Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 63862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
“What are you thinking about that?” he asked, tapping my phone.
That was a good question.
It was something I’d been asking myself since I first watched it.
“I honestly don’t know. But…”
“But?”
“Well, past me is right. I am stubborn.”
“Might have noticed that myself.”
“You’re one to talk,” I shot back, nudging him with my shoulder.
“I know when something is worth holding onto.” When I said nothing, his hand went to my thigh, giving it a squeeze. “Talk to me.”
“Past me was right about another thing too. I think I have always been scared.”
“Of taking the wrong risk?”
“Something like that, yeah. Playing the wrong hand. Wasting something even more valuable than money.”
“I get that. But if you’ll forgive the metaphor… the cards are already dealt. Why not just play the hand?”
“Give this a try.”
“Yeah. Maybe you will find what past you found. But this time, you’ll remember it.”
“I don’t even know what trying looks like,” I admitted. “I think you can imagine that my lifestyle hasn’t exactly been conducive to long-term relationships.”
“I’m not asking for anything from you. Just to be here. To be you. To maybe not pretend to be so messy.”
“Oh, about that,” I said, wincing. “I am actually kind of messy.”
“Are you? Or have you just never had somewhere to put your stuff?”
“I have no idea. I totally was trying to make the common area a mess too. Oh, and only a psychopath would organize the pantry in alphabetical order.”
“I was seriously questioning your sanity with that one,” he admitted. “I don’t mind a little mess.”
“Liar.”
“What?”
“I’ve never seen anyone load the dishwasher as much as you do. And don’t think I don’t hear that robot vacuum running all night long. I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure you also squeegee the shower each time you get out.”
“I do,” he agreed, smiling. “Think cleaning up after myself might be because I was so friendly with the housekeeper growing up, and I didn’t want to create more work for her.”
“You know, they sell stuff to spray on the glass so the water just slides off, no marks?”
“Yeah?”
“Laziness has its perks,” I said with a nod.
“So, what do you say?”
“To staying?”
“Yeah. But without all the walls. And the games.”
“Um, well…”
“The stock challenge still stands,” he said, reading my mind.
“Then I think maybe we can try.”
“That’s all I can ask. Now, I was thinking Alfredo for dinner.”
“Yes, please.”
“Wanna come keep me company while I cook?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“If we can watch my buddy’s stream.”
“Why do I sense something mischievous behind those eyes?”
“What? It’s a stream. He reads poetry!”
Erotic poetry.
While he lazily jerked off.
And his target audience was fellow gay men. But he’d been my cousin’s neighbor for years, and I was his first subscriber since back then, so I was determined to always support him.
“I get the feeling you’re going to keep me on my toes.”
“Oh, don’t worry, you’ll learn to love it.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
It wasn’t like things went from zero to a hundred right away.
It started with just… a friendly conversation while Harrison cooked. And some gentle teasing when his ears went red as the stream started playing on the big TV.
Over dinner, he told me stories about boarding school summer camp that I couldn’t relate to, and college, which I could.
“You never mentioned you went to college.”
“I did. Finished too. My parents really wanted me to go.”
“What was your major?”
To that, I shot him a little smile.
“Finance.”
“Of course.”
“I mostly spent my time partying. And hustling frat jerks in games of strip poker. I had a collection of shoes on display in my room from men I’d gotten completely naked. I was famous for it.”
“So you’ve always liked winning.”
“And putting cocky guys in their place. We can’t forget that.”
“So why finance?”
“I was always good with numbers. And it seemed like a degree that could give me a choice of a bunch of different careers when I was done. Until I realized poker could be a profession if you were ambitious enough.”
“I can’t picture you as an analyst or auditor.”
“I know, right? But I think you might be right about the stock market.”
“Didn’t you study it in college?”
“Yeah. I mean the basics on how it works. But at the time, it just sounded as boring as all the rest of my classes.”
“I don’t think anyone is excited about a career in finance or business.”
“Did you dread it? Want to do something different?”
“I wanted a year to travel,” Harrison admitted. “But that was not an option. I had a cubicle on the first floor waiting for me.”
“Wait, what?”
“I had to start at the bottom out of college. My father believed that I could never know the company until I knew every aspect of it. I hate to admit it, but he was right about that. No one knows that company like I do.”
“Where did you want to travel?”