Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
JoJo said, “A hot guy? I didn’t know you’re bisexual, Manny.”
“I guess I’ve never really talked about my personal life.” Probably because it was nonexistent. I paused to take a sip of juice before saying, “If I decide to go out with the person I met last night, it’ll actually be my first time dating a man.”
“Oh wow,” Vee exclaimed, “good for you!”
“It’s kind of terrifying,” I admitted. “I feel so clueless.”
Vee asked, “You mean, about having sex with a man?”
Damn, way to cut right to it. I felt the color rising in my cheeks as I told him, “About all of it, but definitely that, too.”
“You should do some research beforehand, especially if you plan to bottom,” he said, very matter-of-factly. “And don’t be afraid to talk about this with your partner. Do you think it might be his first time, too?”
“There’s literally no way.”
Tory had to be, what, about forty? That was a total guess, but he’d seemed so confident and mature that I couldn’t imagine he was much younger than that. And he couldn’t possibly be as inexperienced as I was. For one thing, he’d been on his way to pick up men at a gay bar when I’d thrown myself in his path.
“Well, even if he’s more experienced than you are, don’t rely on him to think of stuff like lube and condoms. It’s important to take responsibility for your own well-being,” Vee said, sounding a hell of a lot like a sex ed teacher. That made sense when he added, “I volunteer as a community outreach coordinator at a nonprofit LGBTQ health center. Please feel free to call me any time, Manny. I’m more than happy to answer any questions you might have.”
I muttered, “It’s kind of funny to be on the receiving end of a sex talk. I remember when Kit was a teenager, and I was trying to give him advice. He was mortified.”
Yolanda came to my rescue by saying, “And you look like you are too, so we should probably talk about something else.”
To my relief, the conversation shifted to the wedding. Everyone agreed it was perfect, and that the food had been incredible. After a few minutes of raving about the various delicacies we’d enjoyed, Vee got to his feet and said, “All this food talk is making me hungry, so I’m going to go finish up our brunch dishes. Manny, would you mind helping me by making some eggs?”
“I’d love to.” Maybe it was all those years working in the food service industry, but it was hard to sit back and let people cook for me.
As I followed him inside, he said, “Thanks for giving me a hand. I figure you’re the king of breakfast foods, since you run a diner.”
“I can’t even count the number of eggs I’ve cooked in my lifetime.”
“I can imagine. You’ve worked there forever, right?”
“Yeah. Kit was tiny when I first got hired. I worked my way up from busboy to cook to assistant manager, and then I bought the place about four years ago. My boss was going to shut it down when he retired, but I couldn’t let that happen.”
“You must really love it.”
“I do. But also, it needed to stay open for our customers. A lot of them are senior citizens who live alone, and they’d be pretty isolated without the diner. There’s really no place else to go in our neighborhood, so they come in for a chance to socialize, as much as they do for a meal.”
“I wish more business owners were as caring as you are. Kit told me about the free holiday feasts you make for your customers and the community. That’s so awesome.”
“I like being able to give back.” But I didn’t like talking about myself, so I picked up the carton of eggs and changed the subject. “Should I make cheese omelets for all of us?”
“Yes, please! I was going to suggest scrambled eggs, but that’s way better.”
I turned my attention to making the omelets, and Vee toasted some English muffins, sliced a loaf of banana bread, and took a big bowl of mixed berries from the fridge. Then Yolanda and JoJo came in and helped us bring everything out to the patio.
While we ate, JoJo mentioned Kit and Devon’s European honeymoon, and the conversation turned to traveling. I didn’t have anything to contribute, since I’d never been anywhere. But I enjoyed listening to Vee’s funny stories about the many places he’d been, and the time passed quickly.
After lingering over coffee, I told them I should probably get going, because I had a long drive ahead of me. The three of them walked me to the door, and Vee asked me to wait a minute and ran upstairs.
A minute later, he returned with a very full canvas tote bag, printed with the name of the health center where he volunteered. “Here’s a bunch of stuff I had left over from a community outreach event last week,” he said, as he handed me the bag. “Hopefully you’ll find some of it useful. The rest is just for fun.”