Page 89 of Phantom Faceoff
We didn’t do anything this morning that we haven’t done before; I’d even call our interaction this morning tame for our usual standards. Especially considering last night.
Julian
Did something happen?
Should I mention the woods thing to him? Is that too private?
Given the recent group play, I’m going to go with no.
Me
We maybe sorta had sex.
Julian
Maybe sorta?
Me
We had sex. Mind-blowing sex with details not for the faint of heart.
More popping and disappearing bubbles.
Julian
Has he talked to you about Mack yet?
Me
Who’s Mack?
Julian
I’ll take that as a ‘no’. I’m at Cakes & Quakes. Come meet me.
It’s only like a ten minute walk from the record store to the coffee shop, and when I step inside and see Julian’s timid smile waving me over, my stomach churns a little uneasy.
“I fucked up, didn’t I?” The words fly out as soon as my ass hits the chair.
Julian raises a brow but smiles. “You didn’t fuck up; I promise.” He folds his hands on the table and rests his face on them almost child-like. “Mal has some relationship hangups that he unfortunately needs to work through.”
“I can help him? Look, I’m no stranger to burying the lead and having it blow up in my face. I’m the last person to judge someone’s past.”
Pity. That’s the look in Julian’s eyes. Shit.
“It’s not my place to say,” he says, “But I care about Mal and I care about you, so I’m willing to push the boundaries a little.”
“Is he gonna be mad at you?”
Julian shrugs. “Maybe a little. But sometimes Mal needs someone looking out for him, too.”
The barista comes over and drops off a cold drink and warm pastry in front of Julian, then sets a black coffee down in front of me.
“Thought you might need it,” he says, sipping what looks like a cup of pure chocolate and humming a little cheerful sound.
He’s probably right.
“Okay, so the first thing you need to know is that Mal has C-PTSD, which means ‘Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’. His time in the system was rough. He has trust issues. Abandonment issues. And is prone to panic attacks. Remember when I told you he was having a bit of a dry spell? Those are partially why.”
