. At first, I’m confused because holy mother of… Jordan is showing me his crotch! Why is he showing me his underwear?
But then I see the pattern on the underwear and I understand.
“Wait, are those ferns?”
“They are.” He chuckles. “Aren’t they cute? I bought a full set. Ferns, leaves, and… something else. I can’t remember. But anyway, I couldn’t resist.”
“Oh, my god. You’re such a dork.”
“Hey, you’d wear them too. I know you would.”
“Oh, I totally would!”
When I see his face again, Jordan gives me one of those rare, private, and completely unguarded smiles. They don’t happen often, and I’ve learned to appreciate them.
“I actually ordered them on Monday. After we… you know. Like, right after, I mean.”
I drop my crochet hook. “Really?”
When Jordan speaks again, his voice is quiet, almost timid. “You gave me a push to have some fun, and I wanted to hold on to that while I could. So I was hoping it would motivate me, you know? Or… us, I guess.”
I stare at him, yarn and crochet hook completely forgotten. “Are you… Jordan, are you asking me to do that again? Because if you are, the answer is a big fuck yes. I’dloveto see you, all of you, again.”
He belts out a laugh, camera shaking.
“But I don’t want to pressure you either. Don’t feel like you have to!”
He pulls the camera close, still smiling. It’s another one of those real ones, and it makes my pulse quicken. “I need the push though, Miles. That’s what I said earlier, remember? You do that.”
I just don’t want to push too far. You mean too much to me.
Giving up on the owl, I lie down, curling on my side and staring at the gorgeous man a thousand miles away.
“Show them to me again,” I say.
Jordan chuckles but does as I ask, lowering his camera to give me a close-up of the underwear. The design really is cute, with painted green ferns overlapping on a black backdrop.
Jordan spreads his legs, tugging at the underwear like he’s trying to smooth it out. “You like them?”
“What’s the one in the center?” I ask, noticing one fern looks slightly different.
He traces it with his finger. “Oh, this? That’s just the brand. Pervy Plants.”
“Pervy Plants,” I snort. “For real?”
