He had a super extra smart TV that he could apparently listen or watch just about anything on. I saw the Audible app and clicked on it for the hell of it.
The first seven titles were mine.
Not my lit fic ones, either. All seven were my gay romance reads.
Holy crap.
I tossed a look over my shoulder back at the kitchen, and saw he was still puttering around. I click on the first title and…there were bookmarks. About ten of them. I navigated to the first one, and checked the volume before hitting play.
Ihatedlistening to my voice, but there it was quietly rising out of the speakers at one of the dirtiest parts of the book I had narrated. I skipped to the next. Same thing—filth. They were all marking the dirty parts of the books.
“What are you doing?”
I slammed on the power button and whirled up and off the couch. Chase was standing in the door holding plates and the Thai food. “Uh…”
He slumped a bit, and dropped the food on the coffee table. “Here. Enjoy. I’ll get the drinks.” He turned to walk back to the kitchen.
“Chase.”
He stopped. I took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry. I saw my name and you were so excited about my lit fic book, I thought…” I took a deep breath. “I was curious what you were bookmarking in the other titles.”
Shaking his head, he kept walking.
Shit, fuck,damn.
I stood in the middle of his living room, looking around like an idiot, trying to figure out what to do. As soon as I heard the first bit of dirty dialogue, I should have just quit the app and went to the regular programing. Pollux whined from where he was on the couch.
The first thing I should’ve done after that humiliating move was just grabbed my dog and left.
I didn’t.
He walked back in, and sighed sitting down.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “That was wrong. That was an invasion of your privacy and I’m sorry.”
He pursed his lips. “It’s really not all that different than me going through your pictures when you’re not there.”
“I don’t want this to be awkward.”
He tossed his head back. “Oh that ship sailed when I realized you’re Marcus Chastain, award winning audiobook narrator.”
“Wait, when did you realize that?” I was genuinely confused.
“The first night I walked Pollux.”
“I thought you only knewToo Far?”
Chase rolled his head to the cushion on the back of the couch and laughed. “I bought that because I bought all the other ones.”
Oh,shit. I plunked my ass back on the couch. “So this has been slightly awkward for you all along. I’m just boarding the awkward boat now.”
He let out a breath. “Yeah. I guess we could say that.”
“So, uh…you like gay romance, eh?”
The laugh he let out peeled through the room, startling my dog—and me, to be honest.
