by Andy Gallo
“How’s meeting Marcus going to compromise your job?”
Ed rested his head back and stared out the windshield. His brow pinched together in frustration, and he rubbed at it with his thumb. “I try to avoid all Harrison students.” More quietly, “There’s a reason I’ve never picked you up from campus.”
“What the—why?”
Lips drawn tight, Ed dropped his gaze toward his lap. “Some of my coworkers have family working there. My boss’s son goes to Harrison. Kids of my parent’s friends. Coming to campus, even just to pick you up, is too weird. Meeting people on campus might get back to my coworkers too. They’ll be suspicious. Me, a community college guy, hanging out with the Harrison kids. They’ll wonder why. It won’t take them long to jump to… conclusions.”
“Wow, Ed. You didn’t promise too little with your Narnia comment.”
Ed winced, and Jack immediately wanted to kick himself.
“There was this guy at work, Wayne. I’m not sure if he was gay or bi, but I’m pretty sure he’d had a boyfriend and they broke up. The ex, or the one we all assumed was his ex, kept coming around looking for Wayne. People started to treat him differently. They avoided him, were always asking each other if he was gay or what.
“I didn’t know and he didn’t set off my gaydar, so I stayed out of it. But he looked really uncomfortable working there once people started talking. After a couple weeks, they fired Wayne.”
“Wow. They fired him for being gay?”
“No one said he was fired.” Ed shook his head. “My mom’s worked in HR for the last couple years. She said companies never say someone’s been terminated anymore to avoid getting sued. But one day Wayne was working with us, the next he wasn’t.”
“Maybe he quit.”
“I dunno. If he’d gotten a new job, you’d think he’d have told someone, and he’d probably have given a few days’ notice or something. Nothing. Just gone.”
“Shit, I’m sorry. Forget I said anything.” Jack put the key in the ignition and pressed down the clutch. He didn’t know what else to do. When the engine roared to life, Ed’s hand gently covered his on the shift.
“I really do like you.”
Screwing on a smile he didn’t feel, Jack faced him. A part of him whispered to get out of this, but another part bargained against it. Ed had tried tonight. They could have parked somewhere and tried their luck at getting into each other’s pants again, but he’d insisted they eat out. Twice Ed had even driven in Jack’s Jeep, despite the sticker that proudly told the world he was gay. Plus, their insane attraction. Jack could hardly ignore the semi he’d been sporting through dinner. Or the fact that, even frustrated, he wanted to reach over and kiss the worried pout of Ed’s lips.
Letting the warm hand stay atop his, Jack headed back to Ed’s truck. “We’re still on for Sunday brunch.”
Jack woke to Marcus whacking him with a pillow. “What the hell?” he said sleepily, curling onto his side.
“It’s Saturday. I should be sleeping in.”
Jack peeled one eye open. “Why don’t you do that then?”
Marcus grabbed Jack’s phone from the dresser and shoved it in his face. “Because this thing hasn’t stopped buzzing for the last twenty minutes.”
Jack lurched up. He tried snatching the phone, but Marcus pulled it out of reach. “Your dude is either crazy, texting at the crack of dawn every morning, or he’s head over heels. Either way, set your phone on silent.”
“Gimme.”
“When are you guys meeting next?”
Jack stretched, words coming out on a yawn. “Brunch tomorrow at that diner I told you about.”
“Have you asked him to the formal yet?”
That wasn’t likely to happen. “Nope.”
“Somehow I don’t think he’ll say no.” Marcus tossed the phone on his lap. “God, I can’t wait to see the back of Harper.”
Jack’s stomach twisted and he messed up the combination to unlock his phone. “We wouldn’t really toss him out if he lost, though, right?”
Marcus paused. “I want to say hell yeah we would, but… nah. At least we wouldn’t force him. He’d get taken down a peg or two, though. He’d lose cred, and maybe he’ll choose to leave on his own.”
