Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
And that had the blush coming back.
So he knew limits?
Was that in a he’d been to therapy kind of way, or the general everyone understands what BDSM was these days kind of way, or did he know about limits firsthand? Or worse, was he just confused about what she was saying and doing his best to hide it?
God, I hated myself.
This was not how a Dom was supposed to behave.
“Xavier.” My father’s gruff call from the back had Payton’s eyes going wide and Amanda started dragging him out faster. Traitors. “Are those crazy old bats gone?”
Thankfully yes.
Amanda left fast enough that I didn’t think he heard her giggle, but with the way my luck had been going lately, it was just going to start another round of insanity with the cranky old man.
“Yeah, Pop. They’re gone.” And they’d taken the last of my sanity with them. “But if you say that in front of them, I’m going to tell Mom that you’ve been sneaking cheesecake before you go home.”
She’d put him on a diet when he’d insinuated that she’d gained weight.
The loud crash from the back made it clear what he thought of that threat.
I loved my family but I was starting to realize the reason Payton avoided being around me might not be because he was straight after all…he might just be smart.
Chapter 2
Payton
“You know, that wasn’t terribly subtle.” Amanda’s tone was teasing, like she knew what she was talking about and she found it funny, but she was mostly guessing. “Rushing over to save the day? Very good, cutie.”
Most of the time I loved my job working at the bookstore, but there were moments when I wished she was a regular boss.
But since she wasn’t, I did my best to work around the crazy, not against it.
“You should always do your best to stop sexual harassment in the workplace. Even if it’s not your workplace.” It wasn’t anything she wanted to hear, but it was also the truth, so she couldn’t complain.
She could, however, let out a dramatic sigh as we headed back to the bookstore. “Fine, and you’re right. Those dirty old ladies need to behave themselves better. Making our customers uncomfortable isn’t appropriate and whatever they’re doing to Becker isn’t appropriate either.”
Oh yeah.
And was he Becker to her just to stay out of the drama or was it out of habit?
Realizing I probably didn’t want to ask, I focused on the current ridiculous conversation.
“What they’re doing to me isn’t nice either.” I shouldn’t have to answer their dirty questions just because they’d assumed I was gay. I wasn’t sure if they had great gaydar for old ladies or if I’d been doing something that screamed young twink, but either way it was rude.
Amanda snickered, thankfully not pointing out that I only managed to sound like a real adult with a brain when I was away from Ben…well, Bex. “I’m not even going to ask what they were doing to you, but I will give them better boundaries or make them buy their dirty books online like normal people.”
She seemed to sell enough of those types of books that she probably didn’t want to chase off the interesting people actually buying them, but it was her store, so I wasn’t going to argue about it.
“As long as they don’t ask me weird questions or scare off other customers, I don’t care what they buy.” I was open-minded. I just wasn’t comfortable talking about sex with someone I wasn’t actually having sex with.
I didn’t think that was too much to ask but they seemed to think it was cute.
And a bit weird.
From their expressions, I had a feeling they thought I was uptight.
“Deal.” Amanda had agreed too easily and I knew I should worry about that when she started swinging the bag of pastries in her other hand. “When are you going to tell our sexy baker friend that you’re allergic to the goodies he keeps sending you?”
Oh.
The old lady conversation had definitely been easier.
Fuck.
“It would be rude?” And I hadn’t known him long enough to be a friend. I was just an awkward guy who worked down the street and who tripped over imaginary things when the sexy baker was around. “He’s very sweet and someone else always eats them.”
It’d been my fault but I wasn’t sure how to fix it.
The first time he’d asked me what my favorite goodies had been when I was a kid, I’d pointed to a croissant-looking thing with almonds on the top. I’d been honest, but the problem was that somehow as I’d grown up, I’d become allergic to almonds. They made my mouth tingle unless they were overly processed.
If Ben…no, Bex, had been older or uglier or just rude, I’d have been able to say something, but sadly he was none of those things. He was sweet and he made me stupid just by looking at me, and it got worse when he smiled. Yep, this was definitely all my fault, and one day when I got to be a real grown-up who could stand up for himself, I’d tell him.