“You won’t be thanking me when you have to move it all.” She patted his shoulder and headed back inside.
With a sigh, Nick drank some water and went to see exactly what was in the garage he had to move all by his lonesome. Everyone was still inside packing up boxes.
Shane was bringing a box out to the truck when he nearly dropped it. Nick must’ve gotten hot, his t-shirt was off and tucked into the back pocket of his jeans. His eyes were closed as he leaned back against the truck, giving Shane a full view of his chest.
Shane shook his head in disbelief, and Nick didn’t think he was in shape? He was in perfect shape from where Shane stood.
Forcing his feet to move he continued to the truck.
“Your mom is trying to kill me.” Nick said, opening his eyes.
Shane set the box down on of the ledge then pushed it inside the truck. “She doesn’t want to seem too sweet, she’ll give you something but you gotta work for it.” he kept his blue eyes on his face even though he was tempted to glance down and follow the beads of sweat down Nick’s chest.
“I see that.”
“Where’s Michael?”
“He was helping along with Julienne but they disappeared.”
Shane laughed, they both knew what Michael had in mind when he left with Julienne. “Between the two of us we can finish this.” And that’s exactly what they did.
For the next two hours, together they finished loading the truck, and by the time they were done the sun was gone replaced by a grey sky.
“It’s gonna rain.” Shane said, opting to be the one to break the bad news.
“It might help.” Nick leaned back against the trunk, rested his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. “Everything hurts.” He sounded in pain, ready to take a very long nap.
“In that aspect you are out of shape.” Shane said, gaining a glare from the other boy. “I’m just being honest.” With Nick hanging his head low trying to breathe, Shane opted to stare a little. Nick was dripping in sweat and was miserable but he looked drop dead gorgeous.
Nick’s head suddenly shot up. “We’re not unloading this tonight, right?”
Shane didn’t have the heart to say yes, he’d just pay another day for the rental. “No.”
“Oh thank god.” Nick slid to the ground and sat there.
“You look liked a wounded puppy.” Shane said with a frown.
“I feel like I was run over….twice by this truck.”
“I’ll be back.” He turned around and went inside straight to the kitchen. “Mom, I think we broke Nick.”
“He’ll survive. Your father offered to help but Nick already feels like we’ve done too much and turned it down. He’s hurting but his ego is intact, isn’t that all that matters with you men?” Patricia grumbled from her seat at the kitchen table.
Shane laughed. “If you’re putting men down someone did something.”
“Your father is a jerk.”
It always amused Shane when his parents fought because they argued over the dumbest things and within the same day, they’d make up and it would be forgotten. Shane walked over to the fridge and grabbed some bottles. “I’m sure he’s sorry.”
“Yeah, he’s a sorry bastard.”
Shane kept his laughter in and left back outside to his wounded friend. Nick was still sitting on the ground with his back against the truck. “Water or juice?” he held out both bottles. Slowly Nick stood and took the bottle of juice. “Of course, the one with sugar.” Shane commented, knowing something about his roommate already.
Nick grimaced and opened the bottle. “I drank water earlier.”
Shane didn’t like Nick down, he preferred him hyper and talking a lot. Struck with what he thought was a brilliant idea; Shane opened the water and poured it all over his new roommate. The water was freezing and Nick jumped a few feet in the air. Now there was some pep in his step.
Nick inhaled deep breaths trying to get rid of the shock and freezing. “You….”
Shane smiled and took note of the deadly intent in Nick’s green eyes. As if he was reading his mind, Shane took off running down the street before Nick could grab him. On his way past four houses he ran into his brother.
“Why are you running?” Michael asked with Julienne at his side, they must’ve been walking home.
“Nick is about to kill me.” He looked behind and saw him catching up. “Gotta go.” He picked his pace back up. He wasn’t worried about Nick catching up because the other boy was tired and Shane ran every morning so he was definitely faster.
Chapter 9
After half hour of walking around the neighborhood with no sight of Nick, Shane decided to go home. When he got there he found everyone inside gathered in the living room. Nick locked eyes with him and glared. Shane wasn’t scared, he thought it was funny.
“You guys should get out of here before it gets any late.” Shane’s mom advised.
“Yeah.” Nick agreed. “Let’s go.”
Shane didn’t like the tone of voice he was using. “Ok.” He answered simply, he was not going to show any fear. Yes, he was curious as to Nick’s plans but realistically he could take him. He said goodbye to his parents and received another punch from his brother before a hug.
“It’s almost nauseating.” Nick said while they walked outside.
“I’ve learned over the years there’s no stopping them.” Shane said with a shrug, he was simply used to his overbearing parents already.
“I haven’t forgotten the water incident.”
“So?” Shane asked, he knew it sounded cocky and that’s what he wanted.
“It’d be too predictable to get you back now so I’m going to wait until you least expect it.” Nick left that as his parting words as he got inside his car.
Shane led the way to the apartment Nick hadn’t even seen yet. He pulled into the parking lot and noticed it was just past midnight. He could sleep for a few hours camped on the floor and then wake up in the morning to unload the trunk. That sounded like the best course of action.
