2020-02-23 - Unfraughtening

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : 🌠🌚🌠

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Made it home safe.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : (the next morning) I'm terrible at this. I just woke up. Sorry, I crashed out. Glad you got in safe!

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I understand that being fraught with worry can be super exhausting. It's alright 😉

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Did you miss Cris' text too? Cuz. That'd be sad 🙁

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : How'd you know he texted me? I'm at his, actually.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : He texted me. And Joe. To let us know he's back home. It woulda been way weird if he didn't text you too.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Give him a kiss for me.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I can wait if it gets involved. 😉

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Heh, he's still asleep. I fell asleep quite early. Probably not the homecoming he wanted.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I dunno. I kinda mostly wanna sleep and cuddle after traveling.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Are you a cuddly sort?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I am an intimacy whore, so yes.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I like that description. 😃

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : And until recently, a serial monogamist.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Is this weird then? Us talking like this?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : No, I'm adjusting. It is a little odd the crossover that seems to be happening.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : And Joe was a bit of a surprise. He told me about him, but he somehow wasn't what I was expecting.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Crossover?

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Heh. Yeah. Surprised me too.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Elias mentioned that you and he had some...contact.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : We got our texts in pretty quick succession. I jokingly asked if his boyfriend just got back in town too oh hey isn't that interesting.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : We have, yeah.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I was worried that Elias hadn't been with anyone else since we got together and he was only humouring me on the open front. That's when he mentioned you.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : This is a weird feeling.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Not knowing what to say.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Oh it doesn't bother me, if that's what you're concerned about!

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Maybe a little.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I like you. I don't want to make things weird or uncomfortable or anything.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Oh don't worry. I was relieved when Elias told me he'd been with others.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Good. Sounds like things are going alright with both your gorgeous men, then?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : At the moment, yes. But that might change at any moment.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I'm not used to handling these sorts of things. As I said, former serial monogamist. Except for some infidelity here and there.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Wanna know a secret?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Mhmm?

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I'm kinda new to this too. Different reason, but.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Current rules are: respect lines, be good to people, have fun.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : On one hand, it takes the pressure off to be everything for someone. On the other, jealousy is a fairly natural human emotion.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Seems to be going alright. But it's kinda an experiment.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I'm not quite sure how people handle more than two.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Yeah, but jealousy can be balanced with trust and joy and reassurance.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Two is difficult enough.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I've got a secret for that, too, but I'm not sharing. Not yet. Maybe when I know ya better 😉

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Energy drinks and a good night's sleep?

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Not too far off, honestly.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I'm dating a 25 year old and a man with the libido of two twenty-five year olds. I'm barely keeping up.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Just remember he likes more than just your body.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : It's okay to take naps.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : More than okay. Bloody necessary.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : 😂

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : How old are you anyway?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : If I tell you, will you tell me?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Never mind you can Google me.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I'll tell you.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I'm 21.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : This town has a lot of old souls. I would've put you older

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Really regretting not telling you last night when I might've seen your face.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I'm 35.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : (...)

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Thank you.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Dear Cristobal sure does like variety in his lovers, doesn't he?

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Who doesn't?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Is my age surprising? I feel as if I look it.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : No. Your response to mine was.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I get a lot of the opposite response.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I've been trying to let go of my age-related anxieties. Elias has given me his version of shit for it.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Or maybe just feel like I do lately.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I appreciate it.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Who am I to judge? And we can be friends with an age difference.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I dunno.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I was pretty serious about this guy a little nearer to 40.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : But all this weird little stuff kept coming up until it became big stuff.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I often feel too old for Elias. But, do you want to know my secret?

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : And I feel like some of it was him still seeing me as a kid 😕

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I want to know all your secrets.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : My age anxieties mostly have to do with a reversal.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : What do you mean?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : My ex wife and I are close in age.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : But before her, I was the young one in many of my dalliances.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Totally not grinning at learning you like girls too.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : So my dating someone young just puts a point on the fact I'm getting older.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Married for three years, in a relationship for a total of five or so. And she was neither the first nor the only.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : But I haven't been with a woman since the divorce.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : How long ago?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Since it was final? Three years. But it was broken off in all but name for a year before that.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Do you not find women attractive anymore?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : It's not that.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : ( the text message indicator shows the ... of typing for several minutes)

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : The short version is that I hurt my wife rather badly. And my first forays back into anything with anyone were purely physical.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Which is easier with men.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I'm sorry. I feel like this is a lot when we've not known each other long.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Intimacy, right?