Jack let out a relieved breath. He could handle embarrassing himself if it meant he didn’t really have to leave the house. He glanced at the side of his bed. At the skirting board, his and Marcus’s dads’ names were scratched into the wood. What would his dad think if he really had to leave? He would’ve accepted whatever stupid things Jack ended up doing in college—but he’d be a touch disappointed too.
Now that he wasn’t even around anymore….
Jack breathed in tightly, rocking forward. He grasped the ring at his chest.
“Whoa, dude.” Marcus jumped onto the bed and flung an arm around him. “Just breathe. You’re okay. I’m here. We’re good, all right? The only thing wrong is your lover boy waking us at crow’s fart.”
Jack inhaled deeply and counted to ten before slowly releasing. His muscles relaxed, leaving only heat stinging at the back of his eyes. “I’m good. Thanks, Marc.”
“Wanna talk about what just happened?”
“Not really.”
Marcus made a displeased sound in the back of his throat but thankfully let it go. He picked his pillow off Jack’s feet and dramatically threw himself back onto his bed. “Turn that thing on silent.”
Jack studied his phone. He unlocked it again, opening to two new messages and a missed call from Ed.
Ed: It’s early and Saturday, I know but….
Ed: Starbucks at 8?
Jack checked the time and threw himself out of bed for a quick shower. He was in his Jeep fifteen minutes later and at Starbucks right on time.
Ed crossed the parking lot toting two coffee cups, and Jack reached over the console and opened the door for him. Through the rearview mirror, Jack caught Ed hesitating at the HRC sticker as he rounded the back of the jeep.
Ed continued into the passenger seat. “Your morning dose of sugar.”
“You, or the coffee?”
Ed smirked and handed Jack his much-needed mocha.
Warm coffee hit his tongue. Jack sipped, then greedily eyed Ed in the passenger seat. He wore a casual pair of jeans, T-shirt, and beat-up leather jacket. Morning sun shone through the side window, bringing out the gold in Ed’s hair and where stubble dusted his jaw. “I thought you were out hiking with the family this morning?”
“Told Mom I had something more important to do this morning.”
Jack wondered what off-road parking lot they were heading to. “That right?”
Ed met his gaze. “Yeah. If I give you directions, will you drive?”
Jack followed Ed’s directions. He frowned as they pulled into a residential cul-de-sac. This wasn’t where he’d been expecting them to end up.
“You can park anywhere here,” Ed said.
“What’s here?”
Ed had been practically bouncing in his seat for the last twenty minutes. He grinned broadly. “The first yard sale.”
Jack braked heavily, breath catching in his throat. “What?”
Ed’s smile fell and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I messed up, didn’t I? You missed hunting for old books at yard sales, and I thought….” He gestured down the street to a house with people ambling around outside the garage.
“You’re taking me out to yard sales?” A soft flutter filled his chest as he looked at Ed.
“We don’t have to. We can turn around and leave—”
Jack reached over and rubbed Ed’s thigh. “I want to.”
Ed linked his hand over Jack’s, threading their fingers. “I’ve three other sales we can check out too.”
Ed found a small bud vase on the table. The sun made the cut glass sparkle. Turning it over, he looked at the small tag on the bottom.
“Three dollars. I bet my mother would like this.”
Jack smirked. “Nope,
can’t go wrong at that price.”
They bought it, checked a few more boxes, and decided to move on to the next sale. Unfortunately that one was a waste of time. Jack had them back in the car in less than five minutes. They lingered a bit at the third one. It had more stuff, but nothing like what he wanted. On the ride to the fourth sale, his optimism for finding a first edition book was quickly fading.
Ed checked the directions. “We’re almost at the last one.”
A couple of minutes later, they arrived. This sale was busier than the others—and bigger.
“Looks like an estate sale.” Jack recognized the type. “Bet most of it is already gone.”
“Still worth a look, no?”
“Yep, we’re here.” Walking through the rows of boxed goods, Jack resisted the urge to reach over and entwine their hands together. He did shift closer to Ed, though. When Ed didn’t move away, Jack bumped the backs of their hands together, smiling broadly.
