Page 2 of More Than a Spark

Heat flooded my cheeks. “Yeah, but…” I fingered the edge of my plate, an ache ghosting across my heart. “We’re just friends.” I bit my lower lip. “He’s straight.” I flicked my gaze to my phone. I needed to answer Ryder.

“You didn’t see that stopping Axel.” Silas snorted. “Remy didn’t have a chance.”

With a nod, I said, “Yeah, but we’re friends and I’m not sure what it would do to our friendship if he knew…” Widening my eyes, I covered my mouth. Shit, I’d almost said it out loud.

“What, Milo?” Cash dropped in next to me, his gaze finding mine. “Do you have feelings for him you’ve been hiding?”

I let my gaze roam Cash’s face. Should I admit it to him? “I don’t know.” I stared at my plate.

“Yeah, he does. Doesn’t want to admit it.” Silas planted his hand on Cash’s shoulder and squeezed. “Gonna be late. I’ll see you tonight?” He kissed Cash’s cheek.

Cash brushed his cheek over Silas’ hand. “Yeah, see you tonight.”

Silas downed his coffee, set the mug on the counter, then strolled to the front door. “Milo, I’ll leave you in the very capable hands of my boyfriend.” He left.

I peeked at Cash. “Yes, I have feelings for him. Don’t tell anyone.” My heart thumped in my chest. I’d never admitted this to another soul, because then Ryder could never find out. But Cash could be trusted to not spill secrets.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a word.” Cash made the motion of zipping his lips. “What are you going to do?”

In a soft voice, I said, “I’m going to act like I always do and be his best buddy.” I gazed at my toast. I wasn’t hungry anymore, but Cash had made it for me, so I’d better eat it. I picked up a slice and twisted it in front of my face.

“I feel for you, hun. That’s tough.” He stood up. “Let me know if you need anything from me.” With a faint grin, he said, “A shoulder to cry on, a girlfriend to talk to, you know.” He strolled away, then stopped and faced me. “He knows you’re gay, right?”

“He does.” I nodded once. “He’s never had a problem with it.” I thought a moment. Ryder was such a good guy. Why couldn’t he be queer? I ate some of my toast.

My phone buzzed on the table, over and over, withRyderscrolling across the screen.

“Shit, he’s calling me.” I picked up the phone and answered it. “Hello?”

Cash waved at me, then walked into our older kitchen of wooden cabinets and cream Formica counters to rinse the morning dishes and set them in the dishwasher.

“Milo? Hey, did you get my message?” The husky timber of Ryder’s voice woke my cock.

Damn it, he sounded so good. “Uh, yeah, I did.” I rose up from the table and stepped to the sliding patio doors, letting my gaze roam over the grass in our backyard, the tall trees still throwing long, morning shadows over it all. Even though it was early, it was still too hot for me to take this call on our patio.

“So? Why no response?” His voice lowered. “Shit, you weren’t busy, were you? You in some sexy guy’s bed?” He chuckled.

“No, I’m not in anyone’s bed.” I let a grin play over my lips. He liked to tease me about my hookups. Maybe someday I’d find someone who’d steal my heart away from him and put me out of my misery.

“Good.” He breathed in deeply. “Listen, so I’m starting the fire academy in Chandler next week, but because of my experience in Flag, I get to skip some of the training. I’ll only need about twelve weeks instead of the full fourteen.”

“Okay, and where are you going to live?” I snuck a peek at Cash, shutting off the faucet at the kitchen sink. He was listening, I could tell.

“I’m going to stay with my dad until I find a place to settle,” he said. “He’s got a place not too far from you in Tempe.”

My heart stuttered. Suddenly, he was going to be so close, I could probably see him every day instead of every few months. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah. I want to see you, Milo. I want to hang out like we used to. We can get drunk, watch funny movies…” His breath caught. “I’ll come over and cook for you. This new probie on my crew taught me how to make this amazing chicken pasta and I’m going to cook it for you.”

“You are, huh.” I chuckled, my insides warming. Same old Ryder. No wonder I’d fallen for him. And what did they say?Absence makes the heart grow fonder?Oh, yeah, that was definitely going on here.

“Yeah, and I want to come see your band play. When do you play next?” he asked.

“Um…hold on.” I opened up my calendar app. “Shit, we play at Talking Stick casino next weekend. Will you be here on Saturday night?” I chewed my thumbnail. How would this work?

“Yeah, I’m driving down with all my shit on Friday. Maybe we can hang out a little bit after I get my stuff packed in a storage unit. I’ll let you know my schedule.”

“Okay, sounds good.” I exhaled a long breath, calming my fraying nerves. Friday couldn’t come fast enough.

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