Page 57 of Advanced Chemistry

I threw the ball to him underhand. “Good catch!” I exclaimed.

We tossed the ball back and forth in the glow of the waning afternoon sun. It was dumb and simple and just a crumpled piece of paper. Even still, I couldn’t help but feel a swell in my heart at Chase’s first father-son game of catch. His dad was an idiot for walking out on a son like him.

Sadly, the game couldn’t last forever. I had work to do, and Chase had a cat at home who needed to be fed.

“Thanks for the catch,” Chase said. Our fingers touched when he handed over the paper ball. Another spark of electricity traveled through me.

“Anytime. Thanks for the talk. I enjoy talking with you.”

“As do I.”

I raised my hand to high-five him goodbye, but instead, Chase leaned forward and pressed his lips on mine in a sweet kiss that had me instantly aching for more.

He seemed just as surprised as me at what happened.

“Bye.” Chase gave me the high-five that had been left hanging and walked away.

We were both guys who overthought things, but in that moment, nothing felt more right.

19

ANTON

Iliked to jump rope to clear my mind. The repetition of the rope swooshing in front of my face was like a brain cleanser. My favorite spot to do it was on the roof of our apartment building, where I could look out on Sourwood and the river, finding a sense of calm above the hustle-bustle of daily life.

I had a lot on my mind today. It wasn’t something I was used to. My mind was an airport, busy with planes coming and going all day. I chose to find peace and let life unfold as it did. Whatever happened, good or bad, I would figure out a way through.

Yet the past few days had been a mindfuck. We had a presentation with Hollis coming up, the most make-or-break meeting of our entrepreneurial lives, and Sebastian and I found ourselves in a weird place again. Just when we needed the lines of communication to be open, I couldn’t help but sense a wall between us.

And I wasn’t sure why.

I explained to Sebastian why I invited Chase into my bed and apologized for not including him. The threesome was supposed to be a fun experience, but it was making things thorny.

For him, and for me, too. Whenever I thought back on that fun night of sex, I thought less about how hot it was and more about the sweet faces of Chase and Sebastian. I thought about how they weremy guys, even though I didn’t know what that meant.

They were making me feel warm and fuzzy, not hot and bothered. Big problem. Because warm and fuzzy feelings led to trouble. They led to someone getting hurt, and that someone would probably be me. In our trio, I was the odd man out. Could I keep up with Chase and Sebastian outside the bedroom, or would they find me dull?

I jumped faster, my fists curling tighter around the ends of the rope. My speed got so fast that I stumbled over the rope and nearly tumbled over the building railing.

Yikes.

I whipped off my sweat-drenched shirt and used the few dry spots to wipe my face. No matter how hard I exercised and how many endorphins I pumped, I couldn’t find resolution.

When I got back to the apartment, Sebastian was sitting on the futon, reading an article on his phone. He was full-on chilling while I was a neurotic mess. How dare he full-on chill and seem at ease.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey.” He looked up. “Jumping rope on the roof?”

“Yep.”

“Nice. Looks like you got into it.”

“I did,” I said defiantly, ready to start a fight without knowing why. Ugh, I hated being confused. Why couldn’t sex just stay sex? “I’m gonna hop in the shower.”

“Good call. You smell.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

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