Primal (Wrong Side of the Tracks 2)

Frank's truck was gone from its usual place in front of the building, so he was probably out, but the sound of the shower and Dex’s off-key singing coming from the bathroom made it clear that the house wasn’t empty either.

Jag grinned, knowing both those things meant he’d have unrestricted access to Frank’s food stores. He was somewhat annoyed that he hadn’t brought a backpack, because he could have taken some canned food to use in the future, but maybe he could borrow one of the flimsy plastic bags Frank collected under the sink?

With the window in the kitchen wide open, he didn’t bother heading for the door and climbed inside. The kitchen was filled with the lingering scent of coffee and fried eggs Frank must have had for breakfast, but as tempting as the aroma was, Jag was here to forage, so he walked up to the fridge and hurriedly opened it, scanning the shelves stacked with alcohol and food.

A door opened in the back of the house, and lazy footsteps trailed in his direction, but since Jag had already established who it was, he didn’t bother to hide.

“We’ve got some new instant noodles. Toasted sesame beef. You can take some, they were on sale. Easy to make with just some boiling water,” Dex said, and when Jag glanced his way, he found him still damp and wearing just a towel around his hips.

Unlike Dane’s, his ink was mostly black and white, and while Dex’s muscled young body would have been tempting in the past, Jag was now left cold to his trim form and elongated shape. Why waste time on a snack when one had the whole meal at home, dessert included?

Jag watched Dex rub something into his mid-length hair, which had an unnaturally bright yellow shade due to cosmetics he used from time to time. “I will take some then,” he said and scooted to grab a bag, but stalled when an itch appeared on his tongue. He wasn’t one to talk about himself unprompted, yet with Dane’s arrival in his life, he so badly craved to share his success with someone. Especially since his failed date was the stuff of humiliating jokes among the other men.

It had been three weeks since, and for the first time in his life he had something sexual happening in his life. He wanted to brag about how great it was to the one person who’d understand his passions. Unlike Jag’s other friends, Dex didn’t live a life restricted by stiff rules, and because of that, they shared a camaraderie of sorts despite Dex conducting most of his life with the help of the phone he always carried on him.

A loud hiss made Jag look back in time to see Dex covering himself in a cloud of body spray.

“Better be quick. I have a man coming over,” Dex said when their eyes met.

Jag blinked, shooting straight to his feet. “No one informed me.”

Dex rolled his eyes. “You can’t know everything.”

“What if he sneaks out of the house when you’re sleeping and gets too nosy, huh?” How was Jag to guard their territory in these conditions?

Dex snorted, stroking his inked chest as if he were rubbing in the smell of his spray. “I’ll make sure we don’t fall asleep.”

Jag huffed. “So… he’s a lover.”

Dex adjusted the locks at the front of his blond mane and grinned. “I wouldn’t call it that. It’s more of a one-time pit stop, if you get my drift,” he said and reached past Jag to grab a beer from the fridge.

Jag didn’t quite understand Dex’s habit of finding another man to mate with each night, but maybe love and desire were a disposable commodity for someone to whom partnering up came with such ease. Being with Dane meant joys and pleasures Jag couldn’t have experienced on his own, but trying to connect that way with just anyone seemed utterly pointless. Like building one wall of a house over and over again instead of taking the time to put a roof over it.

He smirked. “I’ve met someone too.”

Dex’s brown eyes zeroed in on him with the speed of a cockroach. “Seriously?”

Jag couldn’t tell Dex the whole truth, but there was no shame in tweaking reality a little. He leaned against the kitchen counter, proud that he was finally a family man. “He walks by the perimeter on the north side every now and then. We were instantly drawn to each other when we met.”

Dex whistled and popped open his beer. He looked quite tasty, but now that Dane’s delicious, bear-like body waited for Jag at home, the physical desire he felt for his friend was shallower somehow. How curious.

“Oh, what is he doing there? I thought you’d alert everyone if someone was creeping around.”

“He’s harmless enough. He was foraging. I did warn him to not enter our territory, but he wasn’t there to spy. We’ve formed… quite a close bond.” Jag smiled at the memory of Dane bringing him a blanket the other day, as if he were accepting Jag as the man of the house.