The way his hand feels on my arm tells me all I need to know; I need to stay away from him. There’s something happening between us that’s making me loose-lipped. The truth just falls from my mouth and that’s not something I’m entirely comfortable with.
“Seriously, Dylan, just let me drive you home,” he insists and, for whatever reason, I give in.
“Fine, but I need to grab some files from my car.” Since my job pretty much dictates my life, I’m always bringing home work. It’s better than sitting there having nothing to do.
Conner nods, a satisfied smile gracing his face as he plays around with the radio. After grabbing my briefcase from the passenger’s seat, I open the back door and stare down at the box sitting on the seat. There’s no way in hell I can get this on my own, but I don’t want to give Conner the satisfaction of needing his help.
Squatting as low as my sore legs will let me, I pull the box across the seat and try to wedge it between my arm and my leg. I have to shimmy it up my body until it rests precariously on my hip. With my briefcase dangling from my finger, and the box near falling from the rest of my hand, I try my best to walk back to Conner’s car. He’s sitting there, tapping away absentmindedly to the beat of the music as the box falls from my hand and spills across the parking lot.
“Shit,” I curse as the papers scatter everywhere.
Conner gets out of the car, bending to pick up a few files on his way over to me. “Here you go.” His words carry no sarcasm at the fact that I was so self-assured