Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“I’ll call him tomorrow, and we’ll make sure to get him out here this summer. I don’t want to fuck up with him.”
“No one is asking you to be perfect.”
“Yet somehow, you always are,” Lewis replied.
“No, I’m not.” He’d made plenty of mistakes, and he’d make more. That was life, but August didn’t expect perfection. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Have a good night, Auggie.”
August ended the call and forced himself not to give in to his desire to call Clint.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Clint
“I heard August Reynolds is back,” said Clint’s brother, Ron, when Clint had gone to see him the day after the barbecue.
He’d been waiting for this. He and Ron were close. Except for August, Ron was the first person to know Clint was bisexual because he’d come home and confided in his older brother that he’d kissed a boy. Ron had accepted it from the start and had never told anyone, outside of his wife, Grace, and that had been with Clint’s permission.
“Yep,” Clint replied.
“So you’ve seen him?” Ron looked toward the play equipment at the park, making sure his two daughters were accounted for.
“Had him and his son over yesterday.”
“Son, huh?”
“Yeah. He and his ex-husband adopted him. He got divorced two years ago.”
“And he already ended up at your place? Why am I not surprised that the two of you fell back into such an easy friendship? You were always different with Little August Reynolds.”
“Not so little anymore,” Clint replied, then asked, “How?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. You’re a good guy who always looks out for others, but you did it more with August. Your world revolved around him when the two of you were together.”
“I’m not sure that sounds like a good thing.”
“I don’t mean it in a bad way.” Ron chuckled. “And like I said, it’s hard to explain. Are the two of you…”
“What? No. He literally just moved back. He’s adjusting to being back in Briar County and has his son to think about. Reese had a hard time with the divorce, so I doubt dating is high on August’s priority list. We’re just friends.”
“I didn’t ask if you were dating. I was going to ask if you were hooking up.” Ron waggled his brows.
“You’re an idiot.”
“Mm-hm. Your first kiss and the object of your sexual awakening just moved back. Also, I saw your eyes when you said he’s not so little anymore.”
Clint couldn’t pretend he wasn’t attracted to August. That would be a lie, and he wasn’t a liar. He also couldn’t deny that if August wanted to fuck him, it would be hard as hell to say no, but… “I wouldn’t want to fuck up our friendship. That comes first. With his son and everything, I worry that even if August did want me, it would complicate things. Sex isn’t worth that.”
“Maybe it would be more than sex,” Ron replied. “Maybe August Reynolds is who you’ve been waiting for all along.”
Clint laughed. His brother was ridiculous. Clint hadn’t been waiting for anyone at all.
He heard from August midweek. He’d found an art class for Reese and wanted to know if Clint was able to meet up for dinner while Reese was there. Clint had already taken something out to defrost, but he put it back in the fridge and agreed. Why wouldn’t he want to share dinner with an old friend rather than eat alone?
They met at Mama Adaline’s. August was already there when Clint arrived. He pointed over when the hostess tried to seat him to let her know he already had a table.
“The art class is in town?” Clint slid into the booth across from August.
“Yeah, it’s through the city. We live close enough that he could technically walk, but I had to pay this first time and figured I could use it as an excuse to touch base with you.”
“I figure it’s a good excuse to eat Mama Adaline’s.” Clint winked.
“Oh, I see how you are. Only come for the food.”
“Well, it is good food,” he countered as the waitress approached.
“Can I get you two somethin’ to drink?”
August nodded toward Clint.
“I’ll have a sweet tea,” he replied.
“Same for me,” August added. “How has your week been?” he asked when she walked away.
“Not bad. I got some orders in that I’ve been working on. I did a local job on Monday. I hung out with my brother and the girls too. How about you?”
August eyed the menu as he said, “I finally talked to Lewis.”
“How did that go?”
“As good as can be expected, I guess. He promised to try harder and to work on making sure Reese can come out, even if it’s only for a few days. Lewis has always been very out of sight, out of mind. Plus, his younger boyfriend is his new shiny toy, so he’s getting all the attention right now.”