Tyed

chapter twenty two

Tyler originally intended to, at some point in the movie, suck Colby's dick or something, but he never gets around to it because he gets kind of invested in the plot. The deception Colby was talking about isn't anything close to the deception Tyler would consider himself to be doing, but he sees the point, regardless.

Tyler doesn't move from the spot he's in for pretty much the whole movie. It's actually quite comfortable, and comforting, Colby's hand in his hair like this; the rest, sitting at his feet with a representative collar around his neck, is casual enough when he doesn't think about how anyone else would view it. When the movie's over, he's invited to stay or go home as he wishes, and he chooses to stay. They don't even have sex that night, mainly because they had quite a bit earlier; Tyler just sleeps in Colby's bed, and when he wakes up he realises it's the first time he's done that without having just had sex with the person he's sharing it with... maybe ever. He certainly can't recall another time off the top of his head.

When he gets dropped off about midday the next day, he's got a mixed bag of feelings. Giddiness from the date, an awkward knowledge that he's sinking way too easily into the BDSM parts of it, and a sharp reminder that his dad's getting out of prison in a month and he has to tell Trey that- well, by now, tomorrow.

He also can't get the thought that he's lying to Colby out of his head.

There's pretty much no one in Tyler's life who he's completely honest with. Kevin and Kali are both gone from Tyler's life, and there's no contacting either of them for different reasons. Trey is much more fragile than Tyler is. His relationship with his mother is far too strained and awkward now that Tyler's an adult. Nancy knows a lot, but not everything, because he's deceiving her in the same way he's deceiving Colby. Lachlen, he could probably honestly tell, since he's far enough removed that Tyler could cut him out completely if he had to but close enough that Tyler can bring him in as well; but Tyler doesn't want to have to explain his situation to anyone, especially not someone who used to, if not now, look at him with a romantic lens.

So by dinnertime Friday, Tyler finds himself doing the unthinkable, and answering that obnoxious, stupid email he got earlier in the week. From Ash, the guy who kept eyeing him up in the club and happens to know his secret because of his proximity to a guy who knows people who work with Trey and it's stupid that he knows, but he does. Why is it like this? Why is he the guy that Tyler can talk to?

His email is short and polite for how annoyed he is, and it doesn't take long for him to get one back. He's eating dinner with his roommates- who have, between them, decided to cover Tyler's food, since he's the reason they don't have to pay rent for another year- when he gets the response.

It's even shorter than Tyler's was. It just says call me and gives a phone number.

Tyler's not technically doing anything wrong or shady, but he's aware of Shouto's low opinion of him, and doesn't want to be perceived as such. He waits to call until he's back in his room, and it's picked up almost immediately. The large amount of background noise tells Tyler it's being answered through the bluetooth in a car.

"Hello?" Ash asks.

"Hi, it's me. Tyler. You just told me to call?"

"Oh, Tyler, of course." Ash laughs. "I'm in the car right now with my polycule, hope that's cool. I was going to invite you to come out with us tonight, and we can talk."

"Out?"

"We're not going too crazy, probably. Or at least we won't drag you along for the crazy." Ash chuckles. "But you don't have to at all. I can send them along, meet up with them afterwards."

"I don't have any money."

"Not a problem."

Tyler can't be blamed for having vices.