“Not funny,” I said. “Not even close to it.”
Something in my tone made him sober quickly. “Sorry. But what on earth made you think you needed to give me the just sex speech? I’m well aware of what last night was about.”
“Yeah? Maybe you could tell me.”
“Copains de baise. I don’t know the phrase in English. Friends who fuck.”
“Fuck buddies,” I provided.
Laurent snapped his fingers. “That’s it. We are fuck buddies. Nothing more. You will be gone soon.”
“Will I?”
He sat back in his chair. “You will. There are only so many days you can visit without a visa. How many is it?”
“Ninety.”
“There you go, then. I cannot have the pleasure of your company for longer than ninety days.”
“I could apply for a work visa.”
“To apply for a work visa, you must first have work.”
“True.” I did a quick calculation in my head. “I’ve only been here for fifteen days.”
Laurent frowned. “Is that all? It feels longer.”
I winked. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Now that we’d both agreed we were on the same page, I could slip back into being flirtatious. “That speaks of how comfortable you feel with me.”
“You could take it as that,” Laurent said. “Or you could take it the way I meant it, that a day with you can sometimes feel like a lifetime.”
“Which is a good thing. Better than time flying by to leave you old before you know it.”
Laurent went to check his watch, the same grimace occurring when he realized there was nothing on his wrist. “It’s too early for such a philosophical discussion, and I need to get ready for work. Some of us need a job to keep a roof over our head. I, unfortunately, do not have a brother whose place I can move into when he’s out of town.” He finished his coffee and went to get up.
I grabbed his wrist to pull him back into the seat. “Don’t go. Call in sick.”
Laurent frowned. “And do what instead?”
“Me.” The immediate flare of heat in Laurent’s eyes assured me that my proposal wasn’t that ludicrous. “You can teach me some stuff.”
“You keep using that word ‘stuff.’ You’re going to have to learn to say what you really want. It’s tiring to have to keep guessing.”
“A blow job lesson,” I said. Letting go of his wrist, I sat back in my seat. “That’s your choice. A day at work, or a day spent with my mouth on your cock where you can tell me exactly what to do.”
There was a moment of frozen stillness before Laurent’s lips twitched up into a smile. “You’re a terrible influence, Cormac King.”
I returned his smile. “Is that a yes?”
“I never phone in sick. Even when I am sick.”
“Seems like you’re owed some time, then.”
A long pause. The longest of long pauses. “Perhaps I am.”
The blow job lesson went well. Really, really well. Apparently, I didn’t have much of a gag reflex. That, and I was a dedicated student and a fast learner. Laurent certainly didn’t have any complaints by the time I’d finished with him. None he was brave enough to voice, anyway.
After we both had orgasms and napped for a couple of hours, going anywhere seemed pointless. Plus, there was the small matter of us having been too busy to resolve the underwear situation. It seemed I was staying another night. Fuck buddies could stay over, right?
