Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“Uh, you lost me.”
“You know what I mean. The best part of sex isn’t the sex,” Jeremy said, stating what he knew was obvious.
“It isn’t?” Reg asked as he jerked back, looking truly surprised.
“No. The act itself is awkward and messy and sticky.”
“What’s the best part of sex?”
For the first time since he’d met Reg, Jeremy felt sorry for him. With Reg’s large size, deep voice, and daring personality, he came across as older than twenty-six. But maybe at his age, he hadn’t done much more than tangle between the sheets and walk away.
Trying not to sound condescending, Jeremy said, “The best part is having someone there, touching you. The before, the after—that’s what it’s all about.”
Understanding took over Reg’s face. “You have sex to get a human connection?” he said softly.
“Sure. Everyone does,” Jeremy said firmly.
Brushing his fingers through Jeremy’s hair, Reg smiled. “I don’t know if that’s true, JJ. At least not based on what I’ve heard people say.”
“People lie.” Jeremy waved his hand dismissively. “It’s like the guys in high school who bragged about nailing every hot girl. But ask the girls, and you’d know it was crap.” When Reg looked at him, his brow crinkled, but he didn’t respond, Jeremy clarified. “It’s an image thing.”
“Uh, I don’t think—”
“You’ll understand when you get older.” He patted Reg’s leg. “Anyway, my point is, nobody else is in my head, so how can they know who I want in my bed?”
Reg nodded. “You’re right.”
“It’s not fair. Gay people are people. They’re not all the same as each other. Just because I’m really, really masculine doesn’t—”
Reg started laughing. Hard.
“Why are you laughing?” Jeremy asked. When Reg didn’t answer and kept cackling, Jeremy glared. “Are you laughing at me?”
Nodding, Reg alternated his laughter with gasps for air.
“Why?”
“You,” Reg barely spat out. “You think you’re….” It seemed he couldn’t breathe enough to finish the sentence. Not with as hard as he was laughing.
“What?”
Holding his hand out, Reg said, “Give me a minute.” He drew air in and let it out slowly. “Catching my breath.”
“Take your time,” Jeremy said sarcastically. “I don’t mean to rush you away from mocking me.”
“Not mocking.” Another breath. “But, dude, you can’t actually think you’re Mr. Butch.”
“What do you mean?” Jeremy asked in confusion.
“You wear makeup.”
“On stage!” Jeremy shouted defensively. “I’m putting on a show, that’s how it works.”
Raising his eyebrows, Reg looked at Jeremy meaningfully. “Only on stage?”
“Yes.”
“So you don’t wear eyeliner, blush, and lipstick when we go to events?”
“It’s lip stain, not lipstick,” Jeremy grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest.
“That’s a yes.”
“Those are public appearances. I have a certain image I need to maintain.”
“Right. And when we go for a walk to explore a new city or grab a meal?”
The questions were getting more difficult to answer. “We’re in public. We could be photographed. I don’t want to end up in some magazine looking pasty and washed-out.”
“Right.” Reg nodded. “So you make sure to sculpt your hair to within an inch of its life, cover yourself with makeup, and wear tight clothes.” He paused. “Totally butch.”
“I’m not covered in makeup, and you don’t understand the industry.”
His arms flying up in an exaggeratedly defensive motion, Reg said, “No. No. I get it. It’s just like when Bruce Springsteen… uh, wait. Nope. The Boss never wore lip stain.”
“Are you making fun of my appearance?” Jeremy asked, his voice cracking.
“No,” Reg said, no longer laughing. “I think you look great.” He squeezed Jeremy’s shoulder. “Seriously. My only point is that you being some sort of macho man isn’t the reason they don’t believe you’re gay.”
“So you think it’s all because of the leak?”
Taking in a deep breath, Reg thought about it. “That’s a big part of it. But also, you’ve been famous since forever, right? That’s what you told me. And that whole time, you’ve dated women, and there’s been no hint of rumor or scandal.”
“Uh, clearly you don’t follow the tabloids. I have been the subject of many rumors and scandals. Some real, most imaginary.”
“What I’m saying is you’ve never been photographed with a guy in a compromising position.”
“Great. So all we need to do is put out a sex tape, and that’ll solve this whole issue?”
Reg choked on nothing and started coughing furiously.
“It was a joke. Don’t get all terrified.” Jeremy tilted his bottle and finished off the water.
“I wasn’t terrified.”
“No?” Jeremy asked, his tone indicating his amusement and disbelief.
“No,” Reg rasped, reaching out to tuck Jeremy’s hair behind his ear.
Enjoying the feeling of being touched so gently, Jeremy leaned into Reg’s hand. “Well, if you can claim you didn’t just have a heart attack at the prospect of having sex with me, then I can claim I’m ultramacho,” he said, trying to joke, but not doing a great job of it because the feeling of Reg’s big, rough palm on his face made his words come out slowly.