Ship; reddie

Smut

By reddieforlove on Ao3

Eddie has a problem. To fix it, he goes to extreme measures and calls a phone sex hotline. Little does he know that the person who he matches up with will change everything.
Part two

~

Six full days passed before Eddie found the time and worked up the nerve to call again. He had talked himself in and out of it several times, wondering just how odd it made him to call into a phone sex hotline just to talk. But then again, he wasn't sure they were only going to talk this time. The same woman, Tracy apparently, answered when he dialed, going through the same list of rules.

"What kind of experience would you like today?"

"Um, I actually want extension 629, if that's okay?" he asked.

"Let me check," she said, pausing for a few moments. "It's your lucky day. He's available."

Eddie sighed with relief as she transferred him over, crossing his legs beneath him where he sat on his bed. He felt a little more relaxed in a pair of old red shorts and a loose faded t-shirt. It was all part of his determination to push himself even more than he did last time. The music didn't play for as long this time.

"Hello, hello, hello."

Eddie's face broke into a smile at Richie's greeting.

"Hi Richie," he said.

"Well would you look who it is, Eddie Spaghetti himself."

Eddie's eyebrows rose of their own accord.

"I'm sorry, what did you just call me?"

"You heard me," Richie said, sounding like he was grinning.

"Where did you even come up with that?" Eddie asked.

"It rolls off the tongue, babe," he said.

Eddie scoffed, shaking his head.

"Absolutely no one else in the world would come up with that," he said.

"Well that just goes to show that I'm one of a kind," Richie said, sounding pretty satisfied by that.

"Because this dimension would collapse if there were more?" Eddie asked.

"Yowza! Who knew you had some spice in you, cutie?"

Eddie couldn't help but smile again.

"Everyone has layers," he shrugged.

Richie let out a laugh.

"So how are you on this fine day?" he asked.

Eddie casted a doubtful look towards his window, where he could see the rain coming down in heavy drops.

"Fine?" Eddie repeated.

"Any day with a call from you is a fine one, no matter how shitty the weather is," Richie told him.

Eddie's cheeks warmed as he ducked his head shyly even though no one was even looking at him. Richie was definitely a flirt. But he was also good at what he did.

"Tell me about your day," he suggested.

Eddie knew that it was supposed to be something easy to talk about that would relax him. He didn't bother telling Richie that he already felt quite comfortable as he launched into what happened in his classes and how his lunch with Mike was, and then who Mike was which led him to talk about Bill and Ben too. Richie mostly listened again, throwing in a few comments and innuendos here and there that had Eddie either laughing or rolling his eyes. When he came to a stopping point, Eddie found himself wanting to know more about Richie. He was curious. But he didn't know if he was allowed to ask.

"Can I ask you a question? I mean, is that allowed?" he said.

"You can do anything you want," Richie told him.

"Why this? What made you choose to do it?" Eddie asked, hoping that he didn't sound judgmental.

There was silence on the other end for a few moments and he just knew that he'd fucked it all up.

"You're a pretty blunt guy, aren't you?" Richie said, sounding pretty unbothered before talking again without waiting for Eddie's answer. "I do it because I'm really fucking good at it, I guess. And there aren't a lot of jobs where I can earn money from the comfort of my own couch."

Eddie wished that he knew that Richie looked like so he could form an image of him in his head.

"Do you do anything else?" he asked.

"Well now that is such a good question, dahling," Richie said in an overdramatic, breathy southern belle accent. "I may just have a flair for the dramatics."

"You don't say," Eddie said dryly.

"I'm in drama school," he said, sounding pretty happy with himself. "Perfect, huh?"

"Couldn't think of anything better."

Richie laughed and Eddie couldn't help but join in.

"Damn you're cute," Richie said with a sigh when his laughter faded. "Okay if I ask you a question now?"

Eddie sobered up a little, feeling like he already knew what Richie was going to ask.

"Yeah, go ahead," he said.

"Why'd you call in?" Richie asked.

Eddie swallowed hard. Even though he could tell that Richie was asking out of curiosity, just like him, he wasn't sure that he wanted to answer the question. It was hard to put into words without sounding pathetic, at least to him.

"I wanted to push myself," he admitted, feeling nervous now where he hadn't been before. "I'm tired of... of being scared. I want to fix myself and I thought maybe just talking to someone would be easier than trying to do anything face to face."