He’d been happy at the thought Ed had wanted to meet to make out. This, though. This had taken him by surprise, and his whole body bubbled with giddiness.
“That,” Ed said quietly, shifting his knuckles so they touched again.
“That, what?”
“That smile makes every yard sale dud worth it.”
They looked at each other, and it took an insane amount of control not to haul Ed into an all-consuming kiss right there, surrounded by locals and dusty ornaments.
“Watch it,” Jack said. “Or I might tackle you to the ground. Right here.”
Ed’s tongue whipped over his bottom lip.
“Looking for something?” a middle-aged woman with curly earrings asked them, breaking the connection.
Jack smiled at her. “Just curious if you had any old books?”
She nodded and told him to wait there.
Ed smiled. “What is it you’re looking for? That’s the fourth time you’ve asked for old books.”
“Yeah, I… um…. Dad and I used to collect first editions.” Jack’s smile ached, pinching his cheeks. “We made it a competition not to wrap up for the day until we found one.”
“Sounds like a good challenge. We can do that.”
Jack couldn’t hold the smile anymore. His throat felt tight as he swallowed. “Thank you.”
Ed reached out and set his warm hand on the curve of Jack’s shoulder. The touch was careful and comforting.
“Why are you doing this?” Jack asked.
“I made you feel bad last night.”
“I’m sorry for pushing you to meet Marcus. I know where we stand.”
Ed frowned and his lips parted. Before he could speak, the woman with curly earrings was back, heaving a large box of books.
“These are all we have.” She pulled out several well-preserved books.
Jack looked through them, and Ed hovered at his side. Unlike most of the books he’d found at the other sales, these didn’t have that musty attic smell. The owner had cared for them, just like his father had. After the seventh book he put the book down and stepped back.
“These are amazing, but I didn’t bring enough cash. I can’t afford anything like these. They’re….”
“Worth a lot?” The woman shrugged. “I had all the books appraised. These are only moderately valuable. Thirty dollars each or two for fifty.”
Jack’s mood perked up. He had fifty bucks.
Ed picked up the top one and opened to the cover matter. He set it down and grabbed another. By the sixth book he put two aside and gave her back the rest.
“First editions.” He tapped the two he’d kept and pulled out his wallet. “We’ll take ’em.”
Jack carefully wrapped the books in a towel he kept in the back seat. When they were seated, he glanced over to Ed.
“What?” Ed looked sheepish.
“You didn’t have to buy them for me.”
Ed rubbed his palms over his jeans, scanned the road, and settled on Jack. His eyes dropped to Jack’s lips. “I wanted to show you exactly where we stand.”
“But you need that money—”
Ed surged across the console and pressed his lips against Jack’s. The kiss was short, but the shock of it ignited a fire inside his belly. Jack gripped the steering wheel, hope dangerously rising with each passing second.
“I had it to spend,” Ed said. “For your first editions.”
“Ed….”
“You drove us everywhere today.”
“That’s something, but I need to do more.”
“Fine. Buy us brunch tomorrow.”
“More. What else?”
Ed sucked in a breath and caught his gaze. “Bring Marcus along.”
Sick of the weight of their bet, Jack hunted down Harper to talk it out. Maybe there was a chance they could drop the whole thing.
The door to Harper’s dorm room was ajar. Harper lay on his bed, tossing a soccer ball toward the ceiling.
Jack knocked.
Harper looked over and almost dropped the ball on his face. “Murphy.” He swung off the bed and planted himself in front of Jack. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Jack ignored the urge to flip him off. He leaned against the doorframe like he would have last year and tried for a casual tone. “Neither one of us really wants to move out if we lose this bet. How do you feel about changing the bet? Loser coughs up two hundred dollars. Or we could drop the whole thing.”
