Something Beautiful by Jenna Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

table. Dune got comfortable in one of the chairs as Jamie resumed cooking.
     
    "I picked up Micah at the airport this morning. His flight got in at three."
     
    Jamie gave him an amused look. "Your devotion impresses me."
     
    "It's not devotion. I just didn't think he should be riding BART at that hour of the night, particularly after he'd already been traveling for thirty hours or whatever it was." Jamie started chopping onions, and Dune inhaled the sharp scent, closing his eyes.
     
    "Longer than any sane person," Jamie said with a nod. "So, how is the lad?"
     
    "Fine. Tired. He loved it. I'm tempted to follow his example now." Dune leaned his elbow on the table and his head on his hand, and traced a line between the knots in the smooth wood.
     
    "Haven't you been to Europe?"
     
    "Never. I've been to Cancun, but that's the extent of my foreign experience."
     
    "Ah, mate, everyone should see London. I'll take you. Show you all my old haunts." Jamie laughed shortly. "Though if I do that it'll consist mostly of, I got fucked in this alley and I got fucked in this loo, and this is where I went to art school. Oh -- sorry, would you like a coffee?"
     
    "I'd love some."
     
    Jamie poured Dune a cup and gave it to him. "I can never remember how you like it -- just sugar, isn't it?"
     
    "It's just sugar and cream," Dune said and helped himself to the sugar on the table as Jamie got a bottle of cream from the refrigerator for him and then resumed cooking. "Ben's at church?"
     
    "Yep. Mass. Confession, I think, too. I like to think it's the highlight of Father Tucker's week, hearing all our exploits since the last time."
     
    "I think the point of confession is to go and sin no more," Dune pointed out.
     
    "Well, we can't help it, can we?" He flashed a grin at Dune. "I'm not that enthused about celibacy, m'self. Sin at least offers orgasms."
     
    Dune chuckled. "Orgasms trump just about everything else, that's true."
     
    Jamie looked at him a moment. "Are you sure you're all right? Do you need to nap a little?"
     
    "I'm fine. It's been a strange day already, though, and I've only been awake a couple hours."
     
    "Oh?" Jamie wiped off his hands with a paper towel, sniffed them and made a face. "My hands smell like onions. Anyway. What's happened?"
     
    "My moms are thinking of moving to Key West when this semester's over. Frances didn't get tenure and I guess they're ready for a change of scenery."
     
    "Oh, Dunie," Jamie said sympathetically. "I'm sorry. They've lived in Berkeley a long time, haven't they?"
     
    "Since I was about eleven, and here in the city before that. I can't even imagine them on the other coast. But they love Key West. They've vacationed there every summer since forever."
     
    "So you'll just have to visit them more often," Jamie said, and poured himself another glass of tea.
     
    "Yeah," Dune murmured and sipped. "What are you making?"
     
    "Cornish pasties. Ben insists English food isn't worthy of further exploration and I'm trying to disabuse him of this notion. He did like banoffee pie, at least."
     
    "How can you not like banoffee pie?" said Dune, who had no idea what it was but liked the name.
     
    Jamie smiled at him. "Exactly. So is that all that's bothering you? Your mums are moving?"
     
    "Yes," said Dune, then said, "No. Not all. I called Daniel this morning to see if he wanted to hang out and he -- well, he dumped me, in essence."
     
    "Really," Jamie said without any surprise at all.
     
    Dune straightened up. "What? You knew he was planning to?"
     
    "No, not planning. I know he's not been happy with the state of things for a while."
     
    "So why didn't he say anything about this to me?"
     
    "What would he have said: 'Dune, I'm unhappy because you don't love me?' He's not a teenage girl." He sat at the table with Dune. "You -- and I say this with complete and utter love and devotion to you, Dunie -- you love everybody and nobody, you know?"
     
    "Oh," Dune said.
     
    Jamie watched him,