“A book from school curricula?” Cooper raised a glass of red wine to his lips, amused. “Are you sure you like reading? You’re not just trying to be cool?”
“I used to hate it, but that book changed me and now I love reading. It’s a good escape. Reading, that is. Not much escapism in that particular book.”
Cooper lowered his glass and leaned forward. “Tell me your favorite book that’s not boring.”
Nico was rather fond ofDivergent, but only the first book. The sequels flushed him with embarrassment. “Divergent.”
“What the fuck is that?”
Figures Cooper didn’t know, which was probably for the best.
“It’s like Star Wars, but with teenagers,” Nico attempted to make it sound cooler than it was. “On Earth. A little bit of a dystopian rip-off of the wizard that cannotbe named where everyone is kind of born into a house. The government is evil, as tends to be the case. It’s not high art by any means. They made a movie adaptation.”
Cooper pondered this information quietly. “Want to watch it?”
Nico sat up on the couch with his computer placed on the coffee table in front of him. Over on the other side of the world, Cooper lay on a couch somewhere in Paris, holding his arms across his chest.
Cooper looked at the camera. “It’s been bugging me this entire time, but I just figured out how I know this chick. She was engaged to Aaron Rodgers.”
Nico couldn’t hide the smile on his face. “Please take notes on how to end an engagement from her then.”
“Did he end it, or did she?”
“I don’t stick my nose in things that aren’t my business.”
“Bullshit,” Cooper scoffed.
Nico met Cooper’s gaze on the screen. “Can you please just focus on the movie?”
Cooper motioned with his fingers over his lips, gesturing that he was shutting up.
In the movie, the main character and her soon-to-be boo thang zip-lined through the broken remnants of a dying metropolis. A moment of freedom in a world centered on control. This was one of Nico’s two favorite parts of the book.
“Take off your shirt,” Cooper said, breaking Nico’s focus.
Nico shushed him. “It’s getting to the good part.”
“I thought you liked being told what to do?”
Nico rolled his eyes but did as he was told, pulling his shirt over his head. His gaze went straight back to the TV.
“Rub your nipples for me,” Cooper demanded.
Nico shook his head with a light chuckle, but lowered a hand to his chest. He flicked his finger over his right nipple and then circled it.
“Go get your fucking toy. I want to see what I look like inside you.”
Nico shot Cooper a glare. “What about Stassi?”
“She’s staying the night with a friend.”
Nico’s curiosity was piqued, but he knew better than to inquire about what Cooper’s definition of a friend meant in this context. “I’ll be right back.”
Nico stood up slowly and waited until he was out of frame before hurrying to the bedroom of the condo. He threw open his suitcase and dug through a pile of clothing before finding Lil Cooper tucked away in a rolled-up beach towel. When he was going through airport security, he carried more than a heavy carry-on. He carried shame and a serious case of nausea hoping his bag wasn’t picked for inspection.
When Nico had flown home that week before Christmas, he found Cooper’s package waiting on his doorstep. He did not wait until Christmas to open his presents, but Cooper would never know this. That night, he threw his three favorite men—his collection of dildos—into the trash. He had a new favorite man and it was shaped exactly like Cooper’s dick. A homemade Christmas gift molded from the only dick he’d ever tasted.
On his way out of the bedroom, he grabbed a bottle of lube sitting on the nightstand.
