We Have Till Dawn

“So do you.” I stifled a yawn and pressed my lower body to his. It was a shame he’d left his boxer briefs on.

He was half hard just like I was, and hey, I was still a red-blooded male. He turned me on. I didn’t have to fake shit.

At some point during the night, he’d moved higher up so we were face-to-face, and I was tempted to ask him if I could remove the mask. But in the end, I didn’t have to, because he removed it for me. I blinked drowsily, both dreading and hoping I’d see him.

I didn’t see squat. Not even the freaking silhouette of him or the contours of his face.

It was probably for the best. Right now, he was a living, breathing fantasy. His body felt amazing next to mine, and I was seriously hooked on his voice.

“You wanna sleep some more?” I combed my fingers through his hair and scratched his scalp lightly. Judging by the hum of pleasure that emanated from his chest, he liked it.

“I think so. Lying next to you is highly distracting, but I don’t want to overwhelm myself.”

“Sleep, it is. There’s no rush.”

He relaxed at that and hitched my leg over his hip.

I wondered if he was planning on spending the whole night here every time or if he’d sometimes leave once he’d done whatever he came for. I guess I’d thought he’d at least wanna get off tonight. We weren’t seeing each other again until Tuesday night. On the other hand, if he’d gone his entire adult life so far without exploring with men, two days was nothing.Chapter 3“You seem distracted,” Tina mentioned over the phone.

“Sorry. I’ve been tryna beat this level for a week,” I muttered, making my next move on the board. Whenever I had spare time, I had a minor addiction to games on my phone.

Tina huffed. “You have me on speaker so you can play stupid games while you’re talking to me? I think I’m offended.”

I grinned and scratched my nose, then moved one tomato toward two others. “Anyway. You sure you don’t wanna share some innocent information about my client?”

Gideon was due in a little under an hour, and he’d sent me new instructions. The rule on silence was back; he didn’t want me to speak unless it was absolutely necessary. Sleep mask on, but he’d remove it once we were hidden away in darkness. And I’d been told to be naked and on all fours on the bed upon his arrival.

His quick disappearance after our first night had disgruntled me. No goodbye or anything. He’d snuck out while I’d been asleep, and not a word since then.

I didn’t know why I’d expected any messages, to be honest. He hadn’t done anything wrong.

Either way, I was curious about this man. But to no one’s surprise, Tina didn’t wanna share shit.

Oh, other than our test results being back. We were good to go.

“I think I’m curious about him because he draws out my protective side,” I mused. “I wanna help him, you know?”

“Honey, you’ve been intrigued by the anonymous ones for as long as I’ve known you,” Tina responded.

True to an extent, but there was something more to it when I was with someone who struggled in one way or another. Society’s outcasts, those who couldn’t be themselves without a million layers of bullshit and pretending—I’d always had a soft spot for them.

“I’m having drinks with one of my new girls now, Nicky. Can we chat more tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure, of course.” I could hear her paying the cab fare in the background, so I waited until she was done before I wrapped up the call.

A glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand told me I had twenty minutes before Gideon got here.

Might as well keep playing my game. I had plenty of other things to do but nothing I’d finish in that short amount of time. Tomorrow I had four students who’d requested a rock song to learn on their instruments, and I was kinda tempted to pick one of mine or Anthony’s. He’d sent me a new one to go through today, a rough recording, and we’d probably rehearse it this Friday when we had access to our local church.

My brother was a lot more involved than I’d ever be, but I freaking loved collaborating with the choir. And there were no better acoustics than in a church.

I should put up a note about the rehearsal on Friday so I didn’t make other plans. Ruby and I were meeting up for happy hour tomorrow, and she often had suggestions. Leaving my phone on the bed, I walked over to the kitchen and grabbed my notebook, flipping past the pages that were riddled with lyrics, thoughts, and doodling, until I found a blank page.