Page 41 of Common Goal
“I’m working that night. Tuesday?”
“I’m in Boston on Tuesday. Then Toronto.”
Damn. This was not working out.
“Well,” Eric said slowly, “what about tonight?”
“Really?”
“Sure. No time like the present, right?”
“I know the perfect place. There’s a great bar called Fortune that is totally chill, but it’s busy on Fridays, so we’ll have lots to look at. I know the bar manager there and he’s a sweetheart. He’ll take care of us.”
“Okay.” Eric chewed his lip. “What should I wear?”
Kyle clapped his hands together. “I love you in a dress shirt, but you looked hot as hell last night in a T-shirt and jeans.”
Eric ducked his head adorably. “Hot as hell?”
“Yes. You should go that route. Dress down, look like you’re not trying too hard because you don’thave to. You’ll have your pick of the men.”
“I thought we were just going to look.”
“We are. I’m just kidding. Why don’t you come by my place? I live a couple blocks away from Fortune. Here, give me your phone.”
Eric retrieved his phone from where it had been charging on the kitchen counter and handed it to Kyle. Kyle entered his contact info, including his address, texted himself, then handed the phone back to Eric.
“I should get going,” Kyle said. “I have a pile of reading to do for school.”
“Right. Okay.”
Kyle went to the guest room and quickly changed back into his clothes from last night. “I’ll miss you most of all, perfect bed,” he said as he slipped out of the room.
Eric walked him to the front door, and they shared an oddly awkward moment where Kyle felt the urge to kiss him goodbye. He settled for a quick hug, which seemed normal enough. Kyle hugged everyone.
“I’ll see you tonight,” he said, wrapping his arms around Eric’s back.
“Tonight,” Eric agreed, encircling Kyle with his muscular arms. He smelled wonderful—a spicy, manly shampoo, maybe—and Kyle just barely stopped himself from nuzzling his neck. Then he felt the soft brush of Eric sighing against his ear, and Kyle suddenly found it very hard to let go.
The hug lasted a moment too long to be considered quick and friendly, but Kyle tried to pretend it hadn’t. Eric looked like he was doing the same as he shoved one hand into his sweatpants pocket and held up the other hand to wave awkwardly. Kyle nodded at him, stepping backward until he hit the door. He turned quickly, opened the door, and practically jumped down the steps to safety.
Chapter Ten
Knowing that Kyle was a bartender and part-time student living in Manhattan, Eric assumed his apartment would be small and rundown. When he stepped over the threshold, though, he was shocked to see a bright, spacious living room that was connected to a modern, well-equipped kitchen. The entire apartment had clearly been recently built; everything from the appliances to the floors looked new.
“Nice place,” Eric commented as he drifted toward the windows. He glanced down at 19th Street, four stories below.
“Thanks. Just give me a sec.” Kyle disappeared into what Eric presumed was his bedroom, so Eric poked around the living room a bit. He was immediately drawn to a shelf full of books on a wall next to a flat-screen television. Eric had gotten rid of most of his own book collection when he’d embraced minimalism and ebooks a couple of years ago. He’d found himself regretting his decision lately, wishing he had made room in his new house for a library. He loved looking at books, holding them. He missed the smell of paper.
Kyle’s collection was eclectic, and horrifically disorganized. On one shelf there were graphic novels, history books about ancient Rome, South America, and World War I, celebrity autobiographies, cookbooks, and novels in English, Spanish and French. Eric pulled one well-worn hardcover that was missing its dustjacket off the shelf and flipped it open. It was in Italian, which made him smile.
He slid the book back where he’d gotten it—between a cocktail manual and a paperback copy ofThe Iliad. His fingers itched to reorganize the shelf, but instead he turned his attention to the top of the bookshelf, which was lined with framed photographs and knickknacks. There was a photo of Kyle and Maria, both laughing with elaborate cocktails in front of them. Next to it sat a snow globe with little ski hills inside that saidVermonton the base. Eric picked it up and turned it over, watching the snow fall over the little plastic skiers inside.
“Almost like being there, huh?” Kyle’s voice startled Eric, and he nearly dropped the snow globe. It was rare that someone was able to sneak up on him.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to snoop.” He placed the snow globe back on the shelf. When he turned to face Kyle, he noticed that Kyle looked extremely hot in a V-neck, purple T-shirt and dark, slim-cut jeans.
“It’s okay,” Kyle said easily. “You already know about my top secret Vermont origins.”
