Fast Connection (Cyberlove #2) (4 page)

The bed shifted as he lay on his side. “I’m Dominic, by the way. Is your name Luke or is that a Grindr code name?”

“My name’s Luke.”

“Cool.” He didn’t talk for a minute. “Hey, you got anything to snack on? I haven’t eaten all day.”

I turned my head slowly to the side, starting to wonder if I was being set up by Nadia or something. But no, there was Dominic, looking at me expectantly. “Snack on?”

He patted his stomach. “Yeah. I’m starving. Come, eat, sleep. It’s the cycle of human nature.”

“I don’t think…” Jesus, I was not going to sit here and argue with this fucking kid, no matter how tight his ass was. “Pretty sure you can find the corner store and pick up a lemonade and peanuts for protein.”

He seemed oblivious at my hints for him to leave. “Can I at least grab some water?”

“Fine.”

He hopped up and stretched his arms over his head, twisting his waist, and my eyes wandered over the defined muscles of his abdomen and ass. His nakedness sufficiently distracted me from the fact that he
wasn’t leaving.

“You want anything?”

I wanted to bark no, but I was thirsty. And there was probably no better-looking errand boy than Dominic. “Water’s fine.”

He flashed me a grin, and I felt a stirring in my groin as I watched his round ass exit my bedroom.

Once he was out of sight, I covered my face with my hands and stifled a groan. I needed to get him out of here. This wasn’t going to according to plan, but then I’d known it wouldn’t as soon as we’d started the small talk. There was absolutely no reason for us to get to know each other.

The thought caused me to sit up in bed as a bolt of panic hit me. A strange guy was walking around my house. What had I been thinking? His clothes were still on the floor, but he could be snooping around or looking in the kids’ rooms.

I jumped out of the bed and pulled some jeans on, not bothering to button them as I took off down the hall. I glanced at each door, but they were closed, just as I’d left them.

A sound coming from the kitchen prompted me to walk faster. When I reached the doorway I stopped at the sight of Dominic standing at the counter. Two glasses of water were in front of him and he was slapping together the second of two peanut butter sandwiches. He was also humming.

He looked up as he stuck a peanut-butter-covered thumb in his mouth. He pulled his finger out with a pop. “Hey, man.” His gaze dipped to my jeans before returning to my face. I swore I spotted disappointment. “I hope it’s okay that I made a sandwich.”

Another set of bright blue eyes blinking at me through a windshield. My kids in the backseat, crying in incorrectly buckled car seats.

I gritted my teeth and told myself not to get angry, that Dominic was just hungry. He wasn’t trying to invade my life. But this was too much. This was the kitchen where I’d just talked to my kids, where we’d eaten breakfast that morning, and now this guy was just making himself at home.

Whether it was because of my size or the scowl on my face, most guys I fucked usually made a quick beeline for the door once we were done. There were no peanut butter sandwich detours. Dominic seemed like a nice guy, but this hookup was one hundred percent done.

Holding out the clothes I had clenched in my fist, I said, “Sure, but it’s to go.”

He didn’t move for a second, but then every line in his body tightened and the soldier in him shone through for the first time since he’d stepped through the door. His spine straightened, his face hardened, and his eyes went blank.

I missed the other Dominic already.

He grabbed his clothes and quickly pulled them on between bites of his sandwich.

Dominic was fully dressed by the time we approached the door. I reached around him to open it, but he blocked me with his body. He was trying to play it cool, but I saw a flash of uncertainty in his expression. “Do you want my number? I wouldn’t mind another round some time.”

“Nah.” When his face fell, my heart pulsed, and I did what I never did—tried to make someone else feel better. “I’ll catch you on Grindr again, I’m sure.”

Another vacant grin crossed his face, and I wondered if that was his go-to response, but at least he appeared placated. My relief also made me wonder why I cared.

He took a single pace backward. “It was good though, right?”

For some reason, that insecure question got under my skin.

I grabbed his chin, and his body turned to me, practically melting beneath my gaze. I kissed him hard, and he moaned against my lips. He needed to get out of here before I fucked him against my front door. I pulled back.

“Yeah, it was really good.”

“Awesome.” He inclined his head. “See ya around, Luke.” Then he was jogging down the porch stairs.

I shut the door quickly and locked it, then ran my hands up my face and into my hair. My stomach growled, so I padded to the kitchen where the lone sandwich sat on a plate. The guy had made me a sandwich, and I’d still kicked him out. I was a bastard. That didn’t stop me from eating it in three bites.

I sat down at the kitchen table and clasped my hands in front of me. My usual routine was to take a shower and then watch TV until I passed out on the couch, but my brain was working over time in a way it normally didn’t after I got off.

Maybe it was Dominic’s naive attitude or maybe it was his military background that was dredging up ugly memories and unsettling me. Guys Dominic’s age didn’t know what it was like for my generation growing up. DADT was repealed now, and while I was sure it was still no fucking picnic to be gay in the military, it didn’t result in a discharge.

Like mine.

Hey, at least I hadn’t been dishonorably discharged like the gay and lesbian service members who’d been found guilty of homosexual conduct in decades prior. But leaving the service had not been my choice.

I’d been forced, because I’d been an idiot and had gotten caught with my pants down. Literally. Back when I hadn’t been so careful, when I’d allowed blurring and merging among all the boxes in my life. The disastrous end to my relationship with Jake was the primary reason I avoided getting in too deep now.

The entire thing had turned me into a bitter old gay who resented the young men I liked in my bed. Which was fucked up. Anonymous hookups were my way of keeping it simple. Sure, it was lonely sometimes, but I hadn’t met anyone who was worth changing my life for, and I didn’t plan to make an effort to do so. I chose lonely because I’d been there, done that with the alternative.

