Page 92 of Break the Rule
“One meal a day isn’t enough to exist on,” Eden points out. “I can’t come over tonight, I'm busy.”
“With what?” Charlie asks.
“Stuff,” Eden answers evasively. “I have a thing. But you need to eat dinner. Armando madetamalesthis morning—red and green. There’s food for Andrew, too.”
“You got food for Andrew,” Charlie says, staring at the bag. Somehow that gets him more than anything else. Eden not only easily accepts how much time he and Andrew spend together but includes him, even in this.
“He mentioned he forgot his lunch today so he needs to eat too, and I know you won’t cook for him.”
“You’ve been texting Andrew?” Charlie asks, unsure why that makes him want to kiss Eden so bad.
“Yeah.” Eden eyes him warily, as if expecting Charlie to be jealous or something when nothing could be further from the truth. “Why?”
“Nothing, I just love that you guys are friends.”
“Weirdo,” Eden mumbles, pink rising on his cheeks. “Take the food and go home.”
“At least let me pay you,” Charlie offers, reaching for his wallet when Eden stops him with a look that could kill.
“Go home and take a nap, you look awful.”
“There’s an insult there, but all I hear is that you’re worried about me.”
“Fuck off.”
Charlie smiles. “Will you call me tonight?”
“No.”
“Sext me?”
“No.”
“Send me a selfie?”
“No.”
“Text me?” Charlie widens his eyes, batting his eyelashes at Eden. “Please.”
Charlie half-expects another fuck noand is delighted when what he gets instead is a kiss. A short kiss, but one that is ratherbruising in its intensity. When Eden pulls back his eyes are wide and his lips are parted.
“You uh…should go.” Eden clears his throat. “Now. Shoo. And sign the stuff for your agent.”
“Sure thing,” Charlie grins, waiting until Eden is inside the restaurant before damn near skipping to his car door. It’s kind of disgusting how much he likes Eden. If any of his brothers could see him now he’d never live it down. Somehow, Charlie wants that. He wants Alec and Jason to tease him, to have Eden over in his space with his family. He’s just not sure if Eden would go for it.
High on the taste of bubblegum and a good orgasm, Charlie drives home with a smile on his face and determination in his heart. Despite the wall Eden’s trying to keep up, there’s no mistaking the way he keeps coming back to Charlie, or the way he kisses him. Eden likes him too, even if he doesn’t want to admit it. Charlie’s banking on it. If not, the plans he’s making—ones he very much wants to include Eden in—are going to go up in flames, leaving Charlie with a mess to clean up and perhaps his first broken heart.
He really hopes he’s right.
17EDEN
Edenall but runs up the stairs to his apartment. He smells like oil and tortillas, there’s salsa on his skirt, and he desperately needs a shower, but there’s something else he needs more.
His key barely makes it in the lock when the front door swings open.
“Ella had me on door duty,” Addy laughs.
Stumbling into their apartment, he crashes into Addy, exhausted and missing her. It’s weird since he’s seen her almost as much as usual. Despite how much time he’s been spending with Charlie, most of that has been after work when Addy and Ella are already asleep so he can make sure and sneak home by the time Ella wakes up to see her off to school in the morning. Yet he misses her.
