Torquere Press
www.torquerepress.com
Copyright ©2008 by Misa Izanaki
First published in www.torquerepress.com, 2008
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Frankie woke up to the sound of an angry chicken clucking on his bedside table. Stupid ring tone ... He really needed to figure out how to change that. Of course, that was after he found out who was calling him. It was way too early for Frankie to be up, let alone taking phone calls. Okay, it was almost ten but that was still pretty damned early for him.
"Hello?" Frankie flipped his phone open before it could go through another round of angry clucking. It was Alan, his boyfriend and, as far as Frankie was concerned, the sexiest thing on two legs. They had been dating for almost two years and despite his quirks, Frankie loved Alan to death. He was even ready to take the plunge and ask Alan to move in with him. Hell, Frankie would have asked him then and there if his brain was awake enough for more than caveman sentences. "Hey, babe."
"Oh, you are home." Okay, maybe it wasn't a good time after all. Alan did not sound happy to hear Frankie's voice.
"Why? What's up?" "Nothing."
"Okay..." The tension on the phone woke Frankie like a cold shower. What the hell did I do now? Frankie got the distinct feeling that something was wrong. Alan was speaking in short, icy sentences and he only did that when he was pissed about something.
Alan was silent. Frankie half thought that they got disconnected until he heard a long, irritated sigh from Alan's end. Damn, whatever he did must have been bad. Frankie just wished he knew what it was.
"Um, do you want to get dinner later? I'm off at eight or so."
There was another impatient sigh from Alan. He was probably rolling his eyes, too. Alan had a tendency to do that when Frankie was being particularly thick about something. "Check your email."
With that, Frankie's phone beeped and went silent. Frankie glared at his phone and snapped it shut. "What the hell was that all about?"
Frankie grabbed a pair of clean boxers off the floor and tugged them on as his computer booted up. He scooted his mouse through some of the clutter on his desk and clicked on his email. There was one message offering to make his cock bigger. Frankie deleted that one. The next two were from his mom; Frankie would answer those later. Finally, he got to the one from Alan.
There was no subject, which worried Frankie even more.
Alan was very particular about things like that. So, either Alan had been distracted when he sent that email or upset, and neither of those meant good news for Frankie.
Frankie took a deep breath and clicked on the email. It wasn't a long one. There was something about Frankie spending too much time at work and Alan needing his space. Then Alan called him an "insensitive fuck who wouldn't know romance if it kicked him in the ass." Frankie read through the email two more times, making sure that he didn't miss anything. He sat back in his chair with a sigh. Who the hell breaks up with someone over email? And why didn't Alan tell him on the phone? Why the hell did Alan call him anyway?
Frankie shook his head. It was all part of what made his gorgeous and very passive-aggressive boyfriend, okay, ex-boyfriend, tick.
"What a shitty way to start the day." Frankie blew a bit of hair out of his eyes. He tried not to let the whole thing bother him but it didn't really work. It hurt that Alan didn't bother telling him to his face or even mentioning that there was a problem before their relationship got that bad.
Frankie