"That makes sense," Richie said, though there was something off about his voice. "But you're not broken if you don't want to do this kinda stuff, you know that right? It's okay not to want it."

"I do want it," Eddie said, feeling like he wasn't explaining himself right.

Part of him hesitated to talk about it. All Eddie planned to get out of calling the hotline was a way to overcome his fear. Now he was actually considering spilling a part of himself that he'd kept secret for a long time to a person who was basically a complete stranger. But another part of Eddie felt like it was okay. Richie had been completely understanding so far and there was something nice about talking to someone who was mostly a stranger. It gave it all a therapeutic sort of feel.

"I grew up thinking that wanting to do or feel any of that was bad. Someone important in my life always said that only dirty boys had those kinds of thoughts and urges," he finally said, the words falling heavily from his lips. "I feel like every day that I spend trying to avoid anything to do with sex or even my own body just makes it worse and harder to move past it. I don't want to keep feeling like I'm dirty for wanting to experience something good. That's why I called in. I want to try."

Richie didn't say anything for a long few moments that left Eddie squirming just a little bit.

"I have an idea."

Eddie felt a curious mix of anticipation and apprehension at Richie's words.

"Okay?" he said, his voice giving away his nerves.

"Just go with it for now but tell me if you want to stop at any time, alright?" Richie said.

"Yeah," Eddie agreed.

Richie took a deep breath before speaking. Somehow his voice was a little deeper than before and somewhat slower, taking on a slightly breathy tone.

"Make yourself comfortable, Eds."

Eddie's heart picked up pace in his chest as he glanced around quickly before slowly lowering himself in a half-reclined position on his pillows, his legs stretching out as he held his body just a little bit stiffly. It was really hard, doing this. He felt like he was exposed even though he was completely alone in his room.

"Close your eyes for me," Richie said, his voice gentle enough that Eddie knew he could refuse if he wanted.

But he let it happen, closing his eyes slowly as he kept the phone cradled to his ear. Richie must have heard his fast-paced breathing because he hushed him quietly over the speaker.

"Relax, baby," he urged him, his voice sounding soothing. "We're taking it slow, I promise."

Eddie nodded even though he knew that Richie couldn't see him. He didn't trust his voice right now.

"Now keep your eyes closed and just breathe. In and out. Slow as you can."

It was hard to follow the instructions at first but after a few minutes, Eddie's breathing was back to normal and he felt some of his tension ebb away. Richie was patient, talking him through it calmly.

"Good," Richie praised and something about the slight change in his voice caused a low tug in his belly that made Eddie gasp a little. "Now I want you to let your imagination take over, yeah? That's what all this is about. Imagine me sitting on the edge of your bed. Not touching you. Just sitting and watching you."

"I don't know what you look like," Eddie protested.

A low chuckle reached his ears.

"Dark hair, dark eyes, kinda like you," he said, his voice not changing from its calming tone. "Tall, pale skin, freckles too."

It wasn't a complete picture but it was enough to give Eddie something to start with.

"Now I'm sitting at the edge of your bed and I'm not touching you. Just watching your chest rise and fall slowly. In and out."

Eddie copied his words, breathing in and out slowly.

"Now I move a little closer but you stay where you are. Your eyes are closed so you don't know where I am. But you know I'm not gonna do anything you don't want me to do. It can stop at any time," Richie reminded him.

He didn't know how much he needed it but gratitude filled Eddie's chest as he found himself relaxing even more into his pillows.

"Then you feel it. I'm touching your cheek with the tips of my fingers, just light enough that you barely feel it at all. You think you might be imagining it at first but it's there. I'm stroking your cheek very softly. It's a relaxing touch," Richie said.

He was so good with his words that Eddie could almost feel it happening. It wasn't bad. His heart didn't pick up pace at the thought of it. He knew that it would feel nice it if was real.

"Can you feel it?" Richie asked.

"Yeah," Eddie said.

"Good," he said, sounding happy with that. "You know what I bet? I bet you'd blush so pretty when I touch you."

As if his words called it forth, a flush began warming his face.

"You're blushing right now, aren't you baby?" Richie said.

"Yes," Eddie nodded, keeping his eyes closed.

