Page 55 of From the Ashes
“Tony, stop,” I grumbled. “He’s just a friend.”
“How long have you been friends?”
“Since we were kids. Like fifth or sixth grade? His mom introduced us because he didn’t have any friends.”
“Oh my god! That’s adorable!” He took a seat on the other side of the table, cradling his chin in his hands. “Tell me all about him!”
“Why?” I was trying to play it aloof, but Tony knew me too well to fall for that. “He’s just a friend.”
“Uh-huh. That’s why you’ve been writing to him every waking moment since we left Creekside. Also, I think it’s adorable and old-fashioned that you write letters instead of email. It’s very nineteenth century.”
“Will you fuckoff?”
“So isCharliethe reason you stopped having sex with me?”
I opened my mouth to lie again, but no sound came out. And it did not go unnoticed by Tony. By the time I got control of my faculties again, it was too late.
“That explains it,” he sighed, sitting back in his seat. He laced his fingers behind his head, shaking his head at me. “That’s too bad. You were a good lay.”
“A glowing review,” I muttered, going back to my notebook.
“Hey, I’m allowed to be sad when good dick becomes unavailable.”
“We’re in California now,” I replied. “There’s a gay man every ten feet. Go find another one.”
“I might do that. I’ve never had a west coast cock.” He pulled his hands back down, giving me an earnest look. “But I don’t care about that right now. I want to hear about this guy! Who is he? What’s he like? Is he better in bed than me?”
“His name is Charlie, and he’s very nice,” I replied, purposefully ignoring that last question. “And we’re just friends.” I glanced down at the notebook. “Hell, we’re mostly pen pals at this point.”
Tony narrowed his gaze, giving me a good once over. “Were you closer as kids?”
“Yeah.”
“For how long?”
“Until I went to college.”
“Did you two ever… you know?” He waggled his eyebrows at me suggestively.
“No. We did not.” I let out a long sigh. “We kissed… once.”
“Oh.” Tony nodded as if he understood something at last.
“What?”
“He’s a homophobe, isn’t he?”
“What?!”
“You kissed him. It scared the fuck out of him and then you two had a falling out. Classic crush on a straight dude mistake. I’ve seen it a million times. Even did it once or twice myself.”
“That’s not why we fell apart.”
“Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Phie.”
“His fuckingmomdied, Tony!” I blurted out, anger getting the better of me. “And he nearly died too! He was in a coma for months!”
Tony’s eyes went wide with shock. I forced myself to take a deep breath, crossing my arms over my chest with a huff. He was a good guy, but Tony could be a real dense fucking asshole sometimes. The dude just didn’t know when to stop. I was trying to quell my irritation, but when I looked up, I saw the biggest grin on his face I’d ever seen.