He was still clicking around the internet.
Shanes hopes of finding anyone willing to date him were non-existent. He had recieved lots of messages, true, but they all wanted to know how big his cock was and could he cum more than once? Whether or not he was uncut and whether he was a grower of a shower. He didn’t have time for this shit.
Why could no one talk to anyone anymore? We all did it, clicked around on the web and wrote our true feelings out instead of saying them out loud to people who would listen. He was sick of this, sick of being judged by people before they even knew him. Had he posted that he was a millionaire, he would have people lined up at the door.
The truth was that Shane’s last relationship had left him broken. Everything had been going so wonderfully. He had been with Derrick for five years, they were talking about marriage. Then Derrick had come home and dumped the bomb, pieces of which still burned.
“We have to talk.”
Derrick looked serious and grim. Shane wondered what he had done now, what he was at fault for. Derrick never said ‘we need to talk’ unless it was serious. Shane tried to put on a relaxed face, but at the sound of those four words, his whole face felt as if it were constipated. It was as if an illness were moving though his body, making him cold and hot all over. “Sure babe, what is it?”
“It’s us.”
“What about us?” That dread came on him quickly now. He was frozen inside, knowing that the sorrow of whatever came next would melt the ice, leaving him in a puddle. “What’s wrong babe? You can tell me.”
“I met someone else.” Derrick said. He couldn’t look at Shane. Whereas Shane’s body was filled with ice that was melting, Derrick was an iceberg.
“Who is it?”
“Well, actually…” Derrick had the gall to look sheepish. “It’s Steven. We’re back together.”
“Steven as in your ex-husband Steven? When did you get back together?”
There was silence for a moment before Derrick spoke. “We never stopped.”
Shane wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t this. Not this. Never this. “You mean, like, I’m the other man?”
“I’m sorry, Shane. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“Well you did a bang up job on that.” Despite telling himself he wasn’t going to cry, he did. It was as if all of the melting ice inside of him was pouring out of his eyes. The tears started and didn’t stop. He stood and almost fell and Derrick reached out to catch him. “Don’t touch me.” He said. “Not ever again.”
Shane had run around the apartment that he shared with Derrick, gathering his most prized pocesions. He grabbed some clothes and took a cab to a hotel, making sure to slam the door behind him. He hadn’t spoken to Derrick for three years. He had moved into one of the basement apartments in 69B.
Shane had meant for it to be only for a year, but it had turned into three. He didn’t like his life. He worked at a call centre and lived alone. Something had to change quickly or he didn’t know what he’d do. He had lost himself, some part of himself, when Derrick broke his heart. He was working on repairing it, but doing a piss poor job of it.
As he was sitting in front of his computer, there was a knock on his door. Shane sighed, knowing who it was before he opened the door. Rex stood there wavering and wobbling slightly. He looked, is possible, drunker than he ever had before. The smell of booze coming off of him was strong enough to peel paint.
“He man.” Rex said. He held out his fist for a bump and Shane bumped it.
“What do you need, Rex?”
“What?”
“What do you need?”
“Didn’t you want something? I thought you knocked on my door.”
“No, Rex, this is my apartment. Yours is next door.”
“Is it?” He looked at the numbers on the front of Shane’s door and his own. “Shit, you’re right.”
“Glad we established that. What can I do for you?”
“Someone took my dog, my dog Roswell.”
“I know, you told me that yesterday. Has there been any news? Do you know who did it?”
“I thought for a moment that I had done it, but that doesn’t make sense, how could I make my own dog go missing?
There was screaming coming from the floor above them, shouts and screaming. It made Shane shiver. It didn’t sound good. “What’s that Rex? What’s going on?”
“How should I know? I’ve been drinking and missing Roswell for the past hour. Stay strong dude, let me know if you see my dog.”
“Will do, Rex.”
Shane closed the door with a sigh. He was about to go see what all the fuss was about upstairs when his computer pinged!
“Holy shit.” Shane said. He ran back to his computer and saw that someone had replied to his profile. “I guess miracles do happen.”
He clicked open the message and, almost immideatly, fell in love. He was looking at a picture of one of his all time favorite authors, Justin Cane. He wrote mega best selling gay romace books and Shane had joyfully devoured every one of them. It took Shane a moment to realise that Justin was writing to him and it wasn’t a prank or someone just using his picture as their profile pic. He clicked the message open:
Hello Shane!
It’s nice to finally see someone normal on here. I think I’ve seen you in my building actually. Are you the guy that lives in one of the basement apartments? Truth time, I’ve always found you hot. I couldn’t belive it when I saw you on here, I was certain that you were taken!
Listen, it’s rather bold of me, but do you want to come up to my apartment for coffee? My situation is a little complicated and I want you to know what you’re in for. My number is below if you want to call.
Hope you hear from you soon.
Xo Justin
Shane could hardly believe it. A phone number! He couldn’t remember the last time a guy had given Shane his phone number. And what a guy! He had a mad little crush on Justin Cane. He only hoped that he wouldn’t sound over excited when he spoke to him.
Picking up his phone before he chickened out and lost his nerve, Shane dialed the number. It rang a few times before it picked up. “Hello?”
“Justin? This is Shane.”
“Wow, that was quick.”
“A little too eager, huh?”
“No, it’s flattering. You sound excited.”
“It’s not often I get to talk to one of my favourite authors.”
“You could have talked to me any old time you wanted, handsome.”
“No, I couldn’t of. I’m too shy.”
“That makes two of us. Listen, can I tell you something right off the bat? I just want to be honest from the get go.”
Thinking of Derrick, Shane said: “It’s how I roll.”
“Do you want to come up for a cup of coffee? I just put a fresh pot on. It’s not Starbucks, but it’ll do.”
“Just try and stop me. You’re in apartment 201?”
“You’re shy, but you know where I live?”
“Hey, just because I’m shy doesn’t mean I’m not observant.”
Justin laughed and the sound sent electricity running through Shane. “Touche. A man who knows what he wants. So are you coming up?”
Shane thought of being alone for three years. He thought of Derrick and what he had done to him, how he had broken him and how he had basically hidden in his apartment, surfing the net, for three years. He thought of being alone and decided, all of a sudden, that he didn’t want to be alone anymore.
“Give me ten minutes.” Shane said.
69B 