time in my busy life to pretend to like shit I don’t just to low-key throw shade at your job, you haven’t been paying attention. I don’t say shit I don’t mean. I’m an adult. I love this movie. If you don’t like it, we can watch something else. Would you like to watch something else, Day?”
“No,” Day managed, gaze falling away.
“You sure?” Jackson asked, voice gentle. “I should have considered you might find this a little…triggering, but you seemed like you really love what you do, so I thought it would be okay.”
“I do love what I do.” For the most part. “I just don’t really know how to deal with people who don’t instantly treat me like a circus sideshow or an easy hookup.”
Jackson gave him an almost feral grin. “When you look like me, all hookups are easy. Now, shut up and let's watch this movie.”
Jackson proceeded to eat his fill, while Day picked bits here and there, far too nervous to eat for some reason. Time ticked by, the blue sky fading to pinks and oranges then navy before finally settling on a star-filled, cloudless inky black. By the time the movie ended, they’d both settled in the same corner of the couch, not touching but close enough for Day to feel the heat of Jackson’s body.
When the credits started to roll, Jackson looked over at Day, close enough for him to lean forward and seal their lips together if he truly wanted to. “Do you want to watch something else?”
“I should probably start getting ready to film,” Day murmured, dipping his head closer as if he couldn’t help himself.
Jackson reached out, his thumb tracing just below Day’s bottom lip. “Anything I can help with?”
Day didn’t think about it, just maneuvered himself into Jackson’s lap in one graceful move, cupping his face in his hands. “You could film with me, be my Daddy for real tonight?”
“I don’t have the kind of job where I can be seen on camera.”
“I’m not going live tonight. I’m just filming for my OnlyFans. You could wear a mask. Hide your face. I’ll even show you the video before I post it so you can see there’s nothing anybody could use to identify you.”
“I’m not going to deny there’s something here between us, but I don’t know if I want to share it with the entire world.”
“I’m flattered you think the entire world subscribes to my OnlyFans account, but, truthfully, it’s only about five hundred people.”
Jackson smiled. “Maybe when you’re done filming your video, you can stop by my room and we could talk more about what this might be between us.”
Day sighed, resigned. “I’ll think about it,” he said, forcing a blasé tone. “And if you change your mind, my door will be unlocked. Just come on in.”
Jackson closed the distance between them, soft lips sliding over Day’s in a kiss that stole his breath. “I’ll think about it.”
Day rose on shaky legs, doing his best to make a quick retreat. “You do that.”
Jackson spent the next half hour putting away the leftovers and actively not thinking about Day stripping down and getting ready to put his hands all over his tight little body for the enjoyment of strangers. The idea of it intrigued Jackson. Day intrigued Jackson. So ballsy, so brazen, so hot for Jackson he worried they might have set the couch on fire if Day had straddled his lap for one moment longer.
There was something about Day that triggered this weird gut instinct in Jackson that had always served him well. Jackson didn’t believe in love at first sight or fairy tale romances, but he did believe there was such a thing as soulmates, and when you find that one person you just know. He’d never tell a single soul that he had decided, while in line at the grocery store, that mouthy, brazen, beautiful Dayton Daniels was the one for him. He especially would never tell Dayton. Still, if Jackson was a betting man, he’d put money on Dayton being his person.
Jackson was a patient man. He’d waited a long time to meet somebody who stirred that feeling in him, the one his mom said she had for his father the day she first laid eyes on him. And now that Jackson had found it, he had no fucking idea what to do about it. Jackson was good at reading people. It was his fucking job, and it didn’t take an expert to see that Dayton