Page 18 of Shift Change

No. I wasnot.

Whatever the fuck was going on, our eyes weren’t ready to let go. His breathing had quickened, and his dark red lips were slightly parted. They looked soft and warm. A small moan slipped out of me, but if he heard it, he gave no sign. Instead, he flicked his tongue over his lips and furrowed his brow, looking as confused as I felt. We might’ve sat there forever, locked in thought, if the garage door hadn’t started closing.

We both jumped as it rumbled downward, and I was finally able to tear my eyes away from him. When I turned back, he was watching me again, wearing a cockeyed smile. “Can we hang out at home tonight?” he asked. “Not sure I’m up for another round of Braelynn and Willa.”

“Oh my God. They were a trip. Did I tell you Willa had her hand on my dick? She said she was already getting wet for me.”

He shook his head. “Shit, dude. Braelynn squeezed mine a few times and told me howemptyshe felt.”

“Damn. Guess I really was a cockblock, huh?”

A line appeared between his eyes, and he lost some of his smile. “We already talked about this. I wasn’t feeling it.”

I touched the button to open the garage again, then gave Dog a look. “You sure? You were looking into it over there. Your cheeks were red, and?—”

“I’m not saying it didn’tfeelgood.” He smiled, shaking his head. “What about you? I thought I might have to listen to you and Willa fucking all night.”

“No, you wouldn’t have. You’d have been too busy fucking Braelynn.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

I nodded. “Next time, we’ll have a crazy night.”

He didn’t answer, and I felt like an idiot. I’d said it because that’s what I always did—run my big mouth and act like a sex-crazed big shot. Looking into his eyes like that and feeling—who the fuck knewwhatI’d been feeling—had left me so nervous I started acting like a frat guy to get things back to normal. Dog had played along, but I had a feeling neither of us had said what we were really thinking. We’d been trying to escape from an awkward situation.

“Let’s get our beer inside and kick back,” I said. “Tomorrow’s a big day.”

I pulled into the garage and killed the engine. By the time I got out of the car, Dog was waiting at the door into the house. I walked over and typed in the code. “It’s 1-9-6-9, the year they landed on the moon. If you ever get stuck outside, the code for the back door’s the same. Oh, and remind me to give you a garage door opener.”

7

mad dog & holky

Mad Dog

We tooksome of the beer to the kitchen and stashed the rest in Holky’s beer fridge downstairs. Then we collapsed onto one of the couches near the TV, groaning like we’d put in a hard day’s work.

“Want to playBlades of Fury?” he asked. “I have the new version.”

Blades of Furywas the latest hockey video game that had taken the world by storm. “Sure. I’ll kick your ass.”

“Excuse me? You’re talking to the Buffalo Warriors’Blades of Furychampion.”

I shifted so I was leaning against the arm of the couch, looking at him. “And you’re talking to the Syracuse Soldiers’Blades of Furychampion. I’ll be happy to show you how it’s done.”

Holky sat up and folded his arms. “You are delusional, my friend. I’ve got moves you can’t imagine.”

“I bet your moves are totally last year, like your wardrobe.”

“Fuck off. My moves are totally this week. Prepare yourself, Dog, to have my feet therapeutically applied to your big hockey butt.”

Caught in the moment, I laughed and tossed it back to him. “You’d better prepare yourself, my dear Holky, because I’m going to therapeutically stick my foot right up your ass.”

He froze as our eyes locked.

Fuck, what the hell did I say?

We stared at each other for a few beats until he burst out laughing. Once he settled down, he waggled his eyebrows. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see whose butt gets the special treatment.” Still chuckling, he flipped up the seat between us, grabbed two controllers, and tossed me one.

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