Page 6 of Powder
“Fiona, don’t even go there. Twenty-seven.”
“Okay, that’s fine. Are you meeting him for drinks later?” She was fiddling with something in a plane galley as she spoke, her phone now propped up on a shelf, I assumed, aimed at her.
“No, I mean… maybe?” I ran a hand through my already messy hair. “He sat beside me, really charming, funny, he knew who I was, he’s a fan…” I bumbled over things as they emerged into my thought stream. “We talked the whole flight. Then something came over me. Fiona, I swear, it was just like Father Fitzpatrick talks about. A demon took control of me, and I started saying things that I would never say. I hit on him hard. Said we should make our own nightlife. I just cannot with myself right now.”
“Was he into you?”
“I think so. I mean… he said uh-huh a lot as I drooled over him. Oh shit. I’m as bad as the sweaty suit guy slobbering over a young, pretty thing way out of my league!” My eyes rounded as the realization of how rancid I must have sounded to Tian struck home.
“No, Jack, there is no way you could be?—”
“I was though. Things fell out of me. It was a flyby possession. I knew I should have gone to confession before I left on this trip. Shit, Fiona.”
“Jack, you hardly ever go to confession,” she reminded me, her attention flicking from her phone to something in the distance. “My passengers are arriving. I have to go. Look, I know that what your ex-from-hell did to you knocked your self-confidence down some.”
“Fiona—”
“Sure, her being a cheating bitch would ding your armor a bit, but you need to jump back on that horse—or sexy younger man—and get laid.”
“I—”
“I have to go. Do not let this chance go by, Jack, or I’ll kick you in the shin when I see you next. Promise me you’ll go have fun with this guy, and in this case, fun means ample sloppy sex, and you willnotgo into full hermit mode.”
“I promise,” I lied, then had to say goodbye to my sister. I planned to go into major recluse mode as soon as I could find a cab to the hotel. If I never left my suite, I could never make a fool of myself in front of Tian. A man can have a lot of fun spending two weeks in his room. No shaving, no showering, room service. Who needs the sun or the surf or the sex? Not this guy.
Two hours later,I was ensconced in my luxury suite, gazing at the LGBTQ singles mixer kicking off four floors below by the pool. Around a hundred people were down there, enjoying cocktails, dancing, and getting to know each other, as the tropical breeze blew through the swaying palms. Dua Lipa’s “Physical” floated up on the warm currents. I was in my boxers, a thin summer robe tied around my waist, on the patio sipping spring water from the fridge, waiting for my dinner to arrive from room service. The start of a perfect vacation was about to kick off as soon as my T-bone steak meal arrived. I had thought about Tian a few dozen times while unpacking. I’d even Googled him. He was popular. And good. Damn good. Lots of followers on Instagram and TikTok. And why not? The man oozed charm and sex appeal.
A soft knock on the door pulled me from the horny queers below. My stomach rumbled when I thought of the meal waiting outside. Steak, baked potatoes, green beans with almonds, a chocolate torte, and an icy cold bottle of beer. I’d settle down,watch some baseball, burp, scratch, and fart to my heart’s content while the gyrating masses by the pool ended up feeling used and unloved come morning.
I yanked the door open, stared at the tray, and then glanced up when the door across the hall from mine opened. Tian filled the doorway, all tanned and gorgeous in some khaki shorts and a floral Hawaiian shirt showing off a nice expanse of strong chest. His calves were toned, thick with muscle, and his feet were in some cool leather sandals. Even his damned toes were sexy.
Our eyes met.
“Oh, hey, hi!” he said, closing the door behind him as I stood over my dinner like a mother bear protecting her cubs. “I was just heading down to the bar for a drink. Are you going to the mixer?”
Shit. Shit. Shit. “I uhm…”
“I mean, if you’re going, I can wait for you,” he said, a faint hint of hopefulness in his tone that made me forget all about steak and beer. He wanted me to go. Then his eyes dropped to the food at my bare feet. Feet that weren’t as pretty as his. I’d broken a toe once after taking a puck to the boot, and it never healed quite right. It might have if I’d told the team doctor, but why bother? Not much to do with a broken toe. And it was the playoffs, so… “Or we can meet up at the pool after you eat?”
Somehow, and I’d discuss this with the parish priest after I get back to Harrisburg, that same lust demon grabbed control of my tongue.
“I’m done. I was just putting the empty dishes out. If you want to come in and wait while I shower quickly, we can go down and enjoy that nightlife,” I said with such swagger that it surely had to be a foreign entity running my mouth.
“Sounds good,” he said with a smile that made me hard instantly. I stepped back into my room, held the door open, and watched Tian enter my suite. With a sad sigh, I closed the dooron my T-bone and double-stuffed baked potatoes. “Wow, this room is way nicer than mine. I mean mine’s nice and all, but this is way bigger and looks out over the sea. I can only see the parking lot from my balcony.”
He filled the room with a clean aura and fresh citrus scent. I wanted to get lost in his smell. Breathe it in, hold it in my lungs, and pass out while I held it in forever.
“My sister is a private flight attendant, so she knows all the good places, people, and things.”
“Very cool,” he said as he made his way to the balcony to gaze out over the setting sun painting the Caribbean. My cock throbbed with desire as he braced his arms on the railing, the movement pulling his shirt over his shoulders. His ass was divine. Tight and high, his shorts cradled those orbs lovingly. Bruno Mars’ “24 K Magic” rolled up with a round of cheers that set his hips moving to the dance beat. I gulped.
“I’m going to shower,” I called to him. He spun from the crowd that was hooting and bouncing below, to smile at me. “Would you like to wash my back?”
Father Fitzgerald, where are you when we need you?!
That monster filled with desperate craving throttled the tiny voice of sanity and salvation. Tian seemed uncertain for a moment. Then, slowly but deliberately, he stepped inside and closed the door to the patio.
“I did notice that the hotel forgot to include a back brush with the amenities.”
