Page 2 of Burning Up

“Wow,” a red-haired boy yelled. “How do you throw like that?”

“Come here, and I’ll show you.”

The boy stood beside, Matt and Matt demonstrated a solid throwing stance. The boy who’d retrieved the ball tossed it back. Matt handed it to the red-haired boy and then pulled his arm back and gently pushed it forward, showing him the right motion. They practiced a few more times before Matt asked, “You think you got it?”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“Then give it a try.”

The other boys moved in closer, not expecting a long-range throw. The boy sent the ball over their heads. It didn’t land as far away as Matt’s had, but it obviously went farther than he expected. “Wow! Thanks!” he yelled. “That was awesome.”

Bryce hated to break up the lesson, but they needed to get back to the station. “Hey, Matt!”

Matt looked over his shoulder. “You need me now?”

“Yeah, we’ve got to head out.”

“All right. Bye, guys!” He waved to the boys.

They watched him walk away, awestruck, though not for the same reason as Bryce. He could watch Matt’s lithe body move all day. Bryce closed the side of the truck after replacing the last of the gear they’d shown to the kids. When he turned around, he caught Toby staring.

“Come on, Toby, we’re ready to go,” Matt said, tugging on his arm.

Toby smiled at Bryce before turning to follow Matt toward the driver’s side doors.

He’d totally been staring at Bryce’s ass, hadn’t he? But if Toby was that bad at hiding his interest, why hadn’t he been outed before now?

Bryce jumped up into the passenger seat, his designated spot as officer of the unit, but Matt and Toby stood beside the open driver’s door, talking. They kept their voices low, and he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“You guys all set?” he called.

“Uh… yeah,” Toby answered.

“We are,” Matt answered, his tone curt. He took his place behind the wheel, and Toby settled into the back.

What was that about? Not that Bryce needed to know. It probably had nothing to do with him or with Toby watching him—if he had been watching Bryce, which he most likely hadn’t.

Bryce needed to get laid. There hadn’t been anywhere near enough of that since he’d moved to Durham a few months ago. That had to be the explanation for why he couldn’t keep his eyes off these boys.

2

“They’re watching you again,” Mason spoke in a low voice as he whizzed past Bryce, carrying drinks to the opposite end of the bar.

“You’re imagining things again.” Ever since Mason swore that Toby and Matt—who’d become regulars at the bar after Bryce started working there—were gay and interested in Bryce, he’d been teasing Bryce about their interest.

Bryce told himself not to look, but he couldn’t help glancing toward the corner booth where they usually sat, before going back to wiping down the bar. Did they sit there because it gave them a good view of the bar? Bryce scowled. No way in hell were his hands shaking, and no way in hell was he letting himself get his hopes up. Even if they were gay, even if they were interested in him, starting something with two guys from work would be the pinnacle of idiocy. Hell, getting involved with more than one guy was insane from the start. Just because Mason and his boyfriends had made a threesome work didn’t make it realistic for Bryce. There was an exception to every rule.

“You’re wrong,” Bryce said as he passed Mason on his way to take a customer’s order.

Mason snorted in reply.

Bryce was glad to see the bar was filling up. He did not need to spend the next hour telling himself not to look at Toby and Matt. He did plenty of that at the firehouse. Toby’s smile could heat up an entire room, and Bryce never wanted to look away from it, unless it was to contemplate running his hands through Matt’s wavy brown hair while staring into his dark eyes.

But if Mason was right and they were gay, maybe they really were lovers. If so, he had no business approaching them, whether they were watching him or not. Just because they liked to look didn’t mean they wanted to play. They didn’t need him fucking up whatever they had going.

Plus, they worked together. They were a team, with people’s lives on the line.

The line at the bar grew long, and Bryce got busy taking orders, making drinks, and ringing people up at the register. When things finally slowed down, he needed a bathroom break. As he headed to the back, he noticed Matt and Toby playing pool with a couple of guys he recognized as regulars. Toby waved, and he waved back, hating the way his pulse accelerated. What the hell was wrong with him?

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