On his way home from the gym, Dylan dialed Sofia's number. After a few tones, Dylan heard her voice, which he did not expect. "Hey, Sofia here. Who's this?" She had evidently not saved Dylan's number in her phone. "Wicked. You actually picked up your phone. How's it going?" "Who's this?" Dylan felt frustrated she did not recognize him. "It's Dylan. How are you doing?" "Dylan? Right. Are you calling me to get another handjob?" Dylan grinned. Even though it was not even that funny, he could not stop smiling. Luckily, only his voice was transmitted through the phone. "I wouldn't mind, babe, you aced them." "Sounds to me like you're desparate." "I was kidding, babe. I was wondering what you were doing tonight. Would love to hang out." "I've got plans. I've got another date already." Dylan felt a little light in his stomach. Jealousy was never his friend. "Right. Who's it with?" "None of your business, sweety." "I bet he is less handsome than I am though." "You wish." Her voice did not seem as enthusiastic as he remembered. Dylan felt himself loosing control over the conversation, so he tried to get it back. "So, what about tomorrow night?" "Can't either." "Another date?" "No, I've got field hockey training quite late." "I could come afterwards?" "So you can stay over for the night?" Dylan grinned again. "Possibly. I'm certain you wouldn't mind some proper adventure. You still haven't tried mine yet." "No, thanks. I'm sure you can manage on your own." "I kinda need you for it though." "Why?" Normally, Dylan would have a witty response. Now, he felt uncomfortable being on the opposite side of the balance. Usually girls were into him right off the bet, so the only effort he had to do was during sex itself. "You're fucking gorgeous, babe. I'm sure we can have some proper fun together." "That sounds promising.. What d'you reckon we could do?" Dylan had not expected this response, but he started to smile. "I could give you a proper massage. I'm pretty good at them if I say so myself." "What else?" "I can't give away all my secrets right off the bet, babe, but I've got some more hidden talents for you to find out." "I'm intrigued." "Right? Just cancel your date tonight. We will have a much better time, trust me." "Or.. Shall I ask him to stay as well?" "Eh.. What d'you mean?" "I thought you might like that? I heard you liked to have threesomes. Didn't you have one last week?" Her words had struck him like thunder. Again, Dylan had fallen into her trap. She had played with him and had steered the conversation towards her own terrain. She had fully taken over control. Out of embarrassment, Dylan laughed. "What'd you mean, babe?" "You know exactly what I mean. Babe. Where they able to pleasure you well?" "That was nothing. They just needed a place to sleep. Nothing happened." "Sure. As if you can keep it in your pants." "I promise. They meant nothing to me." "I'm not convinced. Have a nice day." Click. She hung up.
Since a very long time, Dylan felt defeated. How the hell did she know about his night with Ashley and Samuel? He was certain they did not know her, or any of his friends knew her. Even more so, not only did she not want to see him, she also actively mentioned she was dating someone else.
Dylan put on his headphones and started to run, run as fast as his body could. The songs were blasting through his speakers and his surroundings flashed passed him in increasing speed. Dylan's energy levels kept rising even though he now ran at full speed. He was already almost home, but decided to do another round through the neighbourhood. After two more mindless rounds, his exhaustion finally overtook his frustration. He was out of breath, sweating from top to toe. He leaned against a lamppost, suppressing the feeling of vomiting. He felt his heart beating against his chest.
When he opened the door of the apartment, he saw Corey walking from the kitchen to his room. The last thing he wanted now was to talk with anyone. Corey looked up and smiled. "Hey, mate. You look dead. Where do you come from?" Dylan was still breathing heavily and did not care to respond. He looked furiously at his roommate and then walked further. Corey had to press himself against the wall to not stand in the way of Dylan. "Allright. Guess I see you later."
Dylan opened the door of his room to see Samuel laying on the couch, who looked up and smiled widely. "Man, you look exhausted. Did you have a good session?" Dylan threw his gym bag in the corner and took off his sweaty shirt. "Can you make some dinner?" Samuel seemed to understand the hint and left him alone. He started putting on his shoes while Dylan was undressing himself further.
Dylan did not think about anything in particular, only that he wanted to shower and clean himself. However, the face and voice of Sofia were clearly imprinted in his thoughts. He took of his boxers and went to the bathroom. He locked the door after getting a final glimpse of Samuel grabbing a shopping bag. He put the cold water on and went into the shower. The burning cold felt liberating. The only thing he felt was the freezing liquid on his skin.
After an unknown period of time had passed, Dylan came out of the bathroom and took a towel from the closet. He dried himself off and wrapped it around his waist. He felt a lot better already. Most of his high energy levels were gone and he was now more calmly angry at himself. He wondered how he fucked up so badly, but decided it was not worth the effort to think about. His frustrations were still very much present, but he was able to redirect them into more manageable thoughts.
He laid down on the couch and grabbed his phone. Mindlessly, he opened Tinder. He looked through his matches, but did not find anyone particularly pretty. He started swiping. As expected, most girls were way below his standards, but the addictive feeling of hoping to find someone proper weighed heavier. After a while, he was matched to a few girls who were decently good-looking. He started the conversations with a simple 'Hey' and continued to chat with those who happened to be online. It did not take long before he managed to get their phone number and the ritual continued. He flirted with them, more obvious than usual, and if the conversation went well, he would send a picture of him laying in his towel. He urged them to send something in return, which two girls did. One of them looked worse than her pictures pretended her to be. In a manner that was all but subtle, he broke off the conversation. The other was allright. She had sent a suggestive picture of herself still fully clothed, but with a promising cleavage. 'You look fit as hell, babe. You seem like a naughty girl. Why don't you come over tonight for some good dick.' 'Haha you're funny.. I'm not gonna promise to have sex on the first date, but we could meet up.' 'Let's do 22h.'