Take My Body (Curse Bound 2)

Adam bit his thumb, avoiding Caspian’s gaze. “He hit on me and was very inappropriate. If he’s your boyfriend, keep him on a leash.”

“Oh, is hitting on people illegal now? That’s new, considering that you flirt with most customers to get better tips,” Caspian said, offended both for Gunner and himself. Adam’s face might be pretty on the surface, but now that his judgmental nature shone through, it was oddly reminiscent of a rat muzzle. “You’re not better than him just because you’re a fresh-faced boy with a buzzing Grindr profile.”

Adam flushed and leaned back behind the wooden stand. “No, I flirted with you, ‘cause I thought you were cute. Excuse me for not being into tattooed meatheads! Maybe if you’d actually asked me out, we wouldn’t be having this conversation!”

Caspian stalled, struck by the dissonance rattling through his head. Adam had been into him?

Gunner ran his fingers through his hair, never letting go of Caspian’s hand. “We’re not getting this pizza, are we?”

“No. And I’m happy I haven’t asked you out, because you’re a judgmental prick, Adam. This guy here has way more brains and heart than you,” Caspian said and stormed out with his stomach twisted in fury. He couldn’t believe this shit.

Gunner only slipped his hand out of Caspian’s when they reached the car. “Are you okay? We still have lots of cake.”

Caspian pushed his hands into his hair, trying to ease the burning heat inside him. “I’m fine. I’m just angry at the way he treated you.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m working on not punching people myself.” Gunner leaned against the vehicle. “He’s your type, isn’t he?”

Caspian stalled, at a loss. “His pretty face doesn’t matter. I don’t want him. And now we can’t have pizza ever again because I can’t control my anger,” he said and slapped the roof.

“Were you too shy to ask him out before?” Gunner whispered, drilling his inquisitive gaze into Caspian. But standing in the parking lot gave Caspian nothing to do with his hands, and he ended up sliding into the car, with Gunner following suit.

Words were stuck in his throat, but when he forced himself, more came out, as if dragged by an avalanche. “I didn’t think anyone would ever want me. I was small, and thin, and weak, and I thought my face was average. Whenever I got sex I assumed the guys were just desperate for anyone, and… yeah, he’s so cute that I assumed he was just being nice. I wanted to be a big guy. Someone who is immediately seen as masculine, and dominant, and it was killing me inside that I could never become that.”

Gunner stroked Caspian’s forearm as Caspian tried to work out the best place to sit down with the cakes, but his mind was a mess of upsetting memories.

“But you know you’re not, right? People have different tastes. Just like that pizza barista liked you more than me.”

“I know that now,” Caspian hummed and hit the steering wheel. “But I used to look in the mirror and see this warped version of myself. And then, you were there, rocking the blond hair, and the tight clothes, and when I touched your… my cock, I realized there was so much to like about my body. It’s thanks to you that I have the confidence to wear this suit.”

He’d intended to go out of town, but the moment he spotted the library next to the school and the empty bleachers nearby, he took a turn into the parking lot.

Gunner exhaled. “You have no idea how much it means for me to hear that. I’ll probably always feel guilty over being a shit to you back at school.”

“Well, I didn’t treat you that well when we’d first swapped, so let’s call it even,” Caspian said as soon as they left the car. He grabbed the bag of cakes and led the way to the school football field while shadows lengthened and the sun turned a warmer shade.

“And yeah, there’s nothing wrong with your cock, just so you know” Gunner added with a chuckle. He followed without even questioning where they were going. “First thing I did when I woke up in your body was jerk off.”

Heat climbed up Caspian’s back, as if Gunner touched his bare skin. “I… you know you were my first. The first guy I topped. Because I was too self-conscious before.”

Gunner pushed his hands into his pockets and slouched a bit as they got to the bleachers. “You shouldn’t be. You were… err… really good at it. Not ‘cause you had my body, but because of what you said and did with it. How you took charge and all. One day soon, you’ll find yourself pretty twink, and he’ll worship the ground you walk on.”

It should have felt better than it did, but Caspian didn’t want just any pretty twink. The past month had changed him forever, and he chewed on his next words as they climbed the bleachers and eventually sat in the top row, watching the empty field.