Everything Changes by Melanie Hansen Read Free Book Online

before stripping his T-shirt off and loping toward the group of volleyball players. They seemed to know him, and several of them high-fived Jase in welcome. Soon the game was back in full swing, and shouts of competition and grunts of exertion reached Carey’s ears. He shook his head, firmly casting off the feeling of self-pity that crept over him at times like this, times when he was sitting on the sidelines like the fucking cripple he was, unable to forget how just a few short years ago he was as able-bodied as the rest of them.
    As if Jase was aware of his thoughts, Carey saw him cast a few surreptitious glances in his direction, unable to hide the concern on his face.
    Carey raised his bottle of water in salute, then made a show of fishing his iPod out of his bag and putting in his ear buds, relaxing back in his chair with his eyes closed as if he didn’t have a care in the world. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes again and saw with relief Jase had focused fully on the game again, his worries seemingly put to rest.
    As Carey drifted in a haze of sunshine and the music from his favorite playlist, he found his eyes continuously wandered to Jase, easily the fittest, best-looking man in the group. His board shorts hung low on his slim hips, and his ridged abdomen, muscular shoulders, and arms were on full display. Carey watched appreciatively as Jase went for a smooth block, jumping straight up with powerful legs and stuffing the ball in the other guy’s face with a shout. That meant a point for Jase’s team, and there was a round of high-fives and good-natured ribbing back and forth.
    Eventually the game broke up and Jase jogged easily over to where Carey sat, flopping down on a towel next to him. Jase was glistening with sweat, his chest rising and falling as he panted with the recent exertion. Carey extracted a bottle of water from their cooler without being asked, handing it to him. Jase grinned his thanks, then guzzled the water while he made appreciative noises in the back of his throat. Carey stared at Jase’s full lips where they wrapped around the end of the bottle, the muscular throat moving as he swallowed, and another unwelcome frisson of heat pooled in his abdomen at the sight.
    “Hey, wanna go boogie boarding?” Jase asked, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “One of the guys brought a ton of boards and said we could use a couple.”
    Carey jumped at the chance for a distraction, tucking his iPod away with an enthusiastic “Sure.” Carey loved being in the water. The weightlessness of it counterbalanced his one-legged status, and who cared if he fell over? It didn’t hurt in the water, and he had two arms that worked just fine.
    He watched as Jase got up and jogged over to a stack of boogie boards, snagging two of them and tucking them under his arm, walking back over to Carey and extending his free arm.
    “Up you go, bud.”
    Carey grasped Jase’s offered forearm and pulled himself upright, balancing on his support leg. Jase slid his arm around Carey’s waist, waiting for Carey to put his arm around Jase’s shoulders in return. Fuck, Carey hadn’t thought this through very well. As a distraction from weird thoughts about Jase, this wasn’t working. Their bodies were plastered together from shoulder to hip along the side, and the clean, fresh smell of Jase’s sweat filled Carey’s nostrils. Unbelievably he felt his cock twitch, and he jerked away in reflex, almost falling over before Jase’s arm tightened and pulled him back.
    “Whoops,” Jase laughed. “Almost lost ya. Let’s go.”
    Jase walked carefully toward the surf, acting as Carey’s crutches as he hopped next to him, steering him around any deep wells in the sand, getting them to the surf with no real mishap. Once they were chest deep, Jase handed Carey a boogie board and dropped his arm from around Carey’s waist.
    Carey was extremely grateful for the cold water, and he leaned on the boogie board and stroked away