Page 36 of Coming Clean

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“You need me to pick you up?” David asked whenJeremy called him.

Jeremy could trust hisfriend to know what he needed before he even said it. And Davidwasn’t mocking, he knew when he could tease and when he couldn’t.If he hadn’t said I told you so when Jeremy finally kicked Silasout of his life, then he wouldn’t now.

Jeremy had often thoughthis life would be easier if he and David were lovers, but even ifDavid were gay, a romance between them would never work, no matterhow convenient it might be. They were perfect for each other insome ways, but if they had to live together they’d soon kill eachother. They’d been roommates for a short time, but Jeremy had movedout before things reached a point where their friendship couldn’trecover. And the thought of actually fucking David… Hell no! Itwould feel incestuous. David was family, and Jeremy would happilysettle for that.

Who the hell needed a loveranyway? Relationships were nothing but a pain. A literal pain. Hereally needed to learn how to love casual fucking as much as Daviddid. “I want you to take me somewhere I can get drunk—stinking,fall down, skunked-off-my-ass drunk.”

“You got it. Are you athome?”

Jeremy nodded and thenrealized David couldn’t see him. “Yeah.”

“Give me about twentyminutes.”

Ah shit, David had plannedto go out. “Am I fucking up your evening?”

“No. Yes, but you can oweme.”

“You’re with a woman,aren’t you?”

“Not for long.”

Jeremy frowned when Davidended the call. He really hoped David hadn’t answered the call inthe middle of fucking someone. At least that thought of a nakedDavid fumbling around for his phone while his partner stared at himin disbelief made Jeremy smile. He really needed something to laughabout right then.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Connor slid down thewall and laid his head against his knees. How the fuck had hemanaged to screw up so badly? Jeremy had been even better in reallife than in his fantasies: his lips softer, his touch morecertain, his mouth—God, the things his mouth could do. Connor hadbeen sucked off plenty of times—at boot camp, in Afghanistan, evena time or two since he’d returned to the states. But he’d oftenbeen distracted by worrying about getting caught, or wondering whatthe hell he was doing in such a filthy place or why he was lettinga guy he hated wrap his lips around his dick.

With Jeremy, he hadn’tthought of anything but what was going on in that moment. Jeremyhad consumed him. When Jeremy’s lips had been wrapped around hiscock, he would have done anything to keep him from stopping, or atleast anything except admit exactly how good it was. Fuck! Whycouldn’t he have actually talked to Jeremy, or at least acted likean intelligent being instead of a fucking freak?

Connor had been embarrassedby his desire for men plenty of times, and because of that he’d notalways been kind to the men he’d fucked. He wasn’t proud of that,but he’d never acted like a mental patient after sex before. WouldJeremy ever want to see him again? And if so, would Connor be ableto face him? He was a fucking recon Marine, and a poet had reducedhim to a nearly comatose state of fear. What the fuckingfuck?

His phone blasted a songfrom the far side of the room where it lay on the coffee table.Connor wasn’t sure his legs were steady enough to take him there,and he sure as hell didn’t want to talk to anyone. But the fuckingphone wouldn’t shut up. The tune played over and over until herealized it wasn’t a ringtone, it was an alarm, one he’d set toremind himself to check on Sabrina. She’d sworn she’d be fine, thatshe didn’t need company to heave up her insides and then lie in bedand quietly die, but he wanted to make sure she was on themend.

Get up Marine, act likea man. Yeah, little chance of that, atleast not his drill instructor’s definition of a man, not afterthat scene with Jeremy. He grabbed his phone and calledSabrina.

“I’m not dead yet,” shesaid, answering on the second ring.

“Good to hear. You needanything?” Connor asked.

“Not really, I…”

“Sabrina, you don’t have totough this out.”

“Ha! That’s funny comingfrom you. If you are going to insist, I’d like some ginger ale andsome Cheez-Its.”

Connor frowned. “Cheez-Its?That doesn’t sound—”

“It’s what I want, okay?I’m finally hungry after twenty-four hours and I want some fuckingCheez-Its!”

Connor knew better than toargue when Sabrina used that tone of voice. “Then I’ll bring yousome. Which flavor? Aren’t there eleventy million of them now?”God, he hated how many choices he had to make at the grocery storethese days. Not that he wanted to go back to eating MREs oranything, but it was dizzying.

“The original ones, whichare made the way God intended Cheez-Its to be made.”

At least Sabrina could makehim smile even when he felt like shit. “Obviously. Anythingelse?”

A few seconds of silencepassed and Connor wondered if she’d fallen asleep. Then she finallyresponded. “Lemon Popsicles. My mom always gave me those when I wassick.”