Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 31591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
I lurched forward when he pulled away; I wasn't too proud to chase his delicious lips, but Talon just placed a sweet kiss to the tip of my nose. When I peeled my eyes open, I found him looking back at me with a smile that made my balls tingle.
He brushed his hand through my hair and whispered,"That was perfect." Oh, thank God. He turned and lifted the box from my mattress and said, "Come with me; I want to hear all about you," before heading back towards the living room.
I was two steps behind him, staring at his thick, round ass and pulling on the hem of my sweater to hide what it was doing to me. We were seated next to one another on the couch again before I realized that I'd follow his ass anywhere, which was both worrisome and exhilarating.
Talon looked expectantly from the box to me and back again, but he didn't open it on his own. So, I put my hands on the cardboard, reminded him, "You promised not to laugh," and lifted the lid, revealing forty three graphic novels that I'd created over the years.
The early issues were black and white; just pen drawings scrawled onto copier paper and held together with staples, but as I got older, my work became more sophisticated. The most recent comics were full color with dialogue and action scenes that rounded out complete stories. Some were laminated to preserve the artwork, with the pages bound by plastic rings, while the majority were encased by soft book covers.
I held my breath as Talon lifted one of the newest books and flipped through the pages, tracing his fingers over the pictures. "You drew all of these?" I couldn't find my voice to answer, so I nodded as my heart pounded in my ears. "Brandon, these are incredible. How can you say that you're not an artist?"
"You really like them?"
"They're the best I've ever seen. And that's saying something because I'm kind of a comic book expert," he replied with a wink.
I stared at him with my mouth agape before managing, "I'm sorry, what?"
"Oh yeah. When I was younger, I read every comic book I could get my hands on, but Spiderman was my favorite." He winked and shook the book he held. "Until now."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing; most of my life, I'd been teased for my 'nerdy' hobby. And now, the sexiest man alive was nerding out right along with me. If only the assholes of my past could see this.
“I grew up on comics too,” I told him. “My grandpa raised me and he’d read me Marvel books every day. Before long, I was as big of a fan as he was. Every Sunday, we’d go to the same local comic book shop and get a new issue, and we would read it the same day. Then all week we’d talk about it and what we thought would happen in the next book.”
“That sounds really special,” Talon replied with a warm smile.
“It was my favorite thing in the world. That is until my fourteenth birthday, when he surprised me with tickets to a convention. We went all out; he dressed as Odin and I was the skinniest, wimpiest Thor of all time, but we had a blast." A smile crept over my lips as I remembered one of the greatest days of my life. "It was incredible to be in a place where I felt accepted and understood by so many people, but I also realized that was how my grandpa always made me feel."
"That's really beautiful. I'm glad you have someone so important to you."
"Had," I corrected sadly, and Talon covered my hand with his. I rested my head on his shoulder and drew comfort from his strength and support as I continued my story. "He passed away last year. I was visiting him for the holidays and could tell that he was moving slower, so I asked if he was sick. He swore he was fine, just getting older. But the day before I was supposed to come back to campus, I took him his morning coffee and found that he'd died in his sleep."
"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry." Talon let go of my hand to wrap both of his arms around me. "I can't imagine how hard that was."
"It was, but I'm also glad he didn't suffer, and that I got to visit him one last time." I blinked hard to try to keep my tears at bay; I hadn't talked about my grandpa's death to anyone since it happened. And although I was likely moments away from losing my shit in front of Talon, I wasn't embarrassed or worried. I didn't understand this weird, wonderful thing between us, but it was everything I needed, so why fight it?