Harper’s eyes gleamed, and Jack cursed under his breath. Coming here had been a mistake. Trying to be reasonable and talk like the adults they were supposed to be was for nothing. Harper held the power now, and it danced in his fucking eyes. “You think you’re going to lose. I knew you didn’t have it in you to bring a date.”
Fuck him for being right. Jack hauled in a breath and went for sincere. “Look, even if you do win, I’m not leaving the frat. My dad went here. This place actually means something to me.”
“You’d cop out if you lost?” Harper’s laugh was dry and disbelieving. “You’d look a fool.”
“I’m sure I’ve looked worse.”
“No. No, that’s not okay. We made a bet, and you should honor it.”
“Fuck, Harper. If you lost, we’d piss you off about it but we wouldn’t force you to leave.”
“If I lost, I would leave to save face. I’m good for my word.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’d make up some excuse why it wasn’t a real loss. You’d use a technicality to keep your spot here.”
“I guess you’ll have to win and find out.”
Jack pushed off the doorframe, shaking his head. “Whatever. I’ve said my piece.”
“If you lose and don’t move out, you’ll regret it.”
“Excuse me?”
Harper shrugged. “You’ve got a bunch of real close friends here. Marcus. Seth. Billy…. I can get them blackballed from all frat parties. I can generally make their frat lives miserable. And Marcus can totally forget about ever becoming class president.”
Jack balled his fists at his side. “Why are you being like this?”
Harper walked up to him, chest puffed, jaw hard. “You took Brittany from me. Let’s see how it feels for you to lose what you love.”
“If you loved her, you shouldn’t have cheated.”
“It was a drunken mistake that didn’t mean anything.” Harper’s voice wavered. “You were my friend; you should’ve had my back.”
“I had her back, Harper.” Jack walked backward down the hall. “You haven’t made me regret that decision.”
Chapter Ten
“Remind me again why we’re up so early?” Marcus pulled on a Harrison hat to hide his barely combed bed head.
“You wanted to meet Ed.” Jack held the door open and stole a last look in the mirror. Satisfied with his choice of clothes, he followed his brother out of their room. “Today’s the day.”
“Right, but later would have been better.”
“You have a game. If we made it later, you wouldn’t get t
o eat.”
Marcus grunted and zipped up his coat.
“What was that for?” Jack had an idea.
“If he’d come here, we could have gone somewhere closer and I could have slept in.” He paused at the top of the stairs. “Instead we had to get up at O-dark-hundred and drive to east donkey fuck just to get breakfast.”
Jack pushed him, maybe a bit too hard, and followed Marcus down the steps. “It’s only a fifteen-minute drive. You weren’t going to get that much more sleep.”
“Fifteen there, fifteen back….”
“Had you gotten your shit together like I suggested, you wouldn’t need to come back to the room.”
Marcus mumbled.
If he had any idea what it meant that Ed had overcome his fears to meet him…. “If you don’t want to come, stay here.”
“I’m coming.”
Good. This would be good.
Nervous energy had him stuffing his hands into his pockets to stop from fidgeting. He should tell Marcus the truth about Ed not being out. That he liked him, but Ed wasn’t likely to solve their bet problems. That Harper had made it clear Jack would need to leave the frat or Marcus and their friends would pay for it.
“What’s got your brow pinched like that?” Marcus knocked him in the shoulder with a wink. “Fraid I’m gonna embarrass you?”
Marcus would never.
“Look, I haven’t asked him to the formal yet.” Because he’s not out. “Don’t say anything about it, okay?”
“You guys seem locked at the hip. What are you waiting for?”
“The right moment.”
Marcus waggled his brows. “My lips are sealed.”
Pulling the silver door open, Marcus let Jack go in first. “Seriously, you’re taking me to your date place?”
The guy knew how to press his buttons. “No, this is just where we went after we exchanged phones. Our date places are off-limits to you.”
When he turned back, he found Marcus engrossed in the posters lining the walls. Perfect. He left his brother to get a table. This early, there was no wait, and a waitress walked them to a booth. After taking their drink orders, she left them alone.