"Perfect," he said, his voice still low and thrilling. "Now you feel my fingers on your jaw. Just stroking it. Not touching anywhere else. Just that one spot."

Eddie almost found himself tilting his head to the side as he imagined it.

"Then my thumb brushes your lower lip. Not for long. Just one simple touch," Richie said and Eddie's lips parted at the mere thought of it. "I bet you've got such pretty lips, Eds. So pink and kissable. It'd be fucking impossible not to kiss you, huh?"

He didn't answer, knowing that it wasn't a question that needed a response.

"You want me to kiss you?"

"Yes," Eddie breathed out before he could really think it through.

"Good," Richie said, his voice approving. "I wanna kiss you too. I lean in and just barely touch my lips to yours. It's just enough to let them brush once, then twice. We don't need to move too fast. We have all the time in the world. I let the third kiss linger for a while, stroking my thumb over your jaw while I press just a little bit closer and kiss you just a little harder. You like that?"

"Mm-hm," Eddie murmured.

Richie hummed, satisfied with his response.

"I wanna make you feel good, baby boy. Anything you want, I'm gonna give it to you. It's all about you."

Eddie felt different than he'd ever felt. Richie's quiet words caused a simmering fire to spread just beneath his skin and he wanted more. He wanted to hear more. He wanted to imagine more. It was the first time he'd ever felt quite like this. There was no voice at the back of his head hissing horrible things. There was just Richie and Eddie and...

"Open your eyes."

Eddie's eyes sprung open at Richie's words and his breath left his mouth in a sharp exhale as he felt torn from the moment. It wasn't what he wanted. He felt almost frustrated that Richie had taken him out of it. He didn't realize that he was breathing heavily until Richie spoke again.

"How you doing, Eddie?" he asked, his voice almost back to normal.

It took a few deep breaths and a long few moments of blinking the haze from his mind for him to answer.

"I don't know how to describe it," Eddie admitted.

"Is it bad?" Richie asked.

"No," he was quick to say.

A sigh of relief came from the other end.

"Good, that's good," Richie said and Eddie could almost imagine him nodding his head. "I think that's all we should do today."

Eddie wanted to protest. There was more that they could do. He heard the promise in Richie's words. But then his logical side finally decided to make an appearance and he knew that Richie was taking it slow on purpose. In reality, this was the perfect place to end, even if it left Eddie feeling a little interrupted.

"I wanted more," he confessed, feeling surprisingly okay with that. "I think I could have listened to you forever. I wanted to know what you could do."

It must have been mild compared to some of the things that Richie had heard in this line of work but he still sounded vaguely surprised and pleased when he answered in true Richie fashion.

"Well if I didn't know any better, Spaghetti Man, I'd think you were trying to seduce me."

Eddie couldn't help but let out a laugh and it was the perfect timing for it. He felt the frustration bleed away as he sat up from the pillows.

"It's pretty perfect, you know," he said.

"What's that? My amazing nicknames?" Richie asked.

"Your nicknames are terrible," Eddie said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "The name you suggested. Richie. It fits you pretty perfectly. I like it."

"Well, I'd probably be pretty fucking offended if you didn't."

That made Eddie frown a little in confusion.

"What?" he said.

"That's my name, Eds."

It took almost a full minute for him to realize what Richie was trying to tell him.

"Your real name?" he said, his eyes widening in surprise as he stiffened a little.

"Yeah," Richie said, almost sounding embarrassed.

It was hard to wrap his mind around that.

"But... but the rules say I'm not allowed to ask for any personal information about you. That includes your name," Eddie said, his eyes darting around his room.

"Well then it's a good thing that you didn't ask and I gave it to you of my own free will," Richie said as if it was completely normal.

"I don't understand," Eddie said.

Richie didn't say anything for a long few moments.

"It just felt right," he said, his voice a little less teasing. "You're different from anyone I've talked to on this thing. I'm not gonna lie to you. Not about anything."

Eddie stilled, taken aback by Richie's words. Somehow, they made him feel even more comfortable with Richie.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't really know," Richie said.

They sat there in silence for a long time, both letting it sink in.

"You should go," Richie said in a gentle tone after a while, reminding Eddie that he was still being charged.

"Yeah," he said.

"Bye cutie."

The smallest smile formed on Eddie's lips.

"Bye Richie."