The buzz of an incoming text vibrated through my hand.
Addy: Are you brooding, plotting, or ignoring me?
Always brooding and plotting, but never ignoring you, Little Devil.
Why would I have gone through all this trouble to be able to talk to you, just to ignore you?
That was true in more ways than I would have liked. If she knew how much further this ‘trouble’ really extended, she’d be running for the hills.
Addy: You say things like that and expect me not to overthink them?
I expect you to do exactly what you’re doing. You’re very consistent that way.
Addy: Rude.
Addy: Also, untrue. I’m super inconsistent, you can literally ask anyone.
I think it’s accurate. You might be inconsistent to them, but not to me. Maybe I’m just different from the rest.
I rolled the phone in my palm, grounding myself in the weight of it.
Addy: You’re very intense for someone lying in a prison bunk.
You have no idea.
Tell me what you’re doing right now.
Addy: Depends. Are you asking politely or doing this thing where it sounds polite but absolutely isn’t?
I shifted on the mattress, feeling the tension roll in, low and familiar.
I don’t do polite very well.
I’m curious how close you are to thinking about me.
Addy: This feels suspiciously like foreplay for someone who can’t touch me.
I laughed quietly under my breath.
You’re assuming foreplay requires hands.
Addy: So what, then? You just think very hard at people until they get uncomfortable?
I smiled despite myself, which felt like a personal failure.
If that worked, I’d have been free years ago. Trust me, Little Devil, the only uncomfortable thing you’d experience is me stretching you open.
Hypothetically, of course.
The block was quiet now. Every sound was amplified, and every thought seemed louder than it should have been.
Addy: Sure, buddy. You know this is kind of what dudes with pencil dicks say.
When you think about it, foreplay is anticipation and attention. It’s letting someone know exactly where your focus is and refusing to look away.
Addy: You’re being very confident for a man with a steel bed and a curfew.
Confidence isn’t situational in my world. It’s just practice.