Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 163209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 816(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 816(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
“I’m glad I came,” he said.
“Are you?” was Laila’s quiet challenge.
He didn’t have an easy answer for that, but the trill of his phone distracted him from miserable thoughts. Laila leaned back so he could dig it out of his pocket. He knew who it’d be even before he opened his texts, and for a fleeting moment he was tempted to block Faser’s number. He read the man’s message twice through, weighing common sense against his threadbare nerves.
He made up his mind when the lock at the door popped undone, and Jeremy tapped out a quick response as Cat and Jean moved into the room. His only clean clothes were what he was due to wear tomorrow, so Jeremy peeled off his shirt and pulled on this morning’s tank top. He feigned not to notice Laila’s disapproving frown as he went in search of his shorts.
“Not PJs?” Cat asked as she flopped at Laila’s side. “I figured we’d get room service and watch the Foxes’ game, or something.”
“I’ll catch it later,” Jeremy said. “I’m heading out for a bit.”
Faser’s next text came in before Cat could quiz him further, and she laughed at the familiar alert. “Oh. Tell him we said hi.”
“Probably won’t,” Jeremy admitted. He grabbed his keycard from the nightstand on his way out. Jean’s unblinking stare was a weight he refused to return, and he lingered at the door only long enough to ensure the lock caught. He bypassed the busy elevators in favor of the stairwell and hurried down to the ground floor. Faser was parked over at the convention center where there’d be fewer prying eyes, and the passenger door was already unlocked.
The seat was laid back all the way so Jeremy could stay out of sight of any passersby, and Faser chucked a hat into Jeremy’s lap before he even had the door closed. Jeremy tugged the ballcap low over his face and fumbled for his seatbelt.
Faser ran an appreciative hand up his thigh. “Didn’t think you’d come. Glad you changed your mind.”
“So am I,” Jeremy said, and if it wasn’t entirely true, it at least sounded convincing. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Hell yeah,” Faser said, and nearly brought the asphalt with them.
The last time they’d hooked up was a home game in Los Angeles, so Jeremy wasn’t sure where Faser’s apartment was from here. At five minutes he figured they’d gone far enough to be safe, and he tossed the hat into Faser’s backseat. The other man didn’t protest when Jeremy sat up, but he did finally draw his hand back. Ten minutes later they rolled into a dark complex of a half-dozen squat buildings.
“Told my roommate to beat it,” Faser said as he parked and killed the engine.
His place was on the first floor, three doors down on the left. Jeremy toed out of his shoes, earning an amused look from Faser as the man set off deeper into the apartment. Half of the walls were covered in movie posters, and the cloying scent of air freshener couldn’t quite cover up the lingering smell of weed. If Faser’s roommate really was gone, he’d left very recently. Jeremy waited near the door while Faser scoped the place out.
“Just us,” Faser called from out of sight.
Jeremy followed his voice to a cramped kitchen. The other man was setting out a string of shot glasses. The top of his fridge was littered with booze bottles, and Faser pawed through them until he found the one he wanted. Jeremy put a warning hand to his shoulder and said, “Easy. You’ve got to drive me back later, you know.”
“Easy,” Faser returned as he poured, careless and content. “Take a taxi back, rich boy.”
Jeremy could imagine how poorly that conversation with his parents would go, but that was none of Faser’s business. He forced himself to let go and smile, and Faser set the bottle aside to kiss him. His “Let’s have some fun,” was barely a murmur against Jeremy’s lips, but Jeremy didn’t need to hear the words when Faser’s hand was shoved into the pocket on his shorts. His knuckles were an insistent weight against Jeremy’s skin. Jeremy would have to figure it out later; for now, he took the offered shot glass and knocked it back.
“Good,” Faser said, as he started his drinks from the other end. “Tell me about your Raven.”
“You really want to talk about Jean right now?” Jeremy asked.
“He got between you and Connors real quick,” Faser said. If he noticed Jeremy stopped after his second shot, he didn’t comment but went down the line with impressive speed. “Just wondering how I’m supposed to read into it. I heard what they were saying about him this spring, and we both know you’re a shameless slut.”
“Says the man who invited me here,” Jeremy said, cool enough that Faser laughed.