Yeah, I’d go out with Zane anytime. And as long as we were doing rainchecks, I very much wanted to finish what we’d started in the back room of my shop.
Do your thing, this other voice in my head told me. It was a softer voice, and a more permissible one as well. Just… don’t get attached.
Attachment. Yeah, okay.
I got up, made breakfast, and devoured it ravenously. Considering the two full rounds I’d gone with the guys last night, it made sense why.
The ‘guys’…
Wow, I was thinking of them as a unit now. Was that odd? All things considered, probably not. Then again they were three individual people. They looked different. They fucked different. Each of them had stories, and goals, and lives they lead. Lives they’d even tried sharing with me, in an effort to learn more about my own…
And that, ultimately, was the key. The one thing holding me back from full disclosure. The reason I couldn’t share my life — at least not right now — even if I wanted to.
Which was why I couldn’t keep seeing them.
Or screwing them.
Or—
The alarm on my phone went off, just in time to save me from any more unwanted honesty. It was time to get dressed and greet the day, although technically I’d already greeted the day with my arms open and my legs spread and my lips parted around one of two of the most impressive cocks I’d ever had the pleasure of pleasing.
Today would be busy, and keeping busy would keep my mind off my current predicament. That part was good. I could get shit done, and tie up a few loose ends with ordering and inventory. Maybe I’d even stay open late. Take advantage of the nighttime crowds, so I could be all the more tired for what promised to be an epic night of sleep.
But there was one thing nagging at me. A small kernel of truth, growing somewhere deep in the pit of my stomach:
The more time I spent with the guys…
… the more I realized I wanted to be with them.
Twenty-Two
SAVANNAH
The day was long, productive, fantastic. And it would’ve been exhausting too, but only I had time to be exhausted.
I opened early, and closed late — all without incident. There were no visits from lecherous landlords. Nobody stopped off to hurl a brick through my window.
My last initial shipment arrived, and everything found a place on my shelves. With the armoire moved, I was able to rearrange the shop better, too. The folding screen still provided enough privacy for client readings, but now the angle gave me a full, unobstructed view over everything else that was going on.
And Salem was busy. I’d never seen a town come alive like this, not even in any of the many cities I’d lived in down south. The crowds were thick with tourism. Specifically, adventurous young couples who’d come here for the month-long Halloween festivities, and to be creeped out by the spooky history of the centuries-old New England seaport.
I held so many readings during the course of the day, there was barely time to duck into the bathroom. I welcomed it, though. Off and on, I’d get flashes of my previous shop, and previous life. Nostalgic little reminders of how much fun this actually was: collecting people’s hard-earned cash while creating memories and making them happy.
When I finally got to check my phone, it was well past sundown and I’d already skipped lunch. There were two separate messages from Erik and Roman, though I couldn’t tell which was which. Both were wildly flirtatious. Both thanked me for an amazing night.
HUNK1: You know, one of these days, we’re
actually gonna have breakfast together.
I had to laugh at that one, even it set my empty stomach grumbling.
HUNK2: You going out with Zane tomorrow?
God, it was so strange! Talking so openly like this. My lovers mentioning each other so casually, without jealousy, without having to hide anything to do with their feelings or emotions.
Or was it possible they did feel jealousy? I mean, maybe. Possibly. But then again…
Why? Was he supposed to take me out tomorrow?