We Met Like This

by Kasie West

The website header was a backlit man, the shadows in front of him spelling out my agency name like we’d talked about. His features were too dark to make out any details, just like I knew they would be. But he looked amazing. His chest, despite the shadows, defined and muscular. The messy bed shone bright behind him, and images of being in that bed with him rushed into my mind along with the emotions attached to them. “You hate it?” he asked. “No … I…” I tried to slow down my racing heart, the throbbing between my legs, with two deep breaths and said airily, “You did all this after I left?” “Yes. I had some energy I needed to burn off,” he said, that sparkle returning to his eyes. “You didn’t?” “Wish you would’ve done this while I was still there.” I nodded toward the shirtless pic. He let out a throaty laugh. “Then you like it?” “It’s definitely worth a coffee, maybe two.” “I have an option with just the bed too,” he said. “No, I like half-naked men,” I teased. “And so will the rest of the world.” “Right,” he said, his voice tight. “No, but really. It’s great.” I studied his face. His unreadable expression was back. “You didn’t … I hope I didn’t … Did you feel guilted into doing that? If so, just the bed is fine. I don’t want you to…” Feel pressured into putting yourself online was how I almost finished that sentence, but instead I trailed off, letting him fill that in however he wanted. “No, I didn’t. The more I looked at the empty image with just the bed, the more I real...