He hopped out the truck and dug into his pocket. “Here’s your set. Fair warning; Michael guilt tripped me into giving him a set.”
“I’m too tried to care about Michael showing up to annoy us.”
Their apartment was on the third floor, two doors down on the left side. He opened the door and carried his suitcase over his shoulder. “This is it.” he stood back and watched Nick’s reaction which looked a lot like awe.
The living room was large, the biggest room in the apartment. Shane had ideas to turn half of it into an office. One of the best things about Nick as a roommate was they shared the same passions and the same major at school. The kitchen was affair size with clean appliances. Next, he showed him down the hallway where the two bedrooms were. “One bathroom so we’ll have to share.” The apartment couldn’t have it all. “I know you’re a hog.”
“Sometimes.”
“Here’s your room.” Shane left him alone and went down to his room. He sat on the floor and opened his suitcase; inside he had some blankets and pajamas for the night. In the bathroom, brushed his teeth and changed for bed. On the way back to his room he decided to check in on Nick. The door was open; he peaked inside to find Nick asleep in the floor. It looked like he laid down as soon as he walked in and didn’t bother to even take off his sneakers. Nick was sprawled out on the tan carpet, his arms and legs spread out in odd angles. Shane shook his head and smiled, Nick was certainly something special.
Nick jumped up from a rather deep sleep when he heard something bang against the wall. He blinked a few times and remembered he was in his new apartment, officially living with Shane Gregory. He got off the floor and groaned the whole way, every muscle in his body was sore and hurt.
He walked down the hall to go find where the noise was coming from.
Shane was in the living room surrounded by all the boxes from the truck. He turned and saw Nick. “Stairs,
three flights of stairs and there’s all that stuff.” It was the first time Shane looked wary.
Nick grimaced; he wasn’t ready to move all that furniture again. “Maybe we can just leave it down there.”
With a groan, Shane ran his hands down his face. “We just have to psych ourselves out and get it done.”
Nick wanted to go crawl back on the floor and sleep but this was their apartment and they had to get it done. “Right. I’ll be back.” He went to the bathroom and got ready for the day. He threw water all of his face hoping it’d give him energy but alas, he was still dragging when he went down to help Shane.
They decided to grab their own stuff and put it in place after they brought it up, something about two birds with one stone. Nick was too tired to care. An hour after non-stop hauling of furniture he stopped. “We need food.”
“We arrived with perfect timing.” A voice said.
Nick swung around and saw Julienne and Michael standing at the open apartment door. More importantly, she was holding a bag of something that smelled amazing and another bag that made his heart swell. “Cupcakes.” He ran and snatched the bags free from her hands. He dropped to his butt right there on the floor and started to eat.
Julienne laughed and looked at Shane. “What have you done to him?”
“Nothing, he’s just not used to heavy lifting.” Shane was defensive.
Michael slapped the boy in question on the back. “You need some meat on your bones.”
“Oww.” Nick groaned, his mouth full of cupcake.
“Dude.” Shane snatched the pack of cupcakes. “It’s the morning, eat something to give you some energy.”
Nick glared at him. “You throw water on me and now take my cupcakes?” right now he didn’t care how cute Shane was, he was pissing him off.
“Not even a day and you guys are acting like a married couple.” Julienne observed, Nick turned his glare onto her, she just smiled.
“Speaking of.” Michael said. “You should make some rules before it gets awkward, you don’t want to walk in when the other one is trying to get busy.” Nick felt like he was going to faint with every word Michael said. Why couldn’t he shut up?
Shane frowned and turned his pretty blue eyes on Nick, silently asking if Michael was right and they should figure this out now.
“We should get this done.” Nick got up and left the apartment, he did not want to have that conversation. He was on the elevator on his way back downstairs when Julienne jumped in before the doors closed. “I hate your boyfriend.” They were alone.
“He doesn’t know you’re falling in love with his brother.”
He groaned. “Please shut up, I’m not falling in love.” He knew there was no denying the attraction he felt toward Shane but that was it, a simple crush.
“You’re falling in something…..and you’d make such a cute couple.”
“Ugh.” Nick groaned and felt his heart sinking. “He is perfect, what the hell would he want with me?” it didn’t matter if it was a guy or a girl, he knew he didn’t stand a change with someone like Shane Gregory. It was heartbreaking to even think of. “There’s only a few more pieces, you’re here that means you have to help.”
Another two hours later the truck was empty and all the furniture, the couches and bed sets the Gregory’s had given them, were all in place. Michael and Julienne left with Shane to return the truck and give him a ride back before heading on home themselves.
Nick was ready to go into a corner and cry, he was so damn tired. Instead he walked into his room, fell onto the bed and went right to sleep.
Chapter 10
Within two weeks of really meeting each other that day in class, Shane and Nick were roommates. It felt surreal but a blessing nonetheless for Nick. There was this unbelievable peace to be out of that house he was forced to share with his uncle. Sure, it was awkward sometimes with Shane but other times it was fun too, like they were real friends who could trust each other. Since the move; it was pretty easy going when he and Shane found themselves in the same room. Nick didn’t want to press his luck, he stayed at work late or hung out with Julianne, he only went home to sleep most days.
