Page 34 of Out of the Storm

Gary looked at the clock. Eleven.

“Did you forget something here yesterday or... why are you calling?”

“Uh, I call every night.”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“Should I . . . not call anymore?”

“Of courseyou should! If you want to, that is.”

“Yeah, I still want to.”

Every bit of Gary’s lingering nausea vanished.

“Okay. Yeah. Good.” Gary twisted the phone cord around his index finger a few times. “I’m sorry for the hand thing.”

“Don’t be.”

“If I made you uncomfortable—”

“Yeah,” Jeff interrupted. “But not... not for the reason you think. Probably.”

Gary’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”

“I like you.”

Tentatively, Gary’s lips began to curl into a small, uncertain smile. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow!” Gary’s stomach fluttered, his breath catching in his throat. Holy moly! Had he really not messed everything up? It seemed impossible.

Seconds passed, and Gary was still too stunned to speak. Instead, he just stood there twisting and twirling the phone cord while smiling to himself like a weirdo.

Finally, Jeff said, “I think this is when you tell me that you like me too.”

“Geez, sorry. Yeah, of course I like you too,” Gary blurted out. “I mean, obviously.”

Jeff huffed a soft laugh. “Obviously.”

Gary couldhearJeff’s tiny, cute smile, and he could picture it too—full of amusement and silliness. And oozing thatcoolnessthat was just so... Jeff. Gosh, how wonderful! His whole body caught fire with a tender warmth, the knowledge that theylikedeach other heating him up from the inside, making his skin flush and his ears turn hot. Within seconds, Gary’s cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much. Holy cow, Jefflikedhim!

“But, uh...” Jeff started to say, and Gary’s smile faltered as the fiery excitement that had been growing in him was suddenly snuffed out entirely. Shoot. “I can’t be in a relationship.”

“Oh.”

Seconds of horrible, soul-crushing silence followed.

“I know that’s not what you wanted to hear,” Jeff said.

“No, no, it’s okay,” Gary said, though he wasn’t really sure that itwasokay. Dammit, he really liked Jeff.

Jeff cleared his throat and said, “Do you... still want to talk?”

Raking a hand through his hair, Gary sat back and blew out a breath.Of coursehe still wanted to talk, but now that he knew that he and Jeff liked each other, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep himself from overanalyzing every single thing that happened between them. God, he’d probably torture himself wondering whether Jeff would ever be ready for a relationship.

Yet the embers from their earlier exchange still flickered with lingering heat, and their warmth spread through Gary’s body, making him burn with longing. He really, really liked Jeff. Romantically, yes, but he liked him as a friend too. Jeff was... well, he was just wonderful. Maybe for most people, this kind of situationwouldn’t have posed such a problem, but Gary knew himself. He knew how much pining he’d be setting himself up for if they stayed friends. Especially if “friends” really meant “men who like each other but can’t be together for some mysterious reason.”

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