Heartsville 03 - Another Shot (J.H. Knight) by Heartsville Read Free Book Online Page B

chest. “You were my first—blind date, I mean—so I might not be a good judge, but I’m pretty happy with the results.” He could already see the look of smug satisfaction on Mandy’s face.
    Brad stroked his hand up and down Aaron’s spine in tender sweeps as Aaron caught his breath. “What’re your plans for the rest of the weekend?” Brad asked.
    “Does this count as a plan?”
    Arron could hear Brad’s soft laugh in the darkness as he said, “It does now.”
    “I have to work a few hours tomorrow, but I’m free after closing.”
    “Free for a few hours in the morning too?”
    Aaron nodded, smiling.
    Brad slid a fingertip against Aaron’s jaw until Aaron looked up, barely able to see Brad’s face in the dim shadows. He brushed their lips together in a soft, wanting kiss full of promise, but it was late and Aaron was done for the time being.
    “How do you like your eggs?”
    If Brad answered him, Aaron was already asleep before the words left Brad’s mouth.
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
     
    Aaron blinked his eyes open and tried to stretch. Pleasant pains shot through his muscles, and he couldn’t help but smile as he remembered how he got each ache. He reached out and found the other side of his bed empty, the sheets cool.
    Curious, he sat up and glanced around. The gray morning light sifted through the curtains and bathed the room in silver. As he got to his feet, Aaron nearly stumbled over another one of the boxes from his parents’ garage. Even his stubbed toe wasn’t enough to annoy him, though.
    Expecting to find Brad in the bathroom, Aaron knocked on the door. When he didn’t get a response, he walked in. The light was off, the tiles cool, no damp towel on the floor or any hint of another person in the apartment.
    Mephistopheles greeted him as he made his way into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee.
    Even with the sinking weight in his stomach—the recognition that he’d had a pretty great time with a guy who had decided to sneak out in the middle of the night—Aaron went ahead and checked his phone.
    No text or missed call.
    He checked the counter as he reached for his coffee grinder.
    Nope. No note, no clothes strewn around the room. Mephistopheles sat under the small dining room table, pawing at a stray sock that didn’t belong to Aaron—which just made Brad’s retreat seem even hastier than it already had. The guy didn’t even take the time to hunt down all of his clothes before took off.
    Still, though. They’d seemed to be on the same page the night before, right? Hell, the whole week had gone pretty well.
    Aaron decided to send him a quick text.
    Hey, had a good time last night. Hope everything is all right, no major emergencies or anything. Gimme a call when you get a chance.
    He read it over several times, more for the sake of deciding if it was too clingy than anything else—he really didn’t want to be that guy. Aaron added a small smiley face, then deleted it, then added it again. Then he deleted it and hit Send.
    After he got the coffee brewing, Aaron watched his phone screen. Message sent. Message read. And then nothing. He poured a cup of coffee, checked his phone again, and still nothing.
    Awesome.
    Fan-fucking-tastic.
     
    ****
     
    Sometime between breakfast and the end of his self-pity Rome marathon, Aaron’s phone rang. His heart skipped a beat, thinking maybe Brad was calling to explain.
    No such luck.
    “How’d the date go?” Justin asked.
    Aaron slumped back on the couch and paused his show. “It went.”
    “That good, huh?”
    “Nah, I mean, I can’t complain. We had a lot of fun, but it was kind of awkward this morning.”
    “How so?”
    “Well, we’ve been hitting it off all week, talking for hours…. Last night we fucked like horny teenagers, talked about hanging out all weekend, and when I woke up, he was gone.”
    “Are you afraid he thought you were a lousy lay?” Justin was a good friend, but not so great at comforting.
    “Well, I am now .