Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
I grin, and graze his cheek with my lips. “A male cat has barbs on the back half of his penis.”
“Shut the front door.”
“It’s true. I’ll send you a photo later.” I kiss his neck.
“Of course you will.” With a ninja-like motion, he slides out from under me. But then he pulls me into his arms. “Thanks for making me feel better.”
“Any time.” If only you’d let me do it more often.
I kiss him instead of saying it aloud.
A Brother Named Joe
Luke
My phone vibrates with a notification as I’m changing into my running shorts. When I check, it’s a message from LobsterShorts. Sea salt & vinegar or BBQ?
Craving chips? I don’t like taking things from him. He knows that.
You said you’d go for a drive with me, he writes. I was gonna bring snacks.
Nothing for me. I’m heading out for a run.
After I hit send, I regret my answer. Chips sound pretty good right now, and lord knows I’m hungry. Dinner will almost certainly be another can of soup, and a few slices of cheese. I’m putting off my grocery store run, because only have $100 to get me through the next week. Or more, depending on the plumbing issues at Jill’s.
But my regret is bigger than that. I know it wouldn’t kill me to accept a bag of chips from Keaton. It wouldn’t kill me to spend more time with him, or to tell him more often how much I like his company.
I don’t, though. Affection doesn’t come naturally to me, to put it mildly. And I’ve been on edge since Keaton brought up the “C” and “D” words. And no, I don’t mean cock and dick. I love those words. I’m talking about him asking if we’re a couple, pointing out that we’re dating.
Fuck. How did we get here? I’ve had friends-with-benefits arrangements before, but none that have lasted more than three months. And clearly Hayworth is catching feelings.
I see the way he looks at me. It’s an unsettling combination of fascination, tenderness, and frustration. I see him biting his tongue a lot, as if he wants to dig deeper into my psyche, peel back my layers like I’m an onion.
I like Keaton a lot. But nobody gets to do that.
Usually I’m good at keeping my armor on. I don’t let anyone see what I don’t want them to see. But it’s getting harder to do that with Keaton. I really do like the guy. He makes me laugh. Makes me come. But this couple and dating talk makes my skin prickle with discomfort. Makes me want to flee.
Luckily, now that spring is here, I’m able to get back into my running routine. So I lace up my shoes and park my phone on the desk along with everything but my keys.
And then I jump down the stairs and head straight outside. I love feeling the wind slapping my face as my sneakers tear across the pavement. I find my rhythm and head for the end of the street.
There’s a great trail near campus, and today I run it twice, hoping the three miles of solitude might help to clear my muddled mind.
But the unease I’m feeling about my arrangement with Hayworth sticks to me like glue and follows me right back home. I’m sweating through my hoodie by the time I jog up the walk of the Alpha Delt house. When I open the door, Jako is lurking in a chair that nobody uses at the bottom of the stairs, looking troubled.
“Something wrong?” I pant.
“Maybe?” he says. “You tell me.”
Instantly, I’m on guard. The wariness in his eyes triggers my internal alarm. Why is he looking at me like that? Is this about Hayworth?
Oh shit. What if Jako came upstairs last night to find me, or something, and heard Keaton’s strangled moans as I fucked him senseless in the shower?
My brain goes into damage-control mode. Just because he heard two dudes banging doesn’t mean those dudes had to be me and Keaton. Maybe I can pretend I had some random guy over? Maybe—
“You have a brother named Joe, right?”
I blink.
I did not expect him to say that. And once he does, my next thought is, Holy shit.
“Yeah,” I say slowly. “Why?”
“He was just here.”
My spine straightens. “Here?” I echo.
“Yeah.” Jako stands up and jams his hands in his pockets. “He said he needed to talk to you. I told him you were out for a run, and he said he needed to leave a note for you in your room.”
“Did you let him?” I can hear the panic in my voice. “Please say no.”
“Well, I asked him to show me some ID. And he did. So I told him where your room was and he went upstairs.”
Without another word, I run past Jako and take the stairs two at a time. What did you steal, Joe?