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seth was fuming when he finally made it back home that night. he had spent the entire day with james, and had to listen to the older man talk about “seth”. or the “fake seth” as seth liked to call him, the whole time. james had first mentioned him about a month earlier, something about a late night date with “seth”.
seth was perplexed and james responded, “his name is seth. i didn’t think it was strange”.
that kind of hurt, if seth was being honest. the idea of james actively going out and seeking someone else besides him for any form of interaction was hard for seth to grasp. apparently, this “other seth” had gotten a hold on james somehow, and if he was smart, he wouldn’t let him go. james sure talked fondly of him, though. he must’ve been something.
when he arrived home, he felt childish in the way that he slammed the front door closed so hard that it could’ve popped the hinges. like some dumb teenager trying to vent their frustration on a poor bedroom door. it was almost midnight when he arrived home, but seth stayed up for at least another three hours, sitting on the couch with his arms crossed. anyone of his friends would say that he looked like a toddler who was just told they couldn’t have a toy from the store. he could care less, however. he missed his chance to be with james, and he lost it to someone with the same name as him, no less.
seth didn’t see james for another month after that night, something about work in new york. seth wasn’t really listening whenever he was on the phone with james, torn between thinking about what the older man was doing with “other seth”, and just listening to his slow and monotone voice. seth couldn’t help but find it odd though that james continued to call him almost every night that he was staying in new york, when he mentioned that “other seth” would be coming with him. if the older man was “sort of dating” someone, as he put it, it was a wonder he wasn’t paying more attention to that person. but seth wasn’t complaining, just glad that james wasn’t forgetting about him.
when they were finally able to see each other again, they met up at james’ home. seth found it odd that james’ home was as immaculate as it had always been. it still looked like james was the only person ever there, no sign of another party in the form of “other seth”. james did, however, begin talking about “other seth” much more frequently than he did before leaving for new york. it was sort of off-putting to seth when the “other seth” was brought up in casual conversation, a small smile on james’ lips as seth’s face did it’s best not to contort in pure anger. sometimes, seth wondered if james did what he did just to get a reaction from the younger man.
“so, you haven’t told me anything about this “other seth”, and you’ve been with him for like a month”.
seth really didn’t mean to say it. james was standing in the kitchen, filling the sink with water to let his and seth’s plates soak after eating. he didn’t stop his movements, nor did he appear uncomfortable with the statement.
“well, i didn’t know if you’d be interested in talking about him. it seemed like it was sort of… a shock when i told you in the first place. i didn’t want to make you uncomfortable”.
seth shook his head and said, “no, you act like he’s all that. i wanna hear what’s so special about him”.
the words and the tone behind them made james smile, and seth realized he was becoming too obvious.
james walked over to the kitchen table and sat down across from seth. he got an almost dreamy look in his eyes when he began talking about “other seth”.
“seth is a generous man. he is kind and always giving. he always pays the most attention to me, more than anyone else. he’s also quite the looker, which isn’t so important, but it helps. he has an amazing sense of humor, funniest man i’ve ever met. he wants nothing more than to make other people laugh, to see them happy, and that is something that i appreciate more than anything. such a gentleman”.
when james stopped talking, seth couldn’t look him in the eyes for fear of seeing pure lovestruckness that wasn’t caused by him. after a moment, james started giggling. now seth really was confused.
“what’s so fucking funny?”, he demanded, though his tone remained steady.
james stopped giggling after a second, and asked, “would you like to meet “other seth?”
seth was confused, but he was caught between saying no out of jealousy, and saying yes out of curiosity. he ended up giving a vague nod and let james grabbed his hand and lead him upstairs. when they arrived in james’ bedroom, there was no one there except the two of them. seth looked around but didn’t take his eyes off james when the older man walked over to the bedside table and pulled a decent sized dildo from it. seth nearly choked.
“seth, this is “other seth". you’re who i was talking about in the kitchen earlier. i got him a couple months ago to make up for the one thing i thought you’d never want with me”.
seth stood there, feeling like a complete idiot. when he didn’t say anything, james continued.
“i’m not stupid, seth, you of all people know that. i see how you look at me, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you like me as more than a friend. i started talking about “other seth” to see how you would react, and it wasn’t too far from what i predicted. you’re not very good at hiding when you’re jealous”.
“damn you, james”, seth stated, but james continued smiling. “you mean to tell me that i was jealous of a dildo?”, seth said to no one in particular.
james put “other seth” back in the drawer and closed it, and walked over to seth. he sat them down on the bed.
“it’s not as bad as you think. it’s one way to get your feelings out there”.
“in that case,” seth began with a small smile, “wanna let me see what you do with “other seth”?” james almost choked on his spit when he heard that one, but didn’t hesitate to get “other seth” back out into the open.