Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
He was so fucking blessed. The two people at the table with him now had worked themselves into the ground, but Matt had been refusing jobs for months, for what? Because he hated it? He didn’t doubt his parents had hated the work they’d done. Because it made him want to jump out of his own skin? His dad had ignored worse, actual injuries for years.
“No, not work. I just…felt like getting away.” He couldn’t even use his breakup as an excuse because he’d never talked to his family about Parker. It was almost as though his life in New York and his life in Los Angeles couldn’t coexist. It wasn’t like he hid his sexuality. They’d known he was gay since he was fourteen. He’d never wanted or been able to hide that fact, but they didn’t talk about who he dated. Parker never came home with him and they didn’t exchange Christmas cards or anything like that. “I missed you guys,” he added because it was true. Despite the edginess he often felt in their presence, he missed them.
“We missed you, too.” His mom reached out and cupped his face. “But you look too skinny. You tell them you’ll be just as beautiful with another ten or fifteen pounds on you.”
On reflex, Matt’s eyes darted toward this father. The other man cleared his throat, looking anywhere except at his son. Matt didn’t turn away and waited for what he knew would happen. There was no surprise when his father worked his way to his feet. “I’m tired. I think I need to lie down for a little while. It’s…it’s good to have you home, Matt,” he said, and even though he didn’t know how long Matt would be there, he hobbled out of the room.
This was nothing new, though. They’d never known how to talk to each other, and they likely never would.
CHAPTER TEN
Ever since Oliver got home from taking Matt to get the car, he’d done nothing except stare at a blank computer page. He left off with Davis and his new partner, Tony, arguing about how next to try and find their serial killer. Of course, they argued about everything because the men were as different as night and day.
He rarely struggled to figure out what to write next. It had always come automatically for him, even going back to his script-writing days, but somehow he wasn’t surprised that today he wanted to throw his computer out the window. Or just write Davis boning some guy—Tony or someone else because writing sex felt like the easiest thing to do, especially since he wasn’t having it.
“Fuck,” Oliver whispered as he dropped his head back against the chair…then spun the seat around like he was five years old. He was totally going to blame this on Matt. He’d shaken up Oliver’s routine and now he was all out of whack. He was thinking about their conversation last night and what things would be like when Matt came home. How long he would be here and Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt.
Oliver glanced at the time in the upper right-hand corner of his laptop. It was one o’clock. Matt would have likely been with his parents for close to two hours by now. His mom would fly; she’d be so happy to see him. Jolene’s face always glowed when she saw or talked about Matt. He didn’t think his friend saw it, though. Didn’t think he realized how proud she was of him.
No, things hadn’t always been easy on them, but he had no doubts how the elder Daniels felt about their son.
Rusty would be awkward…quiet. He’d always been stoic—keeping to himself no matter what had happened in their lives. It always bothered Matt because he didn’t see what Oliver did…that in more ways than he realized, Matt was a lot like his father. The way they kept their emotions close and didn’t let people in. The way they didn’t want to lean on anyone.…Matt had gotten that from his dad.
And thinking about Matt and his family was not going to help Davis and Tony solve their dilemma. Damn Matt for fucking with his thoughts again.
Oliver flicked a pencil across his desk and then grabbed his phone. He needed to get out of here—to clear his head and there was one place he usually went to do that.
He had just taken a step out of his office when the front door opened. He heard Matt curse quietly, then a moment after, call out, “Hey, Ollie. I’m back.”
He smiled and rolled his eyes. When they were teenagers they got to where Matt spent nearly every day at his house. Eventually, Oliver told him to just come in—that it was a hassle to come to the door when it was only Matt.
Of course, Matt had nixed that idea. It was too vulnerable for him, but then one day he’d gotten so used to being there that he’d just walked in. It hadn’t been until he walked into the living room and Oliver looked up at him from the couch that Matt had realized it. The wide-eyed look on his face had told Oliver that.