Page 21 of Just Like You
He texted back, which made me have a weird kind of cardiac arrest right there in my chair. Return details. Unless he was playing me for the fool I was. I think at this point? I didn’t care. Also? I liked him. Really liked him.
I liked… Ugh. I blushed even thinking it, but yes. I liked anal. Absolutely liked anal. And I liked women, and their bodies and all that entailed, but a lot of women didn’t like using the back door. Nor did they appreciate my attempts to access it. I’d always known it was something a lot of men were into, but…yes. Finding one who’d let me do exactly what I wanted to do to someone was not quite as easy as it seemed.
I wasn’t keen on apps. Never frequented clubs or such. I knew there was a scene, and I certainly had colleagues who could probably have introduced me to suitable candidates for my bodily needs, but… Yes. That wasn’t me. Not at all. I liked things to happen naturally.
Yes. And that little thought made me laugh in my own face. Sex was one thing. Trying to create something out of nothing but a small hitch? I was not only naive; I was also perhaps woefully inexperienced in these kinds of things.
Men.
Gay men.
Men who liked other men doing delightfully lovely things to them.
Men…like me.
And yes, I’d said it out loud before and did now, I was definitely bisexual, and I’d had more sexual partners than I dared to recall, both men and women. Didn’t excuse the fact that I entered my credit card number on the airline site and happily parted with an enormous amount of money…just so I could see this particular man again.
Julian. Gorgeous, sweet and ridiculous Julian. Sharp-tongued and pretty, a man who had no fear of me at all. Unusual, considering our size difference and my inability to control the arsehole that I inevitably was. I knew it and embraced it because that is what you did when you were someone like me.
Hard. Driven. The man who got the results.
Also, I liked my job. The opportunities, the people, and the company that enabled me to play with huge amounts of other people’s money on the daily. Thrilling.
Not as thrilling as this. Knowing that there was someone out there who…
I shuddered with what should have been unease but surprisingly was all butterflies and cupcakes. It made me laugh. Even made Maura laugh as she carefully placed a cup of coffee next to me. I smiled. She grimaced.
“What you up to now, child?”
“Nothing.” I grinned.
“If you’re not careful, I will book another meeting with Juliet. And you know she will come down hard on you.”
“She always does.”
“I’m here to ensure you behave. Keep an eye on you. That you treat people nicely. They tell me you know. I get all the gossip. You should be on your best behaviour.”
Didn’t I know it.
“Don’t go breaking some girl’s heart, you hear me?”
“Maura.” I sighed.
I’d had my boss read me the riot act more than once. I wasn’t allowed to harass our interns. Nor was I allowed to use sexualisedlanguage in the workplace. And if Maura walked? I would be out on my arse.
Harsh, perhaps, but it wasn’t that bad. Yes. I had, in the past, behaved despicably against the very people who worked here to make my life easier. I had also taken what I wanted without any concerns for the eventual consequences, and I was more than aware that Juliet had cleaned up my messes in the past. And that leash she had around my neck? Very, very real. Hence, Maura. Handpicked by Juliet, and not quite your ordinary PA. Maura knew more about financial aggregation than I did and had hijacked my schedule and threatened me on the daily. She’d never known my late mother, but she constantly threw her name around like she had. Reminding me that I wasn’t special. And to behave.
I knew my place. Which was a surprisingly comfortable seat to be sat in, because…
I was getting older. I no longer had that constant drive to get myself laid. The thrill of the chase had once been exhilarating, and now?
My mouth smiled again. Julian. I wanted to lie in his arms and have him kiss the top of my head. I wanted…
Shit. I was getting old. And now Maura flung the door open again.
“Friday. You’re meeting with Thomas Sandhurst at three. I will move it to Tuesday at noon, and you’ll be bringing me back Caribbean chicken from the place next to the Sandhurst office for lunch. Deal with it.”
“Immaculate planning.”
