The Right Words (32 page)

“Luke, it was Jake.”

“You already said that. What are you—” He stopped and quirked his head to the side. His eyes narrowed shrewdly. “Jake? Like from high school?”

I nodded and took another drink. I was starting to feel human again. Thank God. There was a shitload of things to be done before I opened the door. I sighed as I stood and carried my coffee to the back office, inclining my head to wordlessly ask Luke to follow.

“There’s nothing much to tell. It was weird. As in, what the fuck? The chances of him moving to West Hollywood are—”

“Maybe he finally came out. Did he say if—”

“I didn’t ask! I don’t want to know. I don’t want anything to do with him. It was twelve years ago. You know the saying about fish and family after three days. There’s got to be a good one about closeted ex-boyfriends resurfacing after a dozen years.”

“The past is never where you think you left it,” Luke quoted. His love of literature and poetry hadn’t diminished over the years.

“Who said—never mind. I don’t want to know. I have a very strict policy regarding the past. No exceptions.”

“Katherine Anne Porter was responsible for that piece of wisdom.” He paused for a moment. “Bran, I’m not suggesting you get reacquainted. I think it’s weird too. And yes, I know your policy. Live in the present only. I get it. But are you… okay? He was important to you once and—”

“Once. A long time ago. I admit it was odd and out of context, and I took the excuse of it being Friday night to party a little harder than usual to forget about things and people I don’t want to remember. I’m an idiot, but….” I sighed deeply and flashed Luke a reassuring grin. “Give me ten more minutes to recuperate, and I’ll be back to normal. Enough about me! Tell me about your sexy soccer man. What did you boys do last night? Feel free to share details. I’m a single boy again. I’m living vicariously, sugar!”

Luke’s lovely smile lit his handsome features. He blushed furiously as he launched into a somewhat tame story about a restaurant in Laguna, a romantic sunset, and then I tuned out. It was all so sweet and domesticated. I had to laugh at myself though. Isn’t that what I wanted eventually too? Holding hands at the theater and romantic dinners by candlelight with lots of steamy sex in between sounded good. Sure. But so did something a little naughtier. My errant imagination conjured melting wax from a wayward candle enticingly dripped on my bare torso by a fireman in uniform. Well, minus the shirt, who’d come to rescue me from—

“Well, was he?”

I blinked in an attempt to focus on my friend, who was giving me an expectant look. I gave up. I had no clue what he was talking about.

“What?”

“Was Jake still good looking, or was he balding with the beginnings of a beer belly?”

“Sadly he’s hotter than ever with a full head of hair and a flat stomach. No doubt his abs are to die for too.” I sighed dramatically and stood up. It was time to get to work.

“I figured as much.” Luke commiserated as he followed me back into the store.

“Help me go through the
receipts from yesterday. I didn’t get to them last night.” I stopped suddenly and turned to Luke with a serious expression. “By the way, your writer friend was wrong. I know exactly where my past is and that’s where it’s staying.”

L
ANE
H
AYES
is grateful to finally be doing what she loves best. Writing full time! It’s no secret Lane loves a good romance novel. An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love stories with beautifully written characters. These days she prefers the leading roles to both be men. Lane discovered the M/M genre a few years ago and was instantly hooked. Her debut novel was a 2013 Rainbow Award finalist and her third received an Honorable Mention in the 2014 Rainbow Awards. She loves red wine, chocolate, and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband and the coolest yellow Lab ever in an almost empty nest.

Contact information:

Website: http://lanehayes.wordpress.com

Twitter: @LaneHayes3

Facebook: LaneHayesauthor

E-mail: [email protected]

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