Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
El stared at him and even dared put his fingers on Trig’s side like an attentive boyfriend. “Did you just—”
“Wasn’t the first time,” Trig mumbled and let his forehead rest on El’s shoulder. The designer perfume was faint but still clung to his skin like the ghost of a happier past.
“Do they make you do these things? Work for them?” El said, and sweetened the poison with a kiss to Trig’s ear. It was so tempting to just give in, but they were blocking the road, and someone could pass by any moment.
“Nobody’s making me do shit. Move the car. Anyone could smash into us,” Trig mumbled.
El pulled away with an angry hiss and raised his hands, already turning. “Fine!”
Trig couldn’t help but watch him despite all the swear words pushing at his mouth. Trim, angular, and tattooed, El was everything Trig wanted. He didn’t know if El was his type, or if being with El had shaped his desires, but Trig’s taste in men had been forever influenced by the rebellious punk who’d chosen him years ago.
Hey you, with the red T-shirt, were the first words El had said to him. Or rather—shouted to him under a rail bridge covered with vulgar graffiti. Trig had been eating a dinner of cold Pop-Tarts when a guy his age ran past him, chased by two men with crew cuts. They’d attempted to drag El to their white rape van when he’d captured Trig’s gaze and called for help. At the time, Trig hadn’t known the abduction had been sanctioned by El’s parents, and that his new friend had run from an intervention, but he grabbed his baseball bat, a can of pepper spray, and came to his aid.
El had been Trig’s first real friend. His first kiss. The first boy he’d fucked.
He’d been his everything. And now that they’d reunited after five years apart, Trig was not letting him go.
At least this time El wasn’t fucking around and slowly drove to where he was instructed while Trig walked by the car.
El left the headlights on and got out as soon as he parked between the building and the fence. He wouldn’t meet Trig’s gaze but did open a water bottle, and gestured at Trig’s hands. “Wash the scratches.”
Trig’s throat filled with angry words, but he swallowed them down and offered his palms. “Should I have gotten injured earlier? That seems to stop you from running,” he said, flinching when the shallow wounds stung at the contact with the cool liquid.
“Can you stop being so fucking dumb? I wasn’t gonna leave you on the side of the road. But that doesn’t mean I’m fine with all this!” Despite anger making his voice vibrate, El grabbed a clean tissue from the car and patted Trig’s hands dry.
A laugh escaped Trig’s lips as he looked into El’s scowling face. “Oh, but you were ready to ditch me after I saved your ass risking my own skin.”
“You shouldn’t have been there in the first place! I still don’t know what to think about you casually hanging out in my house like some superspy!”
“Someone had to take care of you, because you clearly can’t do that yourself!” Trig barked, losing his patience.
“One slip-up, and I’ll never hear the end of it! If the idiots gave me more time, I would have come up with the money!”
“Like what? Sold your kidney? Any other part of your body?” Trig hollered, spreading his arms so rapidly his injured shoulder stung. He knew El would sometimes supplement his other income with prostitution, which was why Trig had started leaving him money in the first place. Well, he’d seen it happen once, and it had taken all the strength of his will not to reveal his presence and drag the stranger out by the collar. But no, he’d told himself he was no caveman. He respected El’s wishes to be left alone as much as he was able to, and wouldn’t force himself where he wasn’t wanted. But enough was enough.
El was his.
And if El thought otherwise, Trig still didn’t like him taking such risks!
El’s pale face regained some color and he must have understood the suggestion, because his eyes widened, and he shoved at Trig’s chest. “You take that back!”
“Why? Is it not true?” Trig barked and pushed El hard enough for his butt to land on the edge of the hood.
“I do what I have to do, and sometimes I don’t love it! Big fucking deal! I bet lots of guys working at a meat-packing factory don’t love their jobs either! At least I’m not a psycho creeper hanging out in my ex’s attic!” He scrambled to his feet and punched Trig in the shoulder. The uninjured one of course, because whatever stupid shit he spewed, he did care.
El’s cheeks burned with anger and shame, but neither of them looked away, in a standoff worthy of a wolf and a cougar. When the tension brewing in the air became too much to take, Trig pressed his mouth to El’s.