The self-resolve lasted for a couple of moments before I found myself opening Grindr. I ignored a message that came through and opened the conversation with Dominic. I laughed at his message about not being able to take a picture of his ass and face at the same time and studied his picture until it began to feel creepy.

I closed out the app and tossed my phone on the table so hard it clattered off the edge and onto the floor. I didn’t bother checking to see if the screen cracked. I kind of hoped it did, because something told me that was the only way to keep myself from looking at Dominic’s picture again and again.

Dominic

Garrett definitely was not going to be my gay best friend. In fact, the guy was coming real close to being unfollowed and unfriended. Full stop.

I’d called him twelve times following the hookup with Luke, and he’d not even bothered to text me to ask what the hell I wanted. There was too much rejection going on in the span of three days, and it was hard to swallow after twenty-seven years of me being a fucking stud.

Luke hadn’t just dismissed me from his house, he’d been sort of a dick about it. I wrote off that parting kiss because I was pretty sure I’d only gotten it due to being kissable in general. Not because he actually liked me. Not that he had reason to like me. We’d barely spoken or exchanged names. Then I’d raided his kitchen without permission, but my stomach had been growling like a beast and I’d sort of expected a round two.

Shit.

Was this how hookups went with two guys? I tried to think about how I’d treated females I’d hooked up with in the past, and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead. I was almost positive I’d never kicked a girl out of my space the way Luke had done to me, but… had my goodbyes come off that way? The possibility alone had me feeling like an asshole.

Monday morning at Hot Bagels was the busiest time of the week, and I spent it slicing meat, making breakfast sandwiches, and, between customers, jotting down names on a piece of receipt paper. When we finally slowed down around nine o’clock, my sister Adriana snatched it up.

“Sinae, Krystal, Amburlee, Georgiana, Stephanie Z, Stephanie Q… Nicky, what the hell is this?”

I glared at her over the counter. “A list. Give it back and go to school. You’re late.”

“There’s no school today, numbnut.”

“What? Why not?”

“We get off for Jewish holidays. Duh.” Adriana’s eyes skimmed to the bottom of the list. She flipped it over, and one golden brow arched way up. “Please tell me these are not chicks you’ve slept with.”

“It’s a start,” I said testily. “I can’t remember some of them.”

“Holy shit, dude, that is an insane amount of women!” She was giving me the illest stank face I’d ever seen on someone outside of Garrett. “You’re so shady.”

“How am I shady?”

“I don’t know, but that’s over the top.” She dropped the list on the counter as if it had tainted her fingers. “Are you trying to get an accurate count on your number, or what?”

“No.” I shoved the list in my pocket and went back to wiping down the equipment. “I’m trying to make sure I wasn’t a jerk to any of them after handling business.”

“Handling business.”
Adriana’s face got stanker. She pulled her hoodie over her head as if it would shield her from my shadiness. It was a
Fallen World Online
hoodie, which just made me think of Luke. “How are we related? You must have had fifty girlfriends by the time you graduated from high school, and I’ve never dated anyone at all!”

“Three things.” I finished wiping up the counter and turned to the grill. I switched my ball cap backwards. “First—not all of ’em were girlfriends, if you know what I’m saying.”

“Ugh. Yeah. I know what you’re saying. And if your accent gets any thicker, you’re gonna start sounding like Pops.”

“Whatever. Second—you’re not as naturally charming as me so there’s no way your dance card will ever be as full. Maybe if you stop flipping off any human being who comes close enough to look at your fucking Fall Out Boy T-shirt collection.”

“Fall Out Boy is over, bro. I’ve moved on to Bring Me the Horizon.”

“Shaddap.” Scraping bits of bacon to the side of the grill, I went on. “And three—I thought you were dating Micah. He’s always here looking for you.” There was a pause after that, and I glanced over my shoulder with a smirk. “Ah-ha! I knew it.”

“You don’t know shit.” Adriana had murder in her eyes as she backed to the door. “And don’t say nothing to Dad!”

“Yeah, like I want to say words to him about anything in general.”

“Good.”

She was out of the store with a dramatic whirl of long blond hair. I finished wiping up and got back to my list. I knew I was missing quite a few names, but I focused on who I could actually remember. My gaze kept returning to Stephanie Q. Q for Quinones. She was the only one I couldn’t remember interacting with after our mind-blowing weekend a few summers ago.

It’d been between deployments, and I’d accepted an invitation to a house party in Queens. A friend had thrown it, and I’d rocked up big and blond and white as hell to a party that was ninety-nine percent Puerto Rican. Which is when I’d realized it had been the evening of the Puerto Rican Day Parade. But no one had blinked, and Stephanie had swept me off my feet with nothing but a couple of teasing smiles and flirtatious disses. She’d also called me blanquito the entire time so I wasn’t convinced she’d known my name the first time we’d gotten it on either.

Damn. What was with me and not introducing myself before pulling out my dick? This was getting to be an epidemic. But at least Stephanie had given me her damn number.

Satisfied, I tucked my phone away. I was sure there had been at least a couple of one-night stands where I’d stumbled off, but I generally prided myself on treating my flings with respect. So what the hell was up with Luke? Was it a gay thing or a Luke thing? Maybe he just liked keeping things disposable and without the strings.

And why was I stressing over this? Sure the sex had been good but—

My brain stopped as soon as the word sex popped into it. The sex hadn’t just been good. It had been fantastic. Epic. I hadn’t known what to expect from my first experience of being banged, but it had truly been glorious. I was pretty sure he could have fucked the jizz out of me if I hadn’t touched my dick.

That’s a tight fucking hole.