Determination by Jamie Mayfield Read Free Book Online

heated kisses. His anger forgotten for the moment, Mike took Alex’s hand and led him past Brian and me. Avoiding the tray of food getting cold on the stairs, he pulled Alex up to the third floor. They disappeared from view with a giggle and a bang as the door closed.
    Brian kissed my forehead as I leaned into him. I didn’t care about the food, or about Mike and Alex—all I wanted was Brian. Shivering against the cool air of the stairwell and the cold concrete under my bare feet, I burrowed closer into Brian’s warmth. He wrapped both his arms around me, and I sighed against his shoulder.
    “Let’s get you back upstairs. I made you some lunch,” he whispered and pulled away.
    “No way am I going upstairs with those two screwing in the next room,” I said. “Can’t we just stay down here somewhere?” I hadn’t been in any part of the building except Alex’s room upstairs. Since Brian had made food, though, I figured there must be a kitchen of some sort on the other side of that door. Even if we just sat at a dining room table, anything would be better than listening to Mike’s bedframe slamming against the wall as he pounded Alex into the mattress.
    “Yeah, we can hang out down here in the common room,” Brian said as he reached down to grab the tray of food. “Sit here for just a second, and I’ll put this tray in there first. I don’t want anyone to step on it if they come downstairs.”
    I leaned against the wall as he opened the door and carried the tray through. It really was just a matter of seconds before he was back and helping me up. The comfortable room on the other side of the door surprised me. I barely remembered arriving at the building and coming up the stairs, but I had gotten the sense it was more industrial than residential.
    This room looked more like a frat house than an office, however.
    A pool table, a couch, a few mismatched chairs, and a TV took up most of the room. The stuff looked secondhand, but it was more of a home than any place I’d seen in the last few years. I wondered what it would Determination
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    be like to live there with Brian and Alex, somewhere I actually belonged. Then I reminded myself it was only temporary. Soon Steven would find me, and my vacation into normalcy would be all over.
    “Here, sit by the table,” Brian said, helping me to sit on the couch near the tray of food. “I’m going to run upstairs and get you a blanket.”
    I wanted to argue with him, to keep him there with me, but I was cold, and a blanket sounded great. He kissed me gently and then headed for the door.
    I looked around again and saw there was a small kitchen off the main room and another door labeled “Manager” nearby. Too tired to worry about anything else, I grabbed the grilled cheese sandwich from the plate and took a bite. It was a work of golden-fried art wrapped around a thick layer of gooey cheese. If I’d died the day before, then I was surely in heaven.
    By the time Brian returned with the blanket, I’d already finished the sandwich and was working on the tomato soup. Even though it had been made from concentrated goop in a can, there was something about it that soothed my soul. It warmed me from the inside, and I felt so much better after I’d finished. Brian carried the blanket to the far end of the couch and sat down. Satisfied I’d eaten everything, he scooted back against the side of the couch and opened his arms. I crawled into them greedily and rested against his chest as he covered us with the blanket.
    “I’m sorry I overreacted earlier,” he murmured against my ear. I turned my head to kiss him softly.
    “I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I didn’t know how to thank you for everything that you’ve done for me. I don’t deserve it, but I’m so grateful.” Nestling into the crook of his neck, I rested my body against his and delighted in the feeling of his arms around my chest, careful of the burn, and his love surrounding me.
    “You do