Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“So,” Jason said, his expression wicked but his touch gentle as he combed his fingers through Abe’s hair. “What do you want to do next?”
Chapter 3
“WHAT’S UP with you?”
Jason looked across the table at his cousin Asher. “What do you mean?”
“You look like someone pissed on your puppy.”
“I think the saying is ‘pissed on your cereal’ or ‘kicked your puppy,’” Jason corrected.
The look Asher gave him clearly indicated that the explanation wasn’t appreciated. And that he thought Jason was an idiot. It was like being a kid again, except his mother and aunt, Asher’s mother, weren’t in the next room chatting. Their mothers were close, so they’d spent a lot of time together as children, but Asher lived in San Francisco now, so Jason only got to see him when he was in San Francisco for conferences.
“Nothing’s up.” Jason reached for his beer. “It’s just the holidays. You know how it is.”
People got down during that time of year. It was normal. And nothing was better for chasing away the blues than sex, so it made sense that Jason subconsciously went to a place where he’d spent a couple of hot nights. That was what he told himself when he kept missing his turnoff on the freeway and ended up driving by Abe’s apartment. It had happened four times that month. So far, he hadn’t pulled into the parking lot, let alone gone to the door, but he’d thought about it.
“How what is?” Asher asked.
“The holidays,” he repeated. “They’re hard on people.”
Asher furrowed his brow. “Are you having a big shindig at your place for Christmas or something?”
Jason lived in a sparsely furnished townhouse. A nice townhouse, sure. Three stories, three bedrooms, twenty-five hundred square feet. But it wasn’t a place where he’d throw a party even if he were the type to have parties, which he wasn’t.
“No.” He shook his head.
“Then what’s the big stress? Thanksgiving’s over. You have a week left to buy Christmas presents.” Asher’s phone beeped. He picked it up, smiled, and then set it back on the table. “Hell, if you’ve got time after your conference is over tomorrow, there are a few decent stores around your hotel. Go grab what you need and call it done.”
“Was that Daniel?” Jason asked.
“Yeah. He said to tell you he’s sorry, but he won’t be able to join us for dinner. His brother’s latest girlfriend dumped him, so Daniel’s at his place, listening to him whine.” Asher grimaced. “Have I mentioned how glad I am you’re in town so I don’t have to be there?”
“I thought you were good friends with his brother. Didn’t he introduce the two of you?”
“No, he didn’t, and yes, I am. But I have to listen to Ollie’s shit at work. If he asks why he can’t make a relationship last and then immediately changes the topic one more time, I’m going to break his nose.”
There was no way to know if Asher was serious about that threat. It was definitely possible.
“Let me ask you something,” Jason said, looking down as he rolled his beer bottle between his palms. “What’s it like to be in a relationship?”
Jason had always considered his older cousin the permanently single type, so he had been surprised when he heard Asher had moved a man into his apartment. He had been even more surprised when, a few years later, they were still together.
“You were married for, what, ten years?” Asher asked.
“About that long, yes.”
“So I assume you know the answer to your question.”
“It was different.” Jason started picking at the label on the bottle.
“Yeah, I get that.” Asher stretched his long arms across the bench seat. “Angela’s great, but if women don’t do it for you, that deal was doomed from the start.”
It was a succinct explanation of the single biggest failure of Jason’s life. “Right,” he said.
“So you met a guy?” Asher asked.
Jason jerked his gaze up in surprise. “No.”
“No?” Asher arched his eyebrows disbelievingly.
He had slept with one man two times. That didn’t constitute anything in the neighborhood of a relationship. Still, Jason would be lying if he said the reason for his question wasn’t his desire to make it three times, and maybe more than that. Abe was sexy as hell and sweet as sin, all at the same time. Jason couldn’t remember enjoying being with anyone more.
“No.” He raised his gaze and met Asher’s. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I really don’t get the relationship thing.”
“You don’t get the relationship thing?” Asher repeated. “What do you mean, like, for you? Or in general?”
“Not in general, but with two guys.” He raised his bottle to his mouth, took a swig, then said, “What’s the point?”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“Look, I know it’s not popular to say it with everyone shouting about equality this and marriage that, but the reality is, you and Daniel aren’t going to have kids, you aren’t going to limit your sex life to just each other, and you’ll be lucky if you’re together for five years, let alone fifty. There’s no woman pushing for a ring.” He shrugged. “Why bother?”