Trouble & the Wallflower by Kade Boehme Read Free Book Online Page A

he knew he’d break like this if something happened to Ray. He definitely understood the loss. “What was her name?”
    “Mona.” Davy didn’t look up from his hands in his lap. “She was a good mom. I wish she’d done some stuff different, but she was good.”
    “I’m sure she was.” Gavin hated seeing Davy so down, so he thought it’d be wise to direct the conversation back to where they’d started. “So what do you do? Sit in your apartment by yourself?” That seemed so sad.
    “I work a lot, as you well know” — that was pointedly accusatory — “and I do online classes. I don’t get much chance to meet people, but I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m not great with people anyways, so I don’t ever know what to do when I get the chance to try to be friends with someone.” He chewed on his tongue, obviously a nervous habit, then laughed derisively. “Like now. You guys were great. You only hit on me the one time. Sean and Mason did their best to help me fit in, and here I am being a freak and dumping my shit on you.”
    “Davy, that’s what friends are for.” Friends don’t want to kiss it all better, though, Gavin.
    “I guess, but I still feel like an idiot.”
    “Don’t. Just, if you need to talk or just need to sit somewhere and be quiet but have someone else around, I’ll be here, ’kay. Just a friend. No judgment.”
    Davy gave a small smile. It wasn’t incredibly encouraging, but it was an improvement. “Give me a sec,” Gavin said. He ran to the counter and asked to borrow a pen. He pulled a napkin out of the dispenser and jotted down his number. He was surprised to find he really had no ulterior motive this time. He smiled at the girl who’d let him borrow the pen and thanked her before returning to the table and passing his number to Davy. “Use it. Please. Coffee, a movie, help with your fucking homework. Me and Sean can take you out and get you drunk. Whatever. You want friends, you got ’em.” He couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. No matter how sexy the guy was, he was clearly not Gavin’s type and vice versa, but friends they could definitely do.
    Davy looked at the napkin for a moment, then smiled sweetly. That was definitely an improvement. He folded the napkin neatly and put it away in his wallet. Gavin couldn’t help but smile too. “Can we stay just a little while longer?” Davy asked quietly.
    “Of course we can,” Gavin said warmly. “As long as you want.”

Chapter 6

     
     
    D AVY LOOKED longingly out the front windows of the soda shop. After a week of constant gray skies and drizzling rain, they’d had another unseasonably warm, sunny day that had given way to a beautifully clear night. Davy had picked up a second shift to help out one of the girls he worked with, so he’d been in the shop from early morning and would be around until close. He’d been alone behind the counter all day save for the hour or so that the owner, Henry, had come in. It was still off-season and a Tuesday, so even the park had been unusually empty most of the day.
    He was surprised how bored he’d been without Gavin or one of his crew popping in throughout the day. Since their night out two weeks earlier, it was as if they’d come in every day to say hello, Gavin reminding him, “I only said I’d stay away if you had a horrible time.” Davy had to admit he’d had a great time. He was still mortified how much the drinking had loosened his tongue, especially with Gavin. There was something else, though, about Gavin that made Davy want to open up to him some.
    Davy hadn’t had a friend in a long time. When Gavin stopped with the innuendos and extended an offer of friendship, Davy latched on to it like a love-starved orphan from a third-world country. He was a little embarrassed about how he’d acted at Dick’s, but Gavin made a point of acting as though those last, maudlin moments at Dick’s hadn’t happened. Davy was eternally grateful, especially when