CH 3 A Strange Proposal (Kyle)
I wake up with a pleasing sight. My account gained another fifteen thousand subs last night!
I go through my morning routine. Shower, brush teeth, pushups, pullups, check emails. Reading through the emails, I find a few that are actually worth something. I still reply to the job postings, even though I hope I don’t have to work on them anymore. After my TikTok video went viral and my channel took off, I’ve been getting more people onto my previously dead Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Most importantly, I’ve seen my books start to sell. So far, I’ve actually made enough to pay for this month’s mortgage and next month’s.
I take a deep breath. It’s all good news, it’s all worth getting excited about, but I know it’s not a guarantee that it keeps going. This might just be the reprieve I needed to have time to get another job. The rest of my morning is filled with replying to Indeed job postings, filling out the same fucking information over and over. If this social media stuff works out, I’m going back to school to get a bachelors in something. Most of these places don’t even give a shit what it’s in, a bachelors in punching walls would be good enough.
The afternoon is filled with much more fun. Responding to comments in my videos takes a few hours now that there are so many. *Four hundred fucking thousand subs!* The comments are mostly book related since my channel is all about writing and book reviews, but I notice a few comments saying how good I look.
After another chicken and rice dinner, I do my nighttime routine of pushups, pullups, brush my teeth and slide into bed. One more check of my accounts and I look at the DMs. Like the comment section, most of them are just about writing but a few are… more intimate. I’m not sure how to react to women throwing themselves at me. At one point in my life, I felt like the man, that was until life came in and beat the fucking piss out of me. Things are turning around. Maybe, even this late in the game at thirty-five, I can be the man again.
When I see her face, my jaw drops. *What the fuck is Rachel doing messaging me?*
*Rachelly: Hey Kyle, long time, right? Your video showed up and I was thinking about you earlier today so I thought it might be a sign. Listen. I know I said to never contact me, but I’d like to talk. A friendly chat. I’d prefer to do it in person but you’re in Austin now and I’m up in New York, so maybe a video call? Let me know if you’re open to talking this week.*
Rachel Charleston, my high school sweetheart. The woman mom always said I was supposed to marry and just couldn’t understand why things didn’t work out. I couldn’t blame her since I never explained what really happened.
I spiraled for nearly five years after our breakup, and she went on to someone else after two months and four days… Yeah, I’d counted the exact days.
I finally rebounded with Samantha, but it only lasted about a year before she ended it. She could tell that she wasn’t the one I loved. Same with Xia. She left me after only four months. That was seven years ago. Since then, I’ve been alone. A few dates here or there but nothing real.
I read over the message again, the words never contact me stand out since that’s exactly what she said all those years ago. She blocked my phone number, my email, I even sent her a physical letter only to have it marked as Return: Declined. I’d put so much thought and effort into it, and she never even opened it. Now she wants to talk? *And she’s thinking about me?*
*Oh fuck! What if she has a kid she never told me about, and they’re getting older now and wondering who their dad is?*
That seemed unlikely. Over the years, I’ve occasionally looked her up. Her profiles are always set to private, so I’ve never had a chance to see more than her main profile pic, but if she’d have had a picture of her and her kid as her profile pic if she had a child, surely.
*Could it be for money or something? I’m on the brink of getting internet famous. Maybe it’s that.*
That also seemed unlikely. Rachel graduated college with a masters in something while I spiraled down the drain. She went on to be a productive member of society and I wasted away along with the rest of the trash. While I jumped from one entry level position to the next, just barely keeping ahead of minimum wage, she runs some company’s finance department. Paper pushers and dollar generators always get paid the most, I know that from my long stints in sales. If she’s the fucking head of the paper pushers and dollar generators she’s not hard up for money.
*So what could she want?*
After a few drafts, I message back.
