Were they?
Wasthatwhat Thad wanted?
He had no idea. And what the fuck did he know about relationships anyway? He’d looked out for Teddy, cared about him even, while they were in prison, but they’d gone their separate ways after.
Moving on into the real world alone.
Thad had always thought of himself as a lone wolf. The kind of guy who would never settle down.
But there was a strange tightness in his chest every time he looked at Graham that he couldn’t deny anymore. He’d thought about Graham all summer, clinging to the handful of interactions they’d had.
Wanting more.
“Yeah, well, all those relationships haven’t exactly gotten me anywhere, have they?” Graham said bitterly and a beat too late.
Thad shrugged. “I have no idea what your dating life is like right now. For all I know you’re madly in love with someone.”
And why didthatfeel like a kick to the gut?
And Thad would know. He’d been kicked in the gut before. Both literally and metaphorically.
Graham tugged at the collar of his shirt and glanced over. “You probably figured it out but I’m, um, with Madison again. We, uh, got back together this summer and?—”
Thad held up a hand. “Dude. You don’t owe me an explanation. We’re not dating.”
For some reason, Graham flinched.
“And trust me, like I said, I fucked plenty of people this summer,” Thad said, smirking. Because if he thought too much about Graham and Madison together again, he’d fucking lose it. From the pictures he’d seen on Graham’s social media, he’d been pretty sure they were together. But it was one thing to wonder and another to hear it from Graham’s lips. “I wasn’t just jerking it alone while I thought about you, I promise.”
“Classy, dude,” Graham shot back. But he froze, frowning at Thad, studying his face for a moment with narrowed eyes before he spoke. “But youwerejerking it alone thinking about me at some point?”
“No,” Thad lied. “Why? Wereyoudoing that thinking aboutme?”
He regretted the words as soon as he’d said them, but he’d never learned to keep his mouth shut about anything, had he? He had this stupid fucking habit of poking and poking until he got a reaction, even if it was one he knew he wouldn’t like or want.
It was arguably as bad of a habit as his smoking and probably as likely to lead to an early death. One of these days he was going to end up taking a fist to the face because of it.
Orworse.
But, to his surprise, Graham’s hands curled into fists against his denim-covered thighs, and he looked out the window of the car again.
“I thought about you once or twice, yeah,” he said in a ragged voice so quiet Thad had to strain to hear him.
Thad’s breath caught as he pictured it, pictured Graham stretched out on expensive white sheets, naked and hard, his fingers wrapped around the length of his shaft as he stroked …
Thad shifted in the passenger seat again, swallowing hard at the sudden race of heat along his skin and the desire to know what Graham sounded like when he came.
He could feel his body responding already, like it was primed for this. Like the slightest thing Graham did or said was enough to get him going.
Thad tried to speak but nothing came out except a low, rough sound. He cleared his throat, though his voice wasn’t much better when he said, “Shit, I didn’t think you were …”
Thad didn’t finish because he didn’tknowwhat Graham was. He didn’t know ifGrahamknew what he was.
So he changed tack.
“It’s fine. It doesn’t have to mean anything. And I get it,” Thad said, trying to gentle his voice. “It’s a little confusing to be attracted to men for the first time. It’s not like you know your way around a dick or?—”
"Jesus, Thad. It's not the penis that’s the problem! It's yourTHADNESS," he snapped.
