Normally, he had sex frequently enough that he wasn’t reduced to getting off by his own hand. He had a sinking feeling this wouldn’t be the last time he would take matters into his own hands while thinking of Crystal Webber.
• • •
Feeling somewhat less tense, Mark walked down the hallway toward his kitchen, where he spotted Denny sitting on a barstool drinking a cup of coffee and holding his iPad. He shook his head as Mark approached, looking vastly amused. Maybe the little bastard got lucky this morning while he had had to jerk off alone.
“Dude, I can’t believe you’re flittering now.”
Mark halted in the middle of pouring his own cup of coffee and raised a brow in question. Sometimes it seemed as if his cousin spoke a foreign language even though they were only a few years apart in age. “I’m sure I’ll be sorry I asked, but what’re you talking about?”
Denny turned his iPad around and pointed to Mark’s tweet from the previous night. “Flirting on Twitter—flittering. You sent a quote loaded with double meaning out to Crystal, didn’t you? I mean, come on—’hashtag Angel’? I felt sorry for you when I read it because I figured it would scare her off. Maybe make her think you’re some kind of serial killer. But then a few replies down I see where she completely called you scared and a fool.” By this point, Denny was almost falling on the floor, he was laughing so hard.
Mark barely resisted the urge to toss him out the door. The shit you had to put up with in the name of family was unreal. He’d fire anyone else for even a small piece of the daily insults that Denny heaped his way. Of course, he always gave as good as he got. That was what made their relationship work. Mark didn’t have to put on airs with his cousin, and Denny damn sure didn’t bother to adhere to the social codes of the employer–employee relationship.
“The only thing her reply proves is that she wants me to make a move on her. I sent the tweet to gauge her response, and it couldn’t have worked better.” Shooting Denny a pitying look, he added, “I’m sorry, my young friend, that you haven’t learned the fine art of seduction. It doesn’t all have to be dinner at McDonald’s, a movie, and then home by nine. Verbal foreplay is highly underrated.” He was actually pretty pleased with his slight until Denny began laughing even harder. The fucker was really starting to grate on his nerves this morning.
“Since when has the great Mark DeSanto bothered with seduction? They don’t call you the one-night wonder for nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been rather envious of the ease with which you pick up women. I swear to God, they literally fall all over themselves to ride your sheets for a few hours. You’d clean up as a gigolo. And I also realize that since you’ve never had to put the slightest amount of effort into finding female company, the whole thought of anything outside of screwing might be overwhelming. But I think if you decided to give it a try, then Crystal would be the perfect woman to help you remove your training wheels.”
Mark had finished his coffee and set his cup in the sink before he turned back to see Denny. “Can we go now, Dear Abby? I’ve actually got some work to do today if this session of Dating Advice for Losers is over.” The other man mumbled something under his breath as Mark tossed over his shoulder, “And I’m blocking you from my Twitter feed since you’re using it for evil instead of good.”
As they walked toward the car he figured he must be losing his mind because he couldn’t wait to toss something else out into the Twitter-verse and see what his Angel had to say. Hashtag pathetic, he thought with a grimace.
• • •
It had been a quiet morning for Crystal since her boss, Lydia, was still out of town. She loved working with the other woman and missed their daily chats. Lydia Cross was single and had just turned thirty. Lydia didn’t have anyone special in her life and wasn’t in a hurry to change that. She had been engaged to her high school sweetheart when he was diagnosed with cancer, and he’d passed away a year later. That had been almost three years ago and Lydia said that she still couldn’t imagine moving on with her life and dating someone else.
In that regard, Crystal had more in common with her than with Mia or Gwen, who were both in serious relationships. She hadn’t worked with Lydia for very long, but they had bonded almost from the start. Possibly, they each recognized that the other was lonely. They often went to a movie, dinner, or just to have a drink together in the evenings after work. Lydia was a beautiful woman with a fantastic personality. The only problem was that her heart seemed permanently broken. In her case, Crystal desperately hoped that time would heal her wounds or at least make them bearable.