*Me: Hey, yeah has been a long time. A friendly chat sounds nice. I’ll actually be in New York next week if you want to do this in person. If you’re available tue-thurs, that’s when I’ll be there.*
She took seeing my picture as a sign, could my trip to my publisher be a sign as well?
I fall asleep with the phone in my hand. Among other messages, Rachel’s response greets me when I wake.
I resist the urge to read it. Morning routine first, I tell yourself. Less than a second after I’m done with my routine, I pick up my phone and read her message.
*Rachelly: Wow! Really? That’s great! Let’s meet Tuesday. I have the whole day free. Let me know what time. If you know a place, I’ll meet you there, if you don’t know the area well, I could pick the spot. Let me know.*
I hold off responding. When we first started dating, she’d mentioned how she liked that I wasn’t overly eager like other guys.
Back in high school I’d finally come out of my shell. Martial arts had done most of the work. Not getting picked on since I could kick ass had changed me, and when I met Rachel, I walked around like my shit didn’t stink. Her jaw dropping good looks made me nervous to be sure. Even with my newfound confidence, I’d have never approached her, but since we’d been partnered in Chemistry, we were forced to talk and I did my best to act like I only cared about being a good lab partner. After school study sessions developed into make-out sessions and I found myself dating at the height of my life.
The last time she saw me, I’d been too high to talk straight, and she never gave me a chance to talk again. Coming across as a happy puppy, wagging my tail now that master loves me again would be the worst. Aloof, but not too aloof. Interested but not too interested.
I do the rest of my morning routine of emails and job postings before replying that Tuesday at two will work. I search the area near my hotel and pick a pizza place. While I’ll be able to give all my expenses to my agent for reimbursement, I need to be able to pay for the food in the first place. Given that I have some money coming in, I can afford something like this, but I don’t want to give her the option to choose a place and then take me to some swanky restaurant that I couldn’t afford.
*Me: Lunch sound good? There’s this place right next to my hotel I go to every time I’m in the city, Stan’s Pizzeria. My treat.*
I put my phone down and focus on my computer but only three minutes later, a notification shows up in my browser.
*Holy shit, that was fast.*
*Rachelly: Awe I love Stan’s! I haven’t been in years! That’s perfect. Here’s my number. Just text though. I’ll see you on Tuesday.*
My fingers start to type a reply but stop. I need keep it distant. I click on her message and give it a thumbs up.
The week goes by and I find myself on a plane Monday afternoon, landing in NYC at night. I actually get recognized in the lobby by one of my followers. A cute brunette with sultry brown eyes chats with me about books and writing for a while. It’s innocent enough with only a couple hints of flirting. Good practice for tomorrow when I see Rachel. Who knows what she wants to talk about? It could be something great, could be terrible.
My nightly routine tells my body it’s time to sleep. Even years of routine struggle to pull me under.
CH 4 Damn He Looks Good (Rachel)
I hop out of my Lift and spot him instantly. Six-two is hard to miss, and his wide shoulders look even better in person than they did in his videos. He used to be thinner with more of a rock star’s body, he’s filled out really well. His dark hair is slicked back with the sides shaved to give a 20’s mobster vibe and his three-piece with the jacket off is doing wonders to enhance the vibe even more. All he needs is a tommy gun and a scar on his fresh shaven jaw. When his honey-brown eyes catch mine the smile on my face turns from practiced to genuine. It’s too bad we didn’t work out. I push the silly thought down. He had his chance and wasted it. Now is just finding out if he might be willing to help me and Kevin out.
Kevin wanted to do the interview processes with me but Kyle was not on the list that I gave Kevin of potential interviewees. Kevin knew what the young Kyle looked like since he went through my old yearbooks a couple years back and I had Kyle circled with hearts. The most damning of them all was the picture set of Kyle and me from a photo booth that I had tucked away in there. Wild and crazy, the first pick was us smiling, the second was kissing, then him with a tit in his mouth and the last with his dick going down my throat.
