“There were names on some of the stuff in the fridge, but I texted Blue and he said the soda was okay to have, that it was there for whoever wanted it.” Perry continued somewhat awkwardly and it dawned on me that I hadn’t said a single word and had just stood there, staring.
Perry hadn’t balked at our dinner being cut short. He’d expedited the check and gotten us out of the restaurant in record time. With our dinner. Which was a good thing because I was fucking starving. He’d looked after the family and made their wait a little less stressful. And then he’d done all this.
And I’d done nothing to deserve this man. And I still stood there, gaping, not even speaking. Not even to say thank you. But those words seemed woefully inadequate. I crossed the room in three strides and slammed my mouth down on Perry’s, grabbing the sides of his face. I held him there, kissed him as hard and deep as I could manage and I kept going until my lungs screamed at me from lack of oxygen.
“You’re amazing.” I told him. “And don’t you ever forget it.”
Perry’s cheeks were bright red. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It is to me.” I kissed him again, a softer version of the kiss I’d just planted on him. The events of the night settled something inme and I knew that I needed to find a way to make Perry mine permanently.
TWENTY-TWO
PERRY
For the firsttime in years, my nerves before a scene had me crawling the walls of what we all referred to as the green room in Lukas’s basement studio. Lukas Knight was a performer once upon a time, and now he ran his own studio. It was a small operation, one that focused on the well-being of the performers above a paycheck. Which was why I knew I could cancel the shoot, even halfway through if I needed to, without any pushback.
I hadn’t done a scene in a couple of months. Not with someone else anyway. I’d shot a few solo videos. Some basic masturbation ones. A couple with toys, nothing to write home about. I’d made sure to be vocal in them as I found that the more I whimpered, the more views I got and the more money I made.
But now my nerves were tap dancing under my skin, making it impossible for me to settle. And I knew why. Rex. Rex said it was okay that I was doing this. That he understood what my job was and that he didn’t want to interfere with it in any way.
On one hand, I appreciated that he didn’t want to stop me from doing my job. But another smaller part of me wanted him to care. It wanted him to blow up my phone or to charge in here all jealous and possessive. Only, I didn’t actually want that to happen. I just wanted him to want to do it, I supposed.
Fuck, I hated it when I got all twisted up about something.
“You look like you’re a million miles away.” The familiar timbre made me turn my head. Quinn stood in the doorway looking like a million dollars. He’d been freshly waxed, everywhere if his shirtless torso was any indication. The physique he worked so hard for in the gym was on full display as he raised his arms above his head, his hands gripping the top of the door frame.
Quinn and I had worked together before and though we weren’t close, we were friends. Or at least, friendly. Telling him I was nervous because of Rex should have been easy, but I opened my mouth and nothing came out.
Of course Quinn caught on that something was amiss because he dropped his arms and joined me on the couch a couple seconds later. He draped a friendly arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a side hug.
“What’s going on, Perry?” Quinn asked.
I didn’t have a lot of options. Tell him, and maybe still get to do the shoot and make money, because even if I liked Rex, I still had rent to pay. Or don’t tell him and try to do the shoot, but probably fail because I’d be weird and preoccupied and then make no money and probably stop paying my rent. I’d get evicted, and then after I’d worn out my welcome on friend’s couches, I’d be friendless, jobless and… okay, no more doom spiral.
“Do you remember that guy you met at the gym the other day?”
“Do I ever?” Quinn purred. “He was hot as fuck. What’s the deal with you two, anyway?”
A sigh tore out of me and I relaxed against Quinn’s side. “It’s complicated.”
“So uncomplicate it.”
It took me a minute to figure out where to start, but I told Quinn the whole story. About Rex needing a date, and me never having a real boyfriend, or even being with someone who wanted me outside of bed long enough to take me on a date. How it started off as a mutually beneficial arrangement that wasn’t supposed to mean anything.
And now there I was, currently supposed to be getting my dick sucked by someone pretending to be a plumber or a pool boy, or a pizza delivery guy, and I was in the green room having a crisis instead.
“And you’re worried about today’s shoot and how he’ll take it?” Quinn asked once my story was all done.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s one thing to say you’re okay with someone you know fucking other people, but it’s another thing to be presented with the reality of it.”
“Did he say he was okay with it?”
“Several times.”
“Do you believe him?” Quinn gave my shoulder a friendly squeeze, like he could tell that I needed it.
“I want to believe him. I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want to believe him. But?—”
