Amber,It may not be my place to ask, but this man you live with…how do you know he doesn’t want you in the same way you want him? How do you know that he’s not the man for the job to satisfy you? Have you ever told him how you felt?—G9I knew one thing. I may not have been the best man to solve Amber’s little problem, but I was sure as fuck a better option than this dude she thought she was talking to.

A few minutes later, she responded.G9,No, I’ve never told him anything and I don’t plan to. I really care for him as a friend and wouldn’t ever want to ruin that. I think I mentioned to you before that he was my ex’s best friend for several years. We were all friends and have a long history. Yes, I’m very attracted to him, but I’m not looking to make my life more complicated right now. That’s why I came to you. I just need to satisfy this physical need I have. I’ve only been with one person my entire life, and it’s been a while since I’ve had sex.

I know the site said that photos are not provided, but do you have a picture of yourself you can send me?—AmberFuck!

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I needed to end this, set a date to meet her, then figure it out and be done with this charade.Amber,I’m not able to send you a photo, but we can plan to meet a week from Saturday, early evening if you’d like. Say 4PM? I can book us a room at The Peabody Hotel. We can meet in the lounge first. If you’re having doubts at that time, you can walk away. I’ll completely understand. No fees charged.—G9How was I going to get out of this? Did I even want to? Should I come clean? Show up and confront her? Let her think he stood her up? I had no idea.

A new message popped up.G9,Thank you for agreeing to meet me at a public place. I really appreciate that. The truth is, I won’t know how I’ll feel until I get there, until I see you. I’m sorry if that sounds really superficial. Please bring the medical paperwork you promised.

That time sounds good. I can plan to be there.—AmberI had a week to figure this out. I typed.Amber,I completely understand. Let’s say 4PM at the lounge. I’ll be wearing a black polo shirt and will probably be seated in the corner. Otherwise, at the bar.

If you need to cancel, simply message me at this email address by 3PM. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume we’re still on.—G9A final response came through.G9,Thank you. I will see you then.—AmberI shut my laptop and let out a deep breath.

Amber…why?

A part of me really wished I could storm down the hall to her room and ask her what the fuck she was thinking in agreeing to meet him. The other part of me was fighting my body’s reaction to the idea that she was turned on tonight because of me. It wasn’t fair to take enjoyment out of that thought given that I’d basically stolen that information. It was never meant for me to know.

Then, an unsettling thought hit me. If I tell her the truth, what if she doesn’t understand that I was just trying to protect her? I could lose her friendship over this.

The clock ticking in my head was practically deafening.

My mouth was parched, so I decided to get up for a glass of water. I stopped short because I wasn’t expecting to see Amber in the kitchen. Clearly, she wasn’t expecting to see me either, because she was wearing nothing but boy short underwear and a thin tank top.

Fuck me.

“So much for sneaking a quick drink of water,” Amber said.

She covered her chest with her arms, but it was too late. I’d already seen her breasts in their entirety through the thin white fabric, with their piercing nipples and tear drop shape.

I wished I hadn’t.

For the first time that I could remember in my life, I’d lost my words in front of a woman. Pointing my thumb behind me, I stammered, “I can…uh…I can come back.”

Returning to my room with my one-eyed trouser snake, I wiped the sweat off my forehead. She’d been messaging me—G9—half-naked. My rigid cock was sticking straight up in the air. I was a lost cause.

Then, a funny thought hit me. For some reason, this night reminded me of something from the animated movie, The Secret Life of Pets.

I’m Tiberius.

Holy shit. I’m Tiberius!

I started laughing to myself.

A date had dragged me to see that movie once. In the film, there was this sweet, little white Pomeranian named Gidget who entrusted the help of a red-tailed hawk—Tiberius—to help her find her friend, the Jack Russell Terrier who’d gone missing. The entire time, the hawk struggled with whether to help her—or eat her.