Rush by Nyrae Dawn Read Free Book Online Page B

he opens it. Charlie lies on their bed. My eyes dart from her to him. “I’m going.”

Chapter Five
Alec
    “What are you doing when you get off work?”
    I change the phone from one ear to the other as I sit in the passenger seat of the work truck.
    Water or something is running in the background making it hard for me to hear Logan. He called not long after I got back from New York and I told him how things went with Brand. We decided to be just friends for real this time, which I’m thankful for. It’s been cool having him around.
    “Nothing that I know of. What the hell is that noise?”
    He laughs. “I just got out of the shower. I’m shaving.” This little flash of Logan standing in the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist flashes in my head. I smile at the thought. Before I wouldn’t have thought about anyone except Brandon that way but in the month that I’ve been back, I think I’m really starting to get over him.
    I have to. The trip to New York proved nothing will change with him.
    It’s too bad I couldn’t have done it before Logan and I decided to only be friends, but maybe it’s better that way. I don’t have any friends who are gay and if we tried something and I screwed it up, it would be shitty not to have anyone.
    “Are you imagining me naked in the shower?” Logan’s question rips me out of my thoughts. My eyes flash to my work partner who’s driving, wondering if he heard.
    “No.” And then because I’m tired of keeping my mouth shut all the time, I add, “In a towel.” Sitting next to me, Rich doesn’t even flinch. He doesn’t know who I’m talking to but still.
    “Ugh. Don’t say shit like that to me. It makes it harder for me to keep up this friends thing. It wasn’t that long ago I wanted to go there. You’re the one who didn’t, remember?”
    Dropping my head back in the seat, I close my eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m—”
    “Don’t be sorry. You’re a pretty good flirt and most of the time, I probably wouldn’t even care if you practiced on me. Just not yet. You can’t tell me you’re over the asshole yet.”
    “He’s not an asshole,” automatically comes out of my mouth. Rich glances at me before his eyes find the road again.
    “You proved my point, Alec. Now do you want to hang out tonight or what?”
    “Yeah . . . sure. But we’re not playing cards.”
    “We are
so
playing.”
    I don’t know what Logan likes so much about cards. Maybe it’s because he always kicks my ass when we play. “We’re almost back to the shop. I gotta go.”
    “Grab pizza. I’ll bring beer.” Logan hangs up before I can reply.
    “Uh-oh. Boss is waiting outside.” Rich nods toward the building as we pull in.
    “So?” He’s been working here for a couple years. It’s been less than one for me. It helps pay my rent while I’m in school and that’s all I care about.
    “Their son must be in town for the summer. That never goes well for the rest of us.”
    Before I can ask him what the hell that means, Rich gets out. I follow behind him when my boss calls, “Alec! Come here for a second.”
    A weight drops into my stomach and I suddenly get what Rich was saying. It’s not that I really care about this job, but it helps pay the bills. My dad’s already giving me shit about not helping out at the lake cabins this summer, but hell, I’m over it. I always expected the lake cabins to be part of my life—mine and Charlie’s but that life would have been a lie. Being there reminds me of that. And being around my dad I think about why I wanted that lie.
    When I get a couple feet from my boss, I stop. “Hey. Is everything okay?”
    He crosses his arms, pasting this stern look on his face. “I hate to tell ya this, kid, but we’re going to have to cut your hours. We’d like to keep you on call if that works for you. If not, I understand.”
    “Did I do something wrong?”
    “No, no. If you remember, you were hired on as temporary.” He rubs a hand over his