It was late afternoon when I heard a knock at the door.
I wasn't expecting anyone. For a moment, I even thought it might be a neighbor or a delivery guy, but when I opened the door, I saw Tyler standing in the hallway with two bags at his feet.
He looked different than usual.
Normally, Tyler had that kind of confidence that was hard to ignore. He was tall, well-built, with broad shoulders and a chest that looked too good even under a simple T-shirt. That day, he was wearing gray sweatpants and a fitted shirt that clung to his arms and torso, but his face didn't match the rest of him. He looked tense. Tired. A little embarrassed.
He looked at me, then down at the bags, as if he suddenly didn't know where to start.
"Matt... I know this is stupid, but my girlfriend kicked me out. Can I stay at your place for a while?"
For a second, I just looked at him.
Not because I didn't know what to say. More because seeing Tyler like that was something I hadn't expected. He had always seemed like the kind of guy who could handle anything. And now he was standing in front of me like someone who had just lost his safe place.
I stepped aside.
"Of course you can. For as long as you need."
He walked in quietly, as if he still wasn't sure he was really allowed to. I helped him carry his bags into the living room, then took two beers from the fridge. I handed one to him.
We sat down on the couch. Tyler held the bottle in his hand, but for a long moment, he didn't even drink from it.
"So what actually happened?" I asked carefully. "Why did she kick you out?"
Tyler lowered his eyes.
"We just had a fight."
"About what exactly?"
He shrugged, too quickly, too lightly.
"Well... we just weren't getting along. For a while. You know how it is."
I watched him for a moment.
I didn't push.
Not yet.
But I could see he was lying. Or at least not telling me everything.
The next day, Tyler went to the gym.
He said it casually, as if he wanted to get back to normal, as if the previous evening hadn't happened at all. He put on a sports hoodie, threw a bag over his shoulder, and said only,
"I'll be back in an hour or two."
When the door closed behind him, I stood in the living room for a moment, looking at the spot where he had been sitting earlier. Something about his story still didn't feel right. "We weren't getting along" sounded too empty. Too convenient. Like an answer prepared in a hurry so no one would ask any more questions.
I knew his girlfriend. We weren't close, but enough that I could knock on her door without feeling like I was doing something completely strange.
A few minutes later, I was standing outside her apartment.
She opened the door with a faint smile, but as soon as I mentioned Tyler's name, that smile disappeared.
"I wanted to ask about Tyler," I said carefully. "What actually happened?"
Her gaze hardened at once.
"What did he tell you?"
"That you had a fight."
"Did he tell you why?"
"He said you just weren't getting along."
She gave a quiet snort, with the kind of irritation that made it sound like the answer itself offended her.
"Oh, really? That's all? Shame he didn't tell you the truth."
I felt that I'd been right.
"Then maybe you can tell me?"
She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Of course. I found a bag full of sex toys. There was a dildo, a fake ass toy, a Fleshlight... I was shocked. Tell me, why does a guy need a dildo? He likes girls, right?"
I didn't answer right away.
"Maybe he wanted to experiment."
She burst out laughing. Short, sharp, unpleasant.
And that was when I understood.
Tyler wasn't hiding it because there was something wrong with him. He was hiding it because he knew that if he told the truth, he would be laughed at exactly like that.
I went back to my apartment with a strange heaviness in my head.
Not because I was angry at Tyler. Quite the opposite. After talking to his girlfriend, I felt something closer to sympathy. She hadn't spoken about him like someone who had hurt her. She had spoken about him like someone whose secret had disgusted her. As if the simple fact that he had fantasies was reason enough to throw him out.
When I stepped inside, I immediately heard the sound of running water.
Tyler was in the shower.
For a moment, I stood in the hallway, looking toward the living room. His bags were lying where we had left them the day before. One of them had been pulled slightly away from the wall. The zipper wasn't fully closed.
I shouldn't have looked.
I knew that.
And yet I walked over.
I opened the bag just a little, enough to see inside. And everything was exactly as his girlfriend had said. A Fleshlight. A dildo. A fake ass toy. A few things hidden deeper, carelessly covered with clothes, as if Tyler had packed in a panic and hadn't even had time to hide them properly.
I looked at it for a moment without disgust.
To me, it wasn't a bag full of something dirty. It was a bag full of something Tyler had clearly never been able to show anyone without fear.
I zipped it shut and quickly went back to the couch.
A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened.
Tyler came out wearing only a towel, with wet hair and drops of water on his chest. His shoulders looked even broader, his stomach was tight, and his legs looked strong.
"Oh, you're back," he said.
For a second, I had to remind myself what I wanted to talk about.
"Yeah. Can we talk once you get dressed?"
Tyler shrugged.
"It's fine. We can talk now."
He sat down on the couch beside me, still wearing only the towel.
Great, I thought. That will definitely make this conversation easier.
For a while, we sat in silence.
Tyler had the towel wrapped low around his hips, his hair still damp, and the skin on his chest lightly shining after the shower. I tried to look him in the eyes, but it wasn't exactly easy.
Finally, I cleared my throat.
"Tyler, I want to ask you again. Why did she really kick you out?"
His face changed immediately. His jaw tightened, and he looked away.
"I told you. We weren't getting along."
This time, I didn't let it go.
I stood up calmly, walked over to his bag, and brought it to the couch. I placed it between us. Tyler went so stiff it was as if someone had suddenly pulled all the air out of him.
"I talked to your girlfriend," I said quietly. "Please, just be honest with me. I'll seriously understand."
For a few seconds, he only stared at the bag. His cheeks turned red, and his fingers tightened around the edge of the towel.
"Fine," he said at last, almost in a whisper. "I'll admit it. I like experimenting sometimes. My girlfriend didn't like that, and she kicked me out."
I didn't say anything right away. I didn't want him to feel even more exposed.
"Can we talk about what's inside?" I asked calmly.
Tyler swallowed.
"Yeah."
I unzipped the bag and took out the first item. The Fleshlight. I turned it in my hand, then looked at him.
"What do you use this for?"
Tyler lowered his gaze, but he answered.
"Sometimes I use it instead of my hand. It kind of feels like getting sucked off. It's great."
"And your girlfriend?"
He gave a short snort, without any amusement.
"Please. She wasn't exactly into that."
I put the Fleshlight back and took out the dildo.
"And what did you need this for?"
This time, his embarrassment felt different. Softer. Like he was talking about something that genuinely interested him.
"I read a lot online. About prostate stimulation, for example. Apparently, you can come from just a dildo."
"And did you?"
He shook his head.
"Not really. One time I was really close, but then my girlfriend suddenly came home and I had to stop."
Finally, I took out the fake ass toy.
"And this?"
For the first time, Tyler smiled a little more freely, though he still didn't look straight into my eyes.
"Man, that one basically replaced fucking for me. I could fuck it as much as I wanted."
I looked at him calmly.
"Yeah. A fake ass gives you a hole. You can fuck it as much as you want. But a real one gives you a reaction. Tightness, warmth, breathing, moans, hips, muscle tension... that moment when you feel that someone isn't just letting you do it, but actually wants you. No toy can replace that."
Tyler lifted his eyes.
And for a moment, he looked as if, for the first time, someone hadn't just heard his secret, but truly understood it.
I put everything back into the bag and zipped it shut.
"Tyler, I want you to know that you live with me now, and you can count on me in every way."
He didn't answer right away.
But there was relief in his eyes.
And I knew this conversation wasn't the end.
It was the beginning of something that had only just started between us.
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