Luckily, by that point in our relationship we were in collage, and I’d been able to deep throat him, swallowing his cock so Kevin couldn’t see it.
Kyle offers me his hand and I shake it as we expend the pleasantries of how nice it is to see each other. I slip a little into my corporate bullshit mode where I’m just being nice for the sake of the business but when Kyle pulls my seat out for me, I’m reminded of how chivalrous he used to be, or rather, still is by the looks of things. I sit down and we order.
He talks a bit about why he’s in New York after I ask him, but I don’t even end up hearing it. Just looking at him I can’t keep my eyes from tracing over every inch of him. He’s so much how I remember, yet there’s so much new on him. His smile lines are deeper, he has a tattoo that rides up his neck to where all I see is the tip of a whatever it is peek out from the collar of his shirt. We shared ideas for tattoos when we were younger. I eventually even got one that we’d talked about. *Gosh, he’ll recognize it when he sees it. If he sees it.* I drew it as a kid but had a professional make it look good. If Kyle says yes to everything, he’ll see it on my shoulder. Maybe I could just lay on my back. I chuckle at the idea of me and Kyle staying in one position. If Kyle is anything like he used to be, we’d be going at least long enough to change positions four times. I’ve never tried a new position since I’d been with Kyle. I’m pretty sure we’ve done them all.
“What’s so funny about that?” Kyle askes.
Oh shit, I’m not sure what he was talking about. “Oh, nothing, I just think it’s really cute, but in a good way, obviously.” *Oh, God, please let that be a good enough cover.*
Kyle smirks and chuckles. His eyes flash down to his crumb filled plate. “So, what’s up? What did you want to meet for? You said you were already thinking of me before you came across my profile.”
I nod and suck down the last of my margarita for some last-minute courage. “Yeah, so, um… that. Well, first, let me say something else. I…um… I feel bad for how things ended between us.”
“You don’t need to.” His eyes glow like burning coals with regret. “You had every right.”
I frown at him. I was afraid of this. I moved on fairly quickly, but he hadn’t. He’d held on to his regret and shame. “Listen. I was in the right, yes, but I still think I treated you unfairly. We were so young. Since we broke up, I’ve… dated other guys.” That’s the most tactful way I can say fell in love again or had other boyfriends. “And while what you did was wrong, and I still wouldn’t stand for it, others have done worse, and I didn’t do to them what I did to you. So, I’m sorry for just cutting you out like I did.”
His expression hardens when I tell him others have done worse but it softens when I say I’m sorry. “You don’t need to apologize, but I appreciate your words. Thank you. I’d say I forgive you, but I really don’t think there’s anything to forgive.”
I nod, but I don’t fully agree. I cut Kyle out of my life like he was some kind of parasite. I didn’t care if he survived the separation, I’d just wanted him gone. Yet I’d had more amical breakups with Peter or Jermaine who both cheated on me or David who stole from me. Thinking back to each of the others, none of them ever hurt as much as leaving Kyle had.
“Okay, so, with that fun stuff out of the way.” I smile in an attempt to get the conversation back onto a lighter tone. Here it goes. “My partner and I were hoping to see if you’d be willing to join us for a threesome.” *Holy shit, I fucking said it.*
Kyle’s brow lifts until his eyebrows are touching his hairline. “Wow. Okay. Um… Is this…” He frowns and then shakes his head and laughs. “You know what. Just, explain more, please. I have tons of questions but maybe you can explain more and I can understand without having to play twenty questions.”
That wasn’t the answer I was expecting but it wasn’t an outright no. “Oh! Yeah, sure. So, my partner and I, we’ve been together for six years, seven in a couple weeks, which is the longest relationship I’ve ever been in. We’re… Well, we’re falling apart. He has some issues… in bed.”
“He?” Kyle asks. “Sorry. When you said partner, I was thinking you were talking about a woman.”
