Page 17 of Mate Match: Curtis & Jae
“Nah, I’ve got some stuff around here.”
“And Jae to call.”
“Yeah, and Jae to call.”
“You really like him, don’t you?”
I nodded, unable to voice just how much. It was too damn soon. He felt too far away from me. I had to put a lid on that before it became a problem.
“Go call him and I’ll see you soon, okay? Come over for dinner this week to tell Jennie the gossip in person for once.”
“Alright. Enjoy your movie. Give Milo a hug from his favorite uncle.”
“His uncle Steven would argue that title.”
“Whatever. Bye.”
They left, leaving me at a loss. It was far too early to call Jae, wasn’t it?
My phone beeped with a text. It was my work phone as well as my personal one, so I had to leave the sounds on.
Jae
When do you think we should go out again? Thank you so much for washing my stuff and charging my phone! You are so thoughtful x
A smile stretched across my face. Maybe this wasn’t one sided for a change.
Eight
Jae
Anxietyovermydecisionto leave Curtis’ place plagued me during the journey home. On one hand, it was far too soon to be meeting his family. We were barely dating! On the other side of it, wouldn’t it have shown I was in whatever we were building? Given Curtis a sign that I wasn’t just up for a heat partner and wanted more? Or would that have looked too desperate?
I settled on it looking desperate and that I’d made the right choice after a lot of back and forth with Brady. “You don’t want to come across as clingy,” he declared wisely when I explained the brunch thing to him. He thought it was sweet that Curtis did something like that with his family. I had to agree. It showed he was truly family oriented.
Brady had rushed to get to my apartment before me when I’d called him from the ride share for a gossip session. I hadn’t expected him to drop everything to visit me. Yet, he had, and worse, somehow, he’d gotten there first! Because he had his key,my friend was waiting for me, sitting on the couch like he’d been waiting there all day. Percy was on his lap, purring up a storm until he caught sight of me.
Percy sidled up to me, suspicious of the weird scents I carried for a moment. Once satisfied I was still his willing subject, he curled up in my arms as if trying to remind me never to leave him that long again. His purrs were loud over Brady’s silence. He was clearly just giving me a few minutes before he launched into his questions.
Finally, he broke. “So, details!” Brady made himself at home with a cup of herbal tea. He’d made a soothing cup for me, too. After my wake-up call, I needed it. Post-heat could be hard on me. I usually felt crampy and sore all over for a couple of days. Not so much this time around, just anxious about being away from Curtis, which was odd. I didn’t want to fuck up what we were building by being too much. I liked him. A lot.
“It was great.” I knew he wasn’t going to let me away with saying so little. No, my best friend was going to want everything!
He fixed me with a deadpan look. “You spent two nights with a stranger on the same day you met him. You even spent your heat with him! What was that about?” Brady wasn’t trying to shame me. He was the most sex positive person I knew. He just knew how out of character it was for me. We’d known each other a couple of years at this point. I’d told him so much about my life before Hwan, and he’d been there for the after part.
To be fair, my reaction to Curtis surprised me, too. “Um, I searched online for some clue why it happened. Apparently we’re very compatible. Something about his pheromones…”
“I bet!” He cackled, earning a glare from Percy. “You can hardly walk! He’s great in bed, then?” Brady’s eyes twinkled with mischief.
“Fantastic. Really, the best I’ve had. The way he worked me over… I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”
“Does he have a big—”
I slapped my hand over his mouth. “We’re not discussing that, alright?” When he nodded, I let go.
“Well, he certainly seemed into you.” I barely remembered seeing Brady at the restaurant because of how quickly my heat had come on. “He was cute! Just your type with those big muscles. So, do you plan to see him again?”
I didn’t even have to think about it. “Yeah. I’m hoping we can get together soon. Might call him later.” I tried to shrug casually. Pretty sure I failed.
