Chapter Five
Grayson
“Arguably,” I explained to Alyssa, “it was a contender for the worst date I have been on in my entire life. And as you know, I have been on a healthy number of very bad dates.”
“From the man with the thousand pet beetles to the woman who tried to steal your car, yes, I remember.”
We were in one of our favorite thrift stores. Alyssa looked for vintage upholstery for her restoration business, and I was always seeking out old ceramics or patterns that would inspire me. It was a small building, but with more racks of clothes and rows of shelves than I could ever keep straight, and I was always uncertain whether or not I was looking at the exact same potholder every single week.
“But you still enjoyed yourself,” Alyssa said. “Even if it was the worst date?”
“Exactly!” I lifted a blazer over the rack and studied it carefully. “Isn’t that weird?”
“I don’t know,” Alyssa replied. “You could go to your favorite restaurant and see your favorite movie on a date, but if the company were bad, you’d hate it all. I don’t see why it shouldn’t work the other way around, too.”
I sighed and returned the blazer to the rack. “I’m just confused about what I want now. We left things a little ambiguous at the end of the date, in terms of whether we’d see each other again. A part of me wants to see them, but another part of me knows I wouldn’t enjoy spending my evenings at fancy nightclubs and overpriced restaurants.”
Alyssa stepped over the cat that lived in the thrift store, then pulled an old throw pillow from a box to examine the fabric. “Not even if it means you end those evenings with Marco and Demir? Curled up against Demir’s hairy chest while Marco nibbles on your neck?”
A thrill tickled its way up my gut. “That’s the other thing.”
“The sex?”
I hissed for her to be quiet and glanced around the store. “I know I have fun dancing with them,” I said, “but I’m a little intimidated by the idea ofdancingwith them.”
Alyssa adjusted her glasses. “I see.”
“Can I even keep up with two dance partners at once, for example? Because I haven’t done this particular style of dancing very much.”
“And they’ve done it a lot,” Alyssa said.
“They probably have dance trophies in the backs of their closets,” I joked.
Alyssa laughed abruptly, then joined me on my side of the rack. “Maybe that’s a good reason to keep seeing them. If they’re as sweet and easy to talk to as you keep saying, they sound like great guys to teach you more about…” She paused, then darted her eyes back and forth. “About dancing.”
“You always danced with girls, huh?” I asked Alyssa.
“Always and forever,” she answered. “I had a bit more of a clear path than you did, Grayson.”
I nodded, then lifted a ceramic dish off the shelf and spun it in my hand to feel its heft. Alyssa and I did have very different paths, but I was glad they both lead to Philadelphia.
“Care to stop by my apartment?” I asked. “I want to show you the job I finished today.”
* * *
My place was in much better order that afternoon than usual. When I had first moved my business into my home, I had kept very clear divisions between workspace and life space, but those had fallen apartment pretty quickly. Still, when I felt extra motivated, I would try to sweep through and organize things.
And after meeting Demir and Marco, I’d had a lot of nervous energy to work off.
I did keep getting distracted, thinking about rubbing our cocks together and tasting the sweat on each man’s body with my tongue…
But once I was done shoving my hand down my pants, I tried to get back to the cleaning, and the organizing, and the boxing of products, and every task that cluttered my apartment.
“It looks good,” Alyssa said, dropping into an armchair. “And this recliner is new, isn’t it?” She kicked the chair back while she talked and popped out the foot extension. “Very comfortable.”
“Thanks,” I said, then stepped into the kitchen to flip on the kettle. We made small talk and got comfortable, and I showed Alyssa the new tiles I was feeling proud of.
“I came up with the illustration myself,” I said. “The blue landscape is based on the mountain back in Kentucky. It will go along the base of a fountain, outside a country music recording studio.”
