desk and took in a ragged breath. He’d spent so long keeping this to himself, and he was horrified at how fast he’d cracked to a total stranger.
@thechametz: please don’t say anything about it on twitter. I’m trying to figure things out.
@SylentOfficial: that y u know how hard life is sometimes?
@thechametz: lol yes.
@SylentOfficial: send video w ur face. ASL need expressions.
Simon flushed red-hot but he wasn’t about to deny that request. Not just because it was Sylent, but also because he was right. He’d denied him half the language by showing only his hands.
Pulling up his webcam, he angled it at him and tried not to grimace at his face. He’d be such a disappointment, he knew. Sylent was never seen outside the company of gorgeous men with chiseled jaws and flawless skin. Simon was a little chubby and round-faced with a wide nose and full lips and freckles across his cheeks like someone had flecked brown paint at him. His hair hung in short ringlets over his forehead, and his age showed in his eyes.
But Sylent had asked.
‘Sorry about the other video. Thank you for talking with me tonight, I needed the chat. I hope things work out for you soon.’
He felt waves upon waves of panic as he attached the video to the chat, then hit send. His breath lodged in his chest as it loaded. It was less than twenty seconds long, but Sylent was taking triple that.
Then the chat bubbles rose and fell, and rose and fell. Then disappeared.
Simon was about to close his laptop with a hard slam and regret every choice he ever made up to this exact moment when a video popped up in response. His hands shook violently, but he managed to click it open anyway.
There was loud noise in the background—kids laughing somewhere, a dog nearby barking. But none of that mattered. None of that, as Sylent filled the screen with his wide shoulders and massive biceps. His lips curled into an easy smile as his impossibly large hands lifted and signed with a practiced grace Simon would never have.
‘Thank you. You have a great face. Your message meant a lot to me. Can we talk again soon?’
Simon would have fainted, if he’d been a man with a weaker constitution. As it was, he could barely get his fingers to cooperate as he clicked on the chat and started to type.
@thechametz: I’m Simon.
@SylentOfficial: Rocco.
@thechametz: I have to sleep soon, but we can talk later.
@SylentOfficial: looking forward to it. Good night.
Simon closed his laptop for lack of any other response, then slid into his bed because he knew his knees wouldn’t support him. This was the man who starred in every single one of his fantasies. A man that was safe to want because he would never, ever be in Simon’s orbit. But now, here he was. Now, he knew Simon’s name.
And he’d given Simon his.
It would probably come to nothing. Rocco was upset, and probably lonely, and probably tired of the drama around him. Simon was just space from that, and he couldn’t blame the man for needing it. He was happy to provide, in fact.
Turning on his side, Simon’s erection brushed against his sheets, and Rocco’s face appeared in his mind. This time, though, it was real. It was without stage makeup and good lighting. It was soft, and sleepy, and a little sad. And that smile was just for him.
He breathed, and he imagined those hands touching his thighs. It was all he needed—the only thing he needed. He spilled against the sheets, then gulped down the breath he was holding and uncurled his hand.
Simon could not be this man’s friend. He wouldn’t survive it.
Chapter Four
Rocco hadn’t dealt with this level of frustration since before Eric—and that alone was enough to send his vision blurry in white-hot rage. Four interpreters had turned him down due to the nature of his work conflicting with their personal beliefs, and he wanted to shake them all and ask them what right they had to decide who was worthy of communication and who wasn’t. But it was pointless.
The best he could do was file complaints and ask Lorenzo to keep working. Lorenzo wasn’t the most fluent, but he was by far the one who had worked hardest out of all the siblings. No brother wanted to talk about fucking in front of their siblings though, even if it was for work, but that was the position Eric put him in.
Especially now that Xander