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Just don't be too off-put if I develop a little crush.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I'm a total egomaniac so I'd be hurt if you didn't.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Good <3

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I try very hard to be charming, after all.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : You make it look effortless 😉

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Well, to be fair, the accent does a lot of the work.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : And all the work you do when no one's looking. The clothes, the hair, the impeccable grooming.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : You've no idea.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : My hair is curly naturally.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Good. You keep thinking th--oh gods.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Alright. You win. 😆

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : You can see it on the jacket photos of my older books. When they made me wear my glasses instead of contacts and put me in a bloody cable knit sweater.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : But I DO know how much time and effort it takes to show the world exactly what you want them to see.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : They said a suit didn't work for a horror writer.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : No, that's okay.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : You're gorgeous. I'mma keep enjoying the you I know.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : You're too kind.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : And I do forget that women are the only ones who appreciate the effort that goes in to grooming.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Some more than others.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I like the world to know who I am when I step into it. No guessing.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : If I'm being honest, it's control for me. Control of how I'm seen.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : It's probably too early in the morning for this much confession!

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : This is a two-drink minimum conversation.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : First, yes. Exactly that. Like to the point that it is both uncomfortable and obscenely attractive that you get it.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Second. Are you asking me out for drinks, Mr. Taylor?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I'm always looking for an excuse to be social.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : But, as friends, yes? You're absolutely lovely but everything is already quite complicated.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Both with your entanglements with my pair of boyfriends and things in general.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Long as I can keep flirting with you, we're good. It doesn't have to go anywhere at all.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : My dear, I find it hard not to flirt.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Good 😉

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I learned long ago that with my suits and my accent and my manners, everyone was already assuming I was flirting.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : So might as well lean into it, yes?

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Definitely 😃

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Funny, too, cuz they're not your most charming features.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : It's the hair, isn't it?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I do get excellent volume.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : It's the way you can ask relevant, intelligent questions when presented with strange questions about drugs and dreams.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Your nerd talk game is on point.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Oh I don't know about that. I heard you talking about Sith on my way out last night with Joseph.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I couldn't have contributed to that particular conversation.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Cuz you're rebel scum?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Clearly I'm whatever ones always have English accents.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : So the bad guys?

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Best guys!

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I'm sorry, I'm bad at Star Wars.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : The Empire. They're allied with the sith. Lead by, depending on when.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : What are you good at?

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Uh. Sorry. Like, yes, go ahead and answer that all open-ended, cuz I'm into that too. But I meant geek-wise.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Well, I do write horror novels. So there's that!

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : But is that what you like to read?

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I read a bit of everything. Nonfiction, fiction. I'll read literature and science fiction. Whatever interests me and is written well.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Thinking maybe I'mma save my next question for our Just Friends Date Night.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I do play the piano. Which is nerdy in a different way.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : You've mentioned. Old jazz standards. You ever listen to any punk carabet?

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : https://youtu.be/_0-srFoSU10

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Do I look like someone who listens to anything with punk in the name?

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Everyone's got the potential for a little punk somewhere 😉

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Save the song for later if you're worried about waking Cris, but don't skip it.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : Hallmark of punk cabaret is often piano + drums. And a kinda sinister aesthetic.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : Seems tailor-made for this town.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I gotta go. Picking up my lil sister for lunch.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : We'll do those drinks soon. You enjoy your day. :sunshine:

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : I'm going to wake up Cris in a way he'll most certainly enjoy.

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : I'mma maybe spend some time thinking about that later 😉

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : What? He likes pancakes.

(TXT to Sparrow) Dante : (Devil emoji)

(TXT to Dante) Sparrow : :yum: