Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67981 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67981 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“Ah, man.” Martin shook his head. “Cut it out. You’re making my stomach hurt.” He looked at the other men and asked, “Were any of us ever that sickeningly sweet?”
“Not me,” Henry responded before taking a swig of his beer.
“Me either,” Raul said.
“I still feel that way when I think about your sister,” Jim replied.
Emilio held his beer bottle up and tipped Jim’s. “Hear, hear, man.” He took a sip and then glanced at the door again. This time, he saw Spencer walk in, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Emilio raised his hand in a wave and Spencer smiled brightly. He rushed over to their table.
“Hey, cariño,” Emilio said quietly as he cupped Spencer’s nape and gave him an affectionate squeeze. “How was your day?”
“Better now.” Spencer rubbed his hand over Emilio’s chest and looked up at him, his pretty brown eyes twinkling, his dimples showing.
Emilio wanted to strip him naked and bend him over the nearest flat surface, but he was pretty sure that’d get them kicked out of the pool hall.
“Probably get you arrested too, bro,” Henry said, bumping his shoulder.
“Did I say that out loud?” Emilio asked in surprise.
“Yup.” Henry winked as he pressed his bottle to his lips and tilted it up.
“Yes,” Spencer said at the same time, his cheeks bright red. “You did.”
“Sorry, cariño,” Emilio mumbled. “You do that to me.”
Spencer flushed and smiled, looking embarrassed but pleased.
“Ain’t you gonna introduce me to your man?” Henry asked.
Emilio put his hand on Spencer’s back and drew him close. “Spencer, this is my brother, Henry. Henry, Spencer.”
“Nice to finally meet you,” Spencer said, reaching his hand out. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“If it was bad, it was probably a lie,” Henry responded, taking Spencer’s hand in his and shaking it. “Or maybe not.” He winked. Martin walked up and Henry added, “We’ve heard a lot about you too. In fact, we were just talking about you before we came here. Ain’t that right, Martin?”
“What’re you… oh, man, gross. Cut it out!” Martin said. He shook his head, as if he was trying to clear away a horrible thought, and then he reached for Spencer’s hand. “Martin Sanchez. Good to meet you.”
Spencer looked at Emilio, his eyebrows scrunched together, confusion mapped on his face. “Oh, uh, nice to meet you too.” He shook Martin’s hand and blinked quickly.
“Ignore them, Spencer,” Emilio said and glared at Henry. “They’re just being assholes and they’re gonna stop right now. Ain’t that right, Henry?”
“Sorry,” Henry said, not sounding at all sorry, then he wandered back to the pool table with Martin on his heel. Emilio heard a smack followed by an “Ow!” so he figured Martin had gone after Henry again. It was deserved, so he ignored them.
“Your family is really different from mine,” Spencer observed, his eyes wide.
Worried they had upset Spencer, Emilio said, “They mean well. We just kid each other a lot, but I can tell them to stop.”
“No, don’t.” Spencer grasped Emilio’s wrist. “It’s nice that you’re all so close.” He glanced at Emilio’s brothers and sighed longingly. “You have a wonderful family.”
Emilio hated that Spencer had drawn the short straw when it came to families, but he hoped maybe one day Spencer would feel like part of his family. If he knew his mother, she’d make sure of it.
“Hey, Spencer!” Raul marched up, grabbed Spencer’s palm with one hand and clapped his shoulder with the other. “Good to see you again. You want a beer?”
Spencer hesitated for a second and then he seemed to relax in response to Raul’s jovial smile. “No, I’m good for right now. Thank you.”
“How about a soda?” Jim asked as he approached Spencer. “I’m heading up to the bar to get a refill anyway.”
“A soda would be great. Thanks, Jim,” Spencer said. “How’ve you been?”
“Good. Alicia and I had a great time the other night. She hasn’t stopped talking about how much she wants to have you and Emilio over for dinner so you can meet the kids. We’ll have to compare calendars before we leave and get something on the books.”
“Sounds great,” Spencer said.
“Good.” Jim nodded, seeming pleased that had been decided. He patted Spencer on the shoulder and said, “Be right back.” Then he and Raul walked toward the bar.
“So,” Emilio said once he was finally alone with Spencer. “Busy—”
“Spencer,” a man called out as he approached them from behind. “We need to talk.”
All the color drained from Spencer’s face at the sound of that voice. He flipped around and said, “Peter! What are you doing here?”
So this was Peter the ex-boyfriend. Emilio looked him up and down and decided he wasn’t impressed. The man’s face was pinched, his eyes beady, and he wore his hair in a comb-over, like he was thinning up top but trying to hide it. It never worked when guys did that, and Emilio always wondered why they didn’t just cut it short and own it. He knew a lot of good-looking bald guys.