“What? Kyle? I’m not gay.” *Even though I do enjoy eating pussy.*
He laughs. “Right. No, of course. It’s just, I’ve only heard that term used for same sex couples.”
“We just think calling each other boyfriend, girlfriend sounds juvenal and we’re not married, so…”
“Why aren’t you married?” Kyle’s eyes narrow on me. Those honey-brown eyes were typically so warm and inviting but hold the capacity to instill fear like they do now. “How could you not be married by now?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re not married.”
“I’m not you.” He smiles back. “Rachel. You’re such a light to the world. You have so much love to give. I’ve never met anyone like you. You can give someone the gift of a lifetime but more importantly, you deserve to be loved. You deserve that deep, layered love that comes from marriage.”
A flash of heat hits my cheeks at first but at the end the heat moves to my eyes and I hold back from letting tears fall. “Well… Thank you. It just hasn’t happened yet. Maybe Kevin will be the one.”
“Kevin? That’s his name? Okay. So you and Kevin want to bring in someone else to help with bedroom issues? Is that it?”
I take a deep breath to push past the last of my emotions. “No, that’s it. He and I work very well outside the bedroom, but not having that kind of care, I become rather snappy, and it’s hurting us.”
“So, is this a long term proposal, or is he getting help with his issues somehow?”
“I think we’ll keep working to get him back to how he used to be, but for now, it would be a solution for the foreseeable future.”
He nods like I used to see him do when he worked through a problem. “Okay. So why me? Why not one of your other, maybe more recent boyfriends, or, partners, I should say.”
I chuckle at his correction. “Well. I didn’t want it to be someone I don’t know and I didn’t want one of my previous partners…” What’s the tactful way to say, they all failed to keep up their sex drives? “This problem we’re having, it seems to follow me around.” I frown and shake my head.
“Your other partners started having bedroom issues?” Kyle asks with his brow knotting in confusion. “We’re talking about ED, right?”
“Yeah. Well… For the most part. It just always starts out great but then dies down and with Kevin, he doesn’t have a problem keeping it up, well, sometimes he does, but he finishes quick and then I’m left there on my own.”
Kyle scoffs. “I saw a video where a guy is yelling at women, asking ‘what do you expect?’ He says, what happens when you put a hotdog in the microwave for two minutes?” He laughs again before taking a drink. “It can be rough. Especially with a woman like you.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I told you just about every day when we were together: you’re too beautiful.”
His smile is the icing on the cake that shoots heat from my thumping heart to my cheeks as well as down between my legs.
“Okay, well. I’ll have to think about this. I don’t like the idea of playing second fiddle to someone else, but I want you to be happy, Rachel. I really mean that. It hurts me to hear that you’re not living a completely perfect life. Out of everyone I’ve ever met, you’re the most deserving. I have to leave. Gotta get to the meeting I told you about.”
He told me about a meeting? Probably something he said when I was admiring him.
“I have your number so I can get back with you before I leave back to Austin. We can work things out more if I decide to go with it.”
When he stands, I grab my purse and look around for the check. Did I really not even notice him pay the bill? Fuck, where has my head been? I stand up and go in for a hug. His long arms enfold around me like a warm blanket with my head burrowing in his chest. He smells of warm wood and mouthwatering citrus. I tilt my head up automatically. I guess I’m used to kissing Kevin after a hug or something like that. I give him a kiss on his cheek, a soft and quick peck, nothing too much, though, maybe just the little peck is too much… *Shit, was I wrong to do that?* The taste on my lips says it was a good move.
I let go and step back, looking up at his warm, inviting smile. “Let me know how the meeting goes. I’m rooting for you.”
“Thanks. You’ll be the first to know.” He places a hand on my arm with a squeeze and then turns to walk away.
I think about calling out to him, but I hold myself back. My consolation prize is watching his cute little butt walk off in those nice tight slacks.
Source: reddit.com/r/Erotica/comments/vp3lu9/15_years_later_ch_34_plot_slow_burn