“Yes.” He swallows. His throat bobs. I stare at his thick throat, covered in golden stubble. “If you knew the amount of time I’ve been thinking about you, Briar, you’d freak out. If you knew how much I’ve been obsessing about you…how soft your skin is. How sweet you taste. How hot the noises you make are when you’re turned on. I dream about how hard you came.”
My breath catches. Oh my gosh…
“Wait, are you serious?”
“Dead serious.” He swallows hard. “I’m so, so sorry for the way I left. It had nothing to do with you. And I’m sorry that I went silent on you when you tried to check on me. I just…”
He pins me with his gaze. Gently, he scoops my hand in his.
“I hate myself for hurting you, Briar.”
His face twists like he’s in physical pain. Like he can’t stand the thought of what he did to me.
That wall I put up the moment he marched up to me at the bar starts to crumble.
With his other hand, he swipes my hair out of my face. “It’s okay if you hate me for that. I deserve it.”
The glide of his fingertips over my skin makes me ache. “I don’t hate you, Blake,” I say.
There’s a flicker of hope in his eyes.
“What happened? Why did you leave?”
He’s quiet for a long second. “Do you remember when I asked you what turned you on, and you showed me that social media account?”
I nod. “Yeah. That Shirtless Guy. Did something about that upset you?”
He shakes his head. “No, it’s…that’s my account, Briar. I’m That Shirtless Guy.”
The gears in my brain stop moving instantly. No way…
“What? Wait, that’s you?”
Blake nods.
My mouth falls open. “Oh my god…”
It feels like I stand there for a full minute just staring at him as I process what he just told me.
Blake is That Shirtless Guy. For months, I’ve been lusting after his secret thirst trap account. I’ve been staring at photos of him shirtless. I’ve been drooling over videos of him.
I’ve been looking at those photos, watching those videos, and touching myself…
“Oh my god,” I finally say. “I feel like such a perv.”
He frowns like he’s confused. “Why?”
I step out of his hold, bumping into the brick wall behind me. “For months, I’ve been lusting after you. I’ve been fantasizing about you.”
My head spins. He’s going to think I’m a creep.
“That’s okay,” he says, his tone completely unbothered.
“It is?”
He nods. “Briar, I knew what I was doing when I created that account. I knew what a thirst trap it would be. That was kind of the point.”
He pauses and looks around. We’re away from the crowd at the front of the bar. No one can hear us.
