Quiet Storm, Season 2, Episode 6 (Rising Storm) by Julie Kenner Read Free Book Online

look calm even though his heart was beating so hard and fast he was certain that Scott could see his shirt moving. In the pool house, he went straight for the trunk where they kept bathing suits that friends used when they came over. He found a pair of new swim trunks his mom had picked up on sale at the end of the season and tossed them to Scott. “Will these work?”
    “Looks about right,” he said. “Got a changing room?” He flashed a teasing grin. “Or shall I just strip down?”
    Jeffry swallowed. “Uh, over there.” He pointed to the small bathroom. “Go ahead. I’ll find my suit and then go after you.”
    Scott did, and Jeffry started rummaging in the family chest of drawers for his suit, hoping it wasn’t inside in the laundry room. He finally found it just as he heard the door open and Scott emerge.
    He glanced up then immediately wished he hadn’t. Scott stood there in a pair of dark blue swim trunks with red piping down the sides. His legs were tan and lean, and his chest sported a full six-pack that Jeffry—what the hell was going on with him?—wanted to run his fingers over just to feel the way Scott’s skin felt against his own.
    “Oh,” he said stupidly. “They fit.”
    “Yeah. They fit great.” Scott took a step toward him. Then another, and another. Until he was standing right in front of Jeffry. So close that Jeffry really could reach out and touch him if he wanted to.
    And, dear god, he really, really wanted to.
    “So, tell me if I’m wrong and I’ll back off,” Scott said. “But I don’t think I am.”
    “Wrong?” Jeffry frowned. “About what?”
    “About this,” Scott said, as he leaned in. And then, before Jeffry could even get his thoughts together, Scott’s hand was on his shoulder and his mouth covered Jeffry’s.
    His pulse pounded. His head swam. And as he gasped in surprise and awe, his mouth opened just enough for Scott to take advantage, his tongue slipping into Jeffry’s mouth. His hand clenching tighter even as his other palm cupped the back of Jeffry’s head and held him in place, giving him no place to run even if he’d wanted to.
    He didn’t want to.
    On the contrary, he wanted this to never end. He felt dizzy. He felt free.
    Perfect. Right. Complete .
    And then Scott was pulling away, and Jeffry wanted to scream out in protest.
    Scott’s smile was both gentle and questioning. “So, am I wrong?”
    Jeffry swallowed, not sure which way to go. He could end this now and pretend it never happened and let things just go along the way they had until he was in college and out from under his father’s roof.
    Or he could take what he wanted and start being the person he really was.
    Honestly, the decision wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be. He tilted his head to the side and pretended to think. “I’m not sure,” he said, holding back a smile. “Maybe you should try again?”
    Scott’s laughter filled him up. “Yeah,” he said as he drew Jeffry closer. “Maybe I should.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Lacey finally rolled out of bed around noon on Sunday. She’d cried herself to sleep last night, feeling lost and alone, with the memory of Mallory’s snub and Jeffry’s indifference clinging to her like a prickly blanket.
    And as for Luis—well, she’d used him and then told lies about him. Chances were good he’d never be her friend again.
    She’d dug herself in deep, and all she wanted to do was claw her way out of the hole. But she didn’t know how, and so she’d comforted herself the only way she could—with a menagerie of her old stuffed animals, the cookies that her mother had left out for her, and the sweet oblivion of sleep.
    The sleep had helped. But it was the cookies that gave her hope. They were a sign, after all. A small sign, at least, that things could change. That people could heal.
    Maybe that meant that friendships could heal, too.
    She hoped so. And the best place to start was with Jeffry.
    Armed with a plan, she got dressed,