That boring Sunday, he was working the cash register at the book store. It was a little after noon and he was flipping through a magazine when he felt a shadow wash over him. He looked up and was met with a pair of light blues that could only belong to one person. “Hey.” He sat a little straighter.
“We’re living together but it feels like we barely see each other.” Shane chuckled. He suspected it was because they were both busy with work and school, he had no idea Nick was avoiding him or why. “We got the outline done of the project but we haven’t started any of the building.” It made sense for Shane to seek him out over the project.
“I know, I’m sorry.” Trying to hide from him wasn’t a good excuse to fail a class, a very important class. “I’m free at four.”
“Great. I’ll shop for the supplies.” With a dazzling smile, he turned and left the store.
Alone, Nick sighed and wished he had the strength to not let Shane affect him. It was a smile, which shouldn’t be such a big deal, but for Nick it had his heart racing. Over the last few days, probably because they were sharing such close corridors, Nick began having some dreams and Shane. While the dreams were happening it was perfect, he gave into the desire but when he woke up that was another story. He hated himself for being so weak. Someone strong would fess up about his feelings.
“You work here? Is the owner on drugs or something?” an annoying female voice said.
“I had hoped you left town to go to school or maybe marry some rich bastard.”
Amber Keys was his ex-girlfriend, when they dated she hadn’t been such a royal bitch, just a bitch. He couldn’t believe he had ever liked her or pretended to. When they were going out he thought she was pretty but he never wanted her the way most boys, straight, boys would. That’s partly why they broke up. The main reason they broke up was the constant way she would put him down. He had gotten enough of that at home and refused to put up with it from her.
“But,” Nick added to his earlier statement. “You can’t hide your attitude long enough for some poor bastard to propose.” For a long time he would shy away from her, take her bulling at school without fighting back, not anymore. He wised up from that during senior year and grew a backbone.
“Ring this up so I can go before your disgusting cooties rub off on me.”
“Are we in kindergarten and I don’t realize it; cooties?” he grabbed the two books and ran them across the scanner.
With an aggravated groan she paid and stormed away. Seeing her upset did wonders for Nick’s mood.
His replacement arrived a little earlier and took over. Nick gathered his things and decided to head on home. The project was the first of the semester and it needed to be perfect. Nick didn’t look for reasons to doge going home this time.
He arrived half hour earlier then they agreed upon and apparently Shane decided to use that free time to work out. Nick cursed his horrible bad luck as his eyes were glued to Shane, who was doing pull-ups wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.
Nick thought about turning around and coming home much later but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t blink, he was transfixed.
“You’re home early.” Shane said, noticing him but not stopping his routine.
“Yeah.” Nick said weakly, his eyes still glued, his head bobbing up and down to follow Shane’s movement. He felt a shift in his pants and forced himself to look away and think about Amber’s annoying attitude, that would take away any man’s erection.
Shane stopped his sexual torture and sat on the floor. “You look sick.”
“I ran into my ex-girlfriend and she makes me want to vomit.” That was partly the truth, what had him red and flustered had nothing to do with Amber thought. “You ready to get some work done?”
“Let me get cleaned up.” he jumped up from the floor and
took off down the hall.
Nick couldn’t stop himself and watched Shane leave; the shorts he wore were long to his knee but kind of tight revealing a nice ass. Nick tried again to think of Amber and another annoying things but he couldn’t shake the desire coursing his body.
After taking a shower and getting dressed, Shane headed over to his room to wait for Nick to join him. The living room was still pretty bare and all of the supplies and the desk were in Shane’s room, using it for their project just made sense.
Yesterday, they talked a little bit about the project before Nick had to leave for work. Thy tossed around some new ideas and Nick promised to let Shane see his full portfolio to get a better idea of what else they could incorporate to make their project perfect.
Nick joined him in the room and handed him the black case. He sat with Shane on the bed while he looked through his portfolio. “These are really good.” Shane said with a smile, he was still amazed with his talent and these were even better than the last ones he saw.
Nick was rather quiet; he focused on the floor for several minutes before he turned to Shane. “How different is it?” he whispered, there was an odd broken quality to his voice.
Shane closed the book. “What?”
His eyes held a battle, of what? Shane couldn’t figure that out. “Kissing a woman from a man.” Nick answered.
Shane’s eyes grew wide. “What?” his heart started to thud painfully inside his chest.
“I’m…just wondering.” Nick’s broken voice started to shake.
Shane looked down at his hands then back up to find Nick watching him. “Uh…I kissed a girl once when I was thirteen and hated it. I’ve never done it since so I don’t really know if there’s a difference.” He explained nervously, his mind going a mile a minute trying to figure out why Nick would be asking this. In the past his straight male friends would ask him questions, but never like this, never with the battle Nick was presenting across his face.
“Can I….?” he let the question hang there as he moved a little bit closer. There was no questioning what he was asking as his body language told the story.
Secrets Are My Sanity Page 4