shown me.
Speaking of my idiot ex. I was currently awake and very irritated because he’d been calling me for the last twenty minutes after sending a flurry of text messages I refused to read. My plan was to ignore him altogether because I had nothing to say to him, and I knew he wouldn’t call after midnight if he was sober or in his right mind.
But Salinger, who was awake when the harassment started, was having none of it. Before I could stop him, he leaned over me and plucked my furiously vibrating phone off the nightstand, swiping to answer the call even as I protested and reached for his hand.
“Why are you calling Maren in the middle of the night? She doesn’t even want to talk to you when it’s a reasonable hour.” There was no greeting, and there was none of the softness in his voice or his expression that was usually there when we were in bed together.
Erik responded at top volume. I couldn’t make out his exact words, but I knew he was swearing and raising hell. I doubt he expected anyone else to answer my phone, let alone another man. I sighed and lifted my eyebrows as Salinger chuckled at whatever was happening on the other end of the line. Since we were both awake now, and he looked particularly delectable wearing nothing but the white bed sheet bunched up around his waist, I leaned closer and dragged the tip of my index finger across the tattoo that decorated his stomach. Sometimes it looked like his abs had abs when he flexed and moved just right. He was in really great shape for someone who hardly slept and lived on takeout food. He mentioned that Jeno kept him on a pretty strict workout routine that was good for wearing out his body so he could sleep a little, but also took commitment and mental fortitude. So, even if I didn’t see him breaking a sweat regularly, the evidence was in his lean, muscled build that barely had an extra ounce of fat anywhere.
Oh, to be in your twenties with a metabolism that worked in overdrive. I didn’t often think about the difference in our ages, but when I had to count calories to make sure I could fit into whatever outfit I had waiting for me, it occurred to me that we were definitely in different phases of our lives. Luckily, I think we both found the differences interesting rather than burdensome. The divide between us when we were younger was too large to surpass; our differences in experience and understanding were too vast back then. Nowadays, we were on more equal footing when it came to having lived and learned.
I heard Salinger suck in a breath as my finger dipped into the divot of his bellybutton. He shifted under my hand when my fingers slipped along the golden happy trail that darted underneath the fabric of the sheet. His hair all over was an interesting mix of blond and brown, light in some spots, dark in others like it couldn’t make up its mind. I always thought the hair on the top of his head was courtesy of an expensive stylist, but I knew now the unusual mix and match were God-given and unique to Salinger Dolan.
“It doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is Maren obviously doesn’t want to talk to you, so leave her the fuck alone. Don’t you have a pregnant wife at home you should be taking care of? Dude, you are one big fucking mess. Get your shit together.” He hissed a sound through his teeth when I moved the blankets away from his waist, revealing the ruddy tip of his cock. It was already semi-hard, looking as impressive as ever. When I touched the tip with my finger, he muttered my name and held the phone away from his ear as Erik exploded with a new round of profanity. This time it was so loud I could hear every dirty word and the unhinged rage that colored his tone.
I had no idea why he suddenly reached out, but I knew I had no need for whatever it was he was trying to bring back into my life.
Salinger’s dick twitched, and his eyebrows lifted as I circled the tapered head with the pad of my thumb. His stomach clenched, muscles locking as his body reacted underneath my hands. He really was a beautiful man from head to toe. Regardless