Kept Man: Firsts and Forever Stories

He handed me the phone, which had a picture of an adorable white Victorian on the screen. I murmured, “Oh wow, this is gorgeous.”

“I think so, too. It’s not on the market yet, so we need to act fast. Houses like this sell in a matter of hours, so it’s a big deal that we’re getting in early. If we like it, we have to be prepared to make an offer on the spot. You should come with us to see it, we’d love your opinion.”

Wow, was it ever hard to relate. In this totally over-inflated market, a cute house like that would be priced in the millions. Not that I begrudged Ash and Wesley for getting to do this. Ash had spent his whole life barely scraping by, and he deserved happiness and security. His boyfriend happened to be a doctor from a very wealthy family, but more importantly, Wesley was a nice person who adored my best friend. I wanted nothing but the best for the two of them. It did feel odd that Ash was suddenly at such a different place in his life than I was, though.

After we gorged ourselves on pancakes, we had some time to kill before seeing the house and decided to take a stroll through the Castro. Ash worked at a nightclub on the main drag and knew a million people, so he kept stopping to chat. When one of his friends pulled him into a shop to show him something, I said I’d see him in a minute and took my phone from the pocket of my jeans.

Micah was on my mind, so I sent him a text and asked how he was doing. He replied: Can we please video chat?

When I agreed, he appeared on the screen a moment later and exclaimed, “Hi! I’m happy to hear from you.” I’d only been gone two hours, but it was the first time we’d been apart in a week and I figured he was bored and lonely on his own.

“What are you up to?”

“I went back to bed after you left, and I was reading.” He held the phone at arm’s length to show me he was surrounded by pillows. “Where are you right now?”

“The Castro. My friend Ash is Mr. Popularity, so he keeps getting sidetracked by his adoring public.”

Micah sat up and asked, “Can you show me the neighborhood?” I flipped to the forward-facing camera and panned it around the street, and he sounded wistful when he said, “It looks so sunny and inviting. I’d love to sit in the sun today, but the patio stays in shadow until the late afternoon. Maybe I should go up on the roof.”

“Please don’t, not when you’re home alone,” I said. “If you fell and hurt yourself, no one would know until I got home.”

A grin curled the corner of his full lips. “Are you worried about me, Jasper?”

I turned the camera back around and said, “Of course I am. I wouldn’t want any of my friends to take a risk like that.”

“Is that what we are? Friends?”

“Yes. Just so you know, I don’t have many of those, so it’s not a term I throw around lightly.”

He curled up on his side, and a lock of hair fell across his forehead. Every night we slept next to each other, like two kids on a sleepover. And every morning, I awoke to find him just like that, looking sexy and tousled, inches away but totally out of reach. Was I going to have to throw myself at him? Was that what it would take to push us out of this sexless holding pattern?

Ash reappeared at my side a moment later, and I angled the camera at him and said, “Micah, meet Ash. Ash, Micah.”

Ash beamed at the phone and said, “It’s a huge honor. I love your music.”

They chatted for a minute, and then I said, “We should go, but I’ll check in later. Take care, Micah, and stay off the roof.” He promised he would.

After we said goodbye and I disconnected the call, Ash said, “He’s cuter than I remembered. In fact, I think he’s gotten better looking with age.”

“He’s absolutely beautiful,” I murmured, as I stuck the phone in the pocket of my pale blue button-down shirt.

“Why’d he call you?”

“I called, because I wanted to check on him.”

“After two hours?”

“I’m all he has,” I said. “He’s going to sit there like a lost puppy and wait for me to get home, and I feel bad for him. In fact, I want to buy him a present while we’re out, just because. What do you get for a man who buys himself anything he wants?”

“Body glitter? A pet chameleon? A box of bespoke vegan marshmallows?”

I shot him a look. “That’s incredibly random.”

Ash shrugged. “It’s what I’d want.”