Chapter Eleven
Clark
Ezra draped a length of billowing red fabric in the front of the store, positioning it a couple of feet behind the window. “Does this look like a cape?”
“Let me hold the cutout in front of it,” I said. “You take a look.”
I lifted the cardboard cutout in the air and wobbled a little as I regained my stance. It was originally an actress from some college road trip comedy, but Ezra had redesigned it a million times since, giving her total makeovers and stunningly detailed costume changes.
This time, she was going as Batwoman—the lesbian one, of course.
“It looks good!” Ezra said brightly. “Let’s hang her up after lunch, though.” He laid the back of his hand across his forehead. “The artist is famished.”
I nodded and hummed quietly to myself, but I could still barely focus. I kept thinking about having Mars in my kitchen. I was remembering how callused and rough his fingers were as he rubbed them around the tender skin on the underside of my cock. And the way his voice sounded like crashing waves when he pressed his stubble against my ear and growled.
Mars smiling… Mars telling me he wanted to see me again… Mars with the dreamy eyes…
“Clark!” Ezra said, poking me. “Earth to Clark. Come back from blowjob fantasy land.”
“Stop saying that!” I hushed him, laughing despite myself.
“There’s no one in the store,” he said as he returned to the counter. “You can gush some more if you want.”
I glanced around. It was indeed empty, including that one spot by the gaming counter where people could kind of hide. I dropped myself into the armchair we kept behind the counter, then sighed. “I can’t believe I never got a blowjob before.”
“I kept telling you…” Ezra joked.
“The only problem is, now I’m kind of obsessed with it,” I admitted. “Like I keep thinking about seeing him again, even though I don’t want to see him for at least a week.” I shook my head, but I couldn’t help still grinning to myself. “I mean, I just don’t want to get confused about what we’re doing, you know?”
Ezra giggled and spun himself in a circle on the stool. TheNotorious RBGshirt he wore kept flashing its illustration at me, then disappearing again. “Try to just enjoy it, if you can,” he said. “You know what you don’t want to do, right?”
“Definitely.”
“And you know what you do want to do?”
“A few things for sure.” I paused and started thinking about Mars again. “A lot of things, I guess.”
“Great. Then as long as Mars keeps respecting your boundaries and treating you right, there’s no reason you shouldn’t let yourself have fun.” He adjusted his glasses, then pushed himself around the stool one more time. “As the currently present representative of your best friends, let me say, also, that Valeria and I are both excited for you, too.”
I laughed, and a warm feeling filled my chest. I still knew Mars wasn’t my love match, but I realized dating could be a lot of fun. In fact, maybe that’s what it was supposed to be. Just fun, carefree, and easy—but exciting, too.
Ding!
The bell above the door opened, and a man walked in. Unlike last time, I didn’t have to pause to figure out who he was, though. I knew it with my whole body, from the very second he walked through the door.
I knew it from the way my hands went clammy and the blood drained from my face.
“What…”
He didn’t seem to recognize me, not at first. He just kept walking my way with that look on his face, like he was trying to burn a hole in the world with his gaze. I rose to my feet. All my muscles tensed up, and my voice caught in my throat.
“Hi, I was looking…” His mouth fell open, and then he winced. “Fuck, what the fuck!” he cursed under his breath.
“What the hell,” I said back, panic rising in my chest. “What the hell!”
“What’s going on?” Ezra said, jumping from the stool.
Rip stepped forward, and his voice fell. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was just here looking for something, and I didn’t mean to…” He took a deep breath, then cursed once more as his hands tightened into fists. “Clark.”
