Page 73 of From the Ashes

Tony grinned wider, and I realized I’d fallen right into his trap. He wanted more details from me, and he worked me up until I gave them without realizing. I felt like I’d betrayed Charlie’s trust. And to top it all off, I felt like an idiot.

“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it Phie?”

“I hate you.”

“That’s fine.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. “But all that aside, I can tell this boy is good for you. You’ve been dreaming about him for years and now that you’re together… well, let’s just say it looks like it agrees with you.”

“We’re not together,” I said maybe a little too quickly.

“Well, let me know when you are,” Tony replied, his tone implying it was only inevitable. “And I want to meet him when youtwo finally make it official. I want to meet the man who’s friendship just made you the most successful author of the year.”

“Right,” I nodded, giddy at the idea of having Charlie at my side as my partner. I knew socializing wasn’t his favorite thing to do, but meeting a small group of friends was okay, right? “I’ll let you know.”

Tony walked back to his bed, pulling open his suitcase. “Oh, and let me know when he wants to open up your relationship.”

I looked up at him, confused. But he just smiled.

“If his dick is that good, I want a turn too.”

“Tony, I say this with all the love in the world,” I growled. “Touch him and you die.”

He laughed, but I could tell he knew I was serious. “Message received.”

CHAPTER 31

Charlie

Iwas standing at the kitchen window when I heard a knock at the front door. A quick glance out the sliding door showed that Patrick was still working on the lawn, his headphones in as he made passes over the grass. It was barely past ten in the morning, and I’d only been out of bed for fifteen minutes. At first, I ignored the knock. But when it became more insistent, I figured I had no choice but to answer it.

The only people that would be pounding on doors this early were either police or religious solicitors. And considering I hadn’t committed a crime that I knew of, it was bound to be pamphlet toting converters. I braced myself to tell off theworstkind of people as I took a deep breath and opened the door.

Instead of Mormons, I was greeted by Phoenix. He still had his gym shorts on, a backpack thrown over one shoulder, andveryrumbled hair that told me he’d bolted out of bed to get back here so early. And he held a coffee ineach hand.

“Nix,” I said, my stomach twisting nervously. I hadn’t gotten a chance to really think things over from the day before. He’d only been gone a few hours. “You’re back early.”

“Yeah,” he replied, combing his fingers through his hair. “I… I guess I missed you.”

It was cute and it made me smile. So, I tried to push aside the nerves, and I invited him in. As soon as he was inside, he dropped his backpack and we both went to the kitchen.

“These might need to be warmed up,” he said, placing the coffees on the counter. “I made Tony stop for them back in Eugene. I didn’t realize that was the closest coffee shop.”

“That’s what microwaves are for,” I said, dumping them both into large mugs and putting them in the microwave. “But you know, we have a little shop here in town. It’s not a big chain, but they make decent coffee.” I glanced back at him as our drinks began to reheat. “You must’ve had to get up pretty early to get back here so soon.”

“Yeah. Tony was kinda pissed about it,” he grinned. “But I wanted to see you. Especially after yesterday. I felt like we left things on a weird note.”

“It wasn’t weird. I just…” I took a breath, trying to collect my thoughts. “It’s just a lot really fast and I need some time to process.”

“Oh. Of course.” He turned his gaze to the backyard, trying to hide his disappointment. Catching sight of Patrick, he stepped up to the glass, his mouth hanging open slightly. “Did you know there’s a draft horse in your backyard?”

“Yep. That’s Patrick.”

Nix turned to me, a look of shock on his face. “What?!”

“You heard me.”

He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “That beefy motherfucker isPatrick?!”

“Regretting not giving him that blowjob in high school now?” The microwave dinged and I pulled our drinks out, sliding a mug over to him. “That could’ve been yours.”