Page 36 of Grind
“Frank won’t tell me. But he’s protective,” Ezra added, sprinkling a pinch of suspicion in the thoughts no doubt swirling in Ros’s head. People like him rarely lived in junkyards in the middle of nowhere.
Ros cocked his head, walking up to the fur-covered bed and sitting against the headboard. “Didhegive you that watch?” He grinned and winked at Ezra, in no rush to go downstairs.
Bingo. This was exactly where Ezra wanted this conversation to go, and Ros followed his thread like a good boy.
He was so different than the semi-friends Ezra had back in town. While he was asking questions, he didn’t try to show off, and he didn’t seem jealous either. It was just a feeling, but Ezra was good at sensing these things. Could it be that he was trying to work out if Ezra and Frank were a thing to understand if he could get Ezra as a third in his and Shane’s bed? It wouldn’t have been the first time.
“Well… yeah, but now I’m a bit surprised,” Ezra said. “This place must bring more money than it might seem. But then again, I don’t know anything about this type of business.”
Ros’s smile could have competed with the Mona Lisa’s. “There’s a lot going on here. Shane does some work with Frank, so I know. But it varies. Depends whether Frank has a buyer for the items, or if someone brings a collectible treasure with all the other crap. Jag helps sort through it, but it’s a lot of work. But I’m also pretty sure Frank has savings.”
It was a very enigmatic answer that didn’t confirm nor deny Ezra’s suspicions about Frank moving stolen goods, but he didn’t want to seem nosy and offered Ros his smile number five. “Yeah... I’m insanely grateful for what he’s doing for me. It’s just…" Ezra cleared his throat to appear sufficiently uncertain, but in reality, he was trying to coax out more information while he had Ros to himself. “I thought we had good chemistry going. And now he’s just… he’s just not making any moves.”
Ros sat up straighter, hugging a pillow. “Oooh! So you like him. Does he know? That’s weird. Why would he not make a move?”
Ezra definitely liked Frank.
He was also very horny after a dry spell of several days. He was not used to going through such a long time without sex, especially not with a stud like Frank always looming close by.
“He said it would be inappropriate. Can you imagine?”
Ros snorted. “What? Why? Because of the age gap? There’s ten years between me and Shane, and we’re doing just fine.”
“You two make a hot couple. Don’t ever split up,” Ezra said absent-mindedly and pushed back his hair, watching Ros. “With Frank…well, we did have a fewmomentsbefore I came here. But he seems to think that if I did sleep with him, it would be out of obligation, which is ridiculous. Does he not have a mirror?”
Ros’s shoulders sagged. “I see… He looks like a tattooed tank, but he’s got a very soft heart. He helped out Shane after he got out of prison, he basically keeps Jag as a pet, and hegaveus the land on which we built our house, because he wanted us to feel secure. But once he decides that something is the right thing to do, he can be really stubborn about it.”
That was a lot to take in. Shane used to be in prison, which didn’t seem to bother Ros one bit, since he talked about it as if it was just a phase one’s boyfriend occasionally went through, but most importantly, it offered a lot of insight into Frank’s character.
Maybe he really was how he’d seemed during their meetings? Someone very giving. Someonegood.
“What should I do? You’ve known him longer.”
Ros laughed. “Make your move, man! Look at yourself! How long do you think he’ll be able to resist? I give it twenty-four hours.”
Ezra wasn’t sure if he should be flattered or offended, but Ros’s smile was genuine and didn’t hint that he was waiting for a reaction to the shots he’d fired. “Well, I may have some tricks up my sleeve.”
“There you go.” Ros said with a shrug and got up to pet Eros who was scratching at the bed. “Though he did once confess in Truth or Dare, after quite a few shots, that one of his favorite things is toys. Make of that what you will.” Ros wiggled his eyebrows.
Ezra pointed his finger at Ros as images of Frank diving between his legs with a dildo filled his mind beyond its capacity, ever expanding. “Oh… okay… He didn’t reveal if he has any?” Ezra asked, annoyed by the high pitch of his voice. Frank hadn’t even done anything yet and was already making Ezra all horny again.
Ros smirked. “I mean… he must, right?” But then Eros started humping his leg, and he groaned. “I have to let him out. He gets like this when he has too much energy to burn. Don’t we all?” he laughed out loud and urged the dog to the door.
“I think I might take Frank home now,” Ezra said, tossing the clothes into a large canvas bag with the logo of an art shop.
His back was crawling with fire ants, and only one thing—one dick—could put an end to his misery.
He hated unresolved sexual tension.
Ezra followed Ros downstairs, and going by the number of bottles on the table, Frank must have had at least three beers. Oh well, he’d be easier.
“You got everything?” Frank asked, straightening up in the chair.
Ezra grinned at him and did a little twirl, to make sure Frank saw how good his ass looked in those pants. Shane was watching too, but it wasn’t him Ezra wanted to charm. “Let’s go.”
Ros ran over to the kitchen. “And here’s the organic pancake mix, and the eggs we talked about,” he said and packed the products for Ezra into another bag.
“Thanks for the food, guys.” Frank nodded at Shane. “I’ll be in touch if something comes up.”
