Read Online Sunset Park by Santino Hassell - Free Book Online Page B

discomfort. It had unnerved me at first, but now I liked it. Even if his silent staring encouraged the whisper in my head that insisted this felt a little bit like adolescent courtship. Buying me ices in the park and then taking me somewhere private—how sweet. Unfortunately the locale likely had more to do with him wanting to hide me from his friends than anything else.
    “Are you that embarrassed of me, Raymond?”
    “Nope.”
    “Then why are we hiding in this gazebo?”
    He licked a stray drip of red syrup from his index finger. “Because I want to sit in the shade, you idiot.”
    “I think you’re a liar. You’re embarrassed that I showed up because I’m so blond and gay.”
    “Yeah? I didn’t know you were a psychic.” Raymond threw his balled-up cup at my face. “All I asked is why you’re here. No need to get dramatic like a teenage boy with a Linkin Park CD.”
    “You also gave me the death glare of doom. You wouldn’t even let me talk to your friend!”
    “Because he kept talking shit about me and Crystal.”
    I finished my ice, doing more licking than biting since he was dead set on watching me the entire time. The way his eyes followed the path of my tongue reminded me of our conversation in the new apartment. The one where Raymond had admitted to being curious before proving it with filthy, rough-trade porn. Bi -curious. The very notion was so far-fetched that I kept telling myself it had to be an elaborate practical joke. But it wasn’t. I could tell by the way his body had reacted to the video, and even now—the way he watched me so openly, not caring how it came off or what I thought about his attention. Either he was curious about what else a guy could do with his tongue, or he was just hard up.
    “So…,” I drawled, “are you bent out of shape over that Crystal girl?”
    Raymond snorted. “No.”
    “Are you sure? You’re in a mood .”
    “Nothing to be upset over. We had a good thing for what it was.”
    I waited for him to elaborate and gestured broadly when he didn’t. “And what sort of thing was that?”
    Raymond tilted his head against the wall. “I had the good weed, she did all the talking, I had the video games, and she sucked my dick after I spent an hour making her come.”
    “An hour ?”
    His lips curled in a dirty smile. “Women can come all night. And I’m good with my fingers.”
    I knew the tone and the lowered pitch of his voice wasn’t meant for me, but my dick didn’t care. It twitched and hardened when Raymond wet his lower lip. I followed the movement, transfixed by the sheen of saliva that stayed behind. He had to know the effect he was having on me with only a few words.
    I wore my arousal on my face like a badge, flushing like a kid who had never talked to a pretty girl before. Or in this case, a hot guy. Raymond wasn’t stupid—he knew exactly what he did to me and what he did to everyone with the inclination to look at him twice. But the steadiness in his gaze made it clear he didn’t mind.
    I couldn’t believe it. Bi-curious.
    “Sounds like a good setup.” I dragged my fingers over the floorboards. My fingertips rubbed against deep ruts and the thinner, more deliberate scratches of someone carving their name into the wood. “Maybe she was waiting for you to make it official instead of a casual thing.”
    “Nah.” The moment broke with a simple, sardonic syllable. “I was a good fuck, but I’m not official material. She got herself a real grown-up man with a real grown-up job. Good for the long term. If she comes back to me, it will only be so I can make her squirt.”
    “That is so pessimistic. You are morose today.”
    “I’m being realistic,” he replied with a shrug. “I know what I’m good for, and I know what I can offer. Not much.”
    I wanted to argue, but I always hesitated when it came to Raymond. Once, when his brother had been spiraling from grief after the death of their father, I’d tried to be supportive, and Michael