Page 76 of On My Side
Playlist: Hold My Girl | George Ezra
This has been simultaneously the weirdest and best night of my life.
“So this is where you listen to Sky,” I muse, taking the opportunity to look around her bedroom. It’s spacious and decorated in sky blues and greens, reminding me of sea glass. There’s a picture on her nightstand of her in a hospital bed holding a red-faced, screaming newborn, and a dresser with a mirror across from the bed. In the corner stands a bookshelf with a few books, but it’s mostly filled with artwork by and pictures of Piper through the years. It’s a pretty unassuming room, but it’s so cozy, so welcoming, soAudrey.
“Yep,” she says, popping the ‘p’ and somehow snuggles in closer to me. “Every release day, sometimes more often.” She pauses for a moment before continuing. “Most of the time more often. Can I ask you about him?”
“About Sky?”
“Yeah.”
I shrug. Honestly, I’d rather be eating her pussy again, but I can be patient. “Sure.”
“What made you decide to… to…”
“To work with 4Play? To create audio erotica?”
She nods against me. “Yeah.”
“The founder is a friend from college who reached out when they were developing the app and asked if I was interested. I was struggling to make ends meet just teaching and… I don’t know. It sounded interesting.
“I’d recently gotten out of a rough situationship I thought was a relationship, I was hurting, and it felt like something just for me. Something no one else knows about.” I glance down at her, and find her eyes on me already. “Except you. And my best friend, Will.”
She smiles softly. “So that’s why you use a stage name?”
“I use one for a lot of reasons. I don’t want my family knowing I’m involved with sex work, for one. And I’m a teacher. I love teaching, and I don’t want to jeopardize my job. When I record, I’m not Ren Quinn, or Mr. Q. I’m Sky, a man who’s safe to be open in his sexuality and exploration of it.”
“Why did you pick that name?”
My face heats. “Oh, god. I can’t tell you that, you’d never stop making fun of me.”
“Ren.” She tilts my face. “I promise I won’t make fun of you.”
“That’s sweet, but you shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”
She scowls at me. “I’m serious!”
“So am I. You’regoingto make fun of me. You should accept it.”
“I can’t believe you have such little faith in me!”
“Fine, I’ll tell you. But remember this: I told you so.”
She rolls her eyes. “Drama king.”
“In my mind, Sky’s last name is Walker.”
She blinks at me in confusion.
I sigh heavily. “Sky… Walker.”
It takes her a second before her face gives way to understanding. “Oh. My. God.”
I sigh. “There it is.”
“As inLuke?” she squeals.
“Yup.” She literally has her hand slapped over her mouth. “I told you so.”
