CHAPTER 8

Jamie

S o, turned out maybe I was that shallow, or at least, maybe just a little bit shallow. Because here I was, waking up once again beside Mateo. He was still fast asleep, the sheets tangled at the bottom of the bed and my eyes free to feast on the marvel of his body. His notably unmarked body which was going to be a fairly big challenge if we kept this thing up between us. His body was a wonderland, his ass as smooth as the rest of him, two perfect orbs that I wanted to spread and feast on.

I don't know why I was so surprised to find myself back here, back in his bed after a night of sex that was so hot I was terrified I had been ruined for all other men. I'd been fully prepared to bid him goodnight last night, been prepared to walk away from him and maybe not even ever see him again.

But he had bewitched me once more, that same powerlessness flooding over me that had kept me rooted to the spot on his front verandah there, wanting him so very badly I could barely think. I remembered the exact moment my dick had decided to start making all my decisions, my rational mind quietening the longer I stood on the foot of that verandah looking at the guy who should have been immortalised by one of the classic renaissance artists.

But I was snared again and I found it was difficult to have any sort of regret after what we had shared. Maybe I would just become one of those guys who could do casual hookups. Maybe I could do that if it meant I got to have nights like the one I just had with Mateo.

He was really starting to become quite a problem for me. An addiction even that I was too weak to stay away from.

But I had a shift to get to so I reluctantly pulled myself out of his bed, wishing I had another hour to spare so that I could wake him up and we could fuck again. And maybe even again after that.

I pulled my clothes on and picked up my shoes, tiptoeing down to the kitchen the way I had last time I'd been in this house. It was still silent around me and I took the moment to look around, actually seeing the house for the first time.

It was a cute set up, the whole place decked out in that rustic beach style with mismatched furniture and lots of rattan. The kitchen cabinets were a distressed green and it looked so homely that I kind of didn't want to leave.

I found my phone number still tacked to the fridge in the exact same spot I had left it and I couldn't help myself from walking closer and picking up the pen. I added ‘ please call me, Mateo ' with a little love heart to the note and then smiled when I thought of Mateo seeing it. He'd probably be annoyed, probably let out a huff and an eyeroll but that was fine too. I kind of liked evoking that reaction from him.

That was where Rob found me a moment later, a knowing smile on his face as he moved around me for the coffee machine.

"Jamie. Surprised to see you here again," he said, that teasing smile on his face.

"Yeah I'm sure you're really shocked," I returned. He just laughed at that as he made himself a coffee from the machine.

"You sneaking out again?" he asked as I tied my shoes.

"Trying to. Failing again."

"You want a coffee before you go?"

"Nah I'm good. I've got about an hour before my shift starts so I'll grab some coffee and breakfast on the way."

"If you're sure."

"Yeah. Well, it was nice seeing you again, Rob," I grinned.

"You too," he replied. He hesitated before saying, "Hey, be patient with him. He just needs a little time and a little effort but I get the feeling you could be really good for him."

"Is that what you think?" I couldn't help laughing.

"Yeah. He's … complicated, I know. But he's also worth it." This was the friend speaking now, the loyal guy standing up for Mateo. I could only appreciate that.

"I know he is, Rob," I agreed. "But I'm not quite sure I'm what he's looking for. Or specifically who he's looking for."

Rob sighed deeply. "Just, don't give up on him too quickly. You might just be exactly what he needs."

"I'll try but I don't even have his number. He's never given it to me."

"Okay well I will rectify that for you right now," Rob said, reading my number off the note pad on the fridge as he pealed off a text. I heard my phone ping a second later and I knew he had just given me what I both dreaded and yearned for at the same time. A way to contact Mateo.

"Thanks, mate," I said anyway. We shared a brief smile and then I turned and headed for the pink front door. Nick was there on the other side, waiting for Rob as he leaned up against a red Jeep Wrangler as the dawn light spread across the sky. His hair was still wet and I wondered if he'd been out for a surf already. He looked the type.

"Hey, Jamie," he called, that pleasant smile lighting up his face. Nick really did seem to be a genuine friend to Mateo and I wasn't quite sure what to do with that. But I'd also never been the jealous type and I wasn't about to start all that now so I gave him a quick hello in return and headed for my car, wondering what on earth I was doing.

I gave it a week before I caved and texted Mateo. I'd tried to hold out so badly, wanted him to contact me first in a way that was really kind of pathetic for a healthy twenty-seven year old man who had managed to put himself through university and bought real estate. I was not sixteen and in lust with my first boyfriend like I remembered from those first all-consuming and confusing days. But try telling that to my rational mind when my body was reminding me on a daily basis how much it wanted Mateo.

I'd had a rough day at work. Bill and I had lost a patient in the back of the ambulance and we hadn't been able to revive him. We'd lost patients before but it never got any easier.

I was already two beers into the evening and I knew that wasn't the best or healthiest way to cope. Usually I loved living at home by myself but sometimes it sucked. We had a decent support program at work and I'd been reminded of the service after Bill and I had clocked off earlier this afternoon.

But I hadn't called the support line. Instead, I'd let my mind drift to thoughts of Mateo, the slide of his body against mine, the taste of his lips on my mouth. The indescribable feeling of being inside him.

Now that was the kind of therapy I could do with right now.

So I caved and texted him. I'd convinced myself that he was the kind of guy who liked to be chased and really, with a face like that I doubt he'd ever had to ask first. So I would swallow my pride and play his game.

Message

(Today) at 7:12pm

ME:

Hey stranger, what's up?

ME:

This is Jamie btw.

I waited all of a minute before my phone lit up with a ping and I was as pathetic as you might imagine as I scrambled to read it.

MATEO:

Did Rob give you my number?

I smiled inwardly at that response. I hardly knew the guy but that just seemed such a typical Mateo reply that I felt a little welling of fondness in my gut.

ME:

A good journalist never reveals

his sources.

MATEO:

I'll take that as a yes.

ME:

Take it how you will as long as you

take up my offer for a drink?

Bubbles appeared. Bubbles went. Bubbles appeared again and I wondered when I had stopped breathing.

MATEO:

Where? And when.

ME:

I can meet you somewhere in Espy?

Tonight? Tomorrow?

My heart waited up in my throat while Mateo drew out his response in the cruellest of ways. I was getting the strong impression that he liked having guys fall all over their feet over him. I was probably no better than all the others who had come before me. Still, I couldn't avoid the clammy hands and heart palpitations as his response finally came through.

MATEO:

I can do a coffee in Ives

tomorrow morning.

Okay. That was something I could live with even though I hadn't failed to note that he didn't want to meet up in his home town. Or at night time. I'd been prepared to drive up from Sorrento to meet him wherever or whenever he wanted but I could do a coffee at Ives Inlet. It was the town wedged in between Sorrento and Esperance anyway so it made sense.

ME:

Sounds perfect. I'll meet you half way.

10am. Cat's Cradle?

He didn't reply again but he put a little love heart response over my text so I took that as his agreement and tried to get my heart rate to settle down. Lucky I kept the AED machine around in case of emergencies but I had a feeling my current case of arrythmia had nothing to do with a medical episode and everything to do with the way Mateo, whose last name I didn't even know, made my heart race.

Time to rectify that tomorrow over a nice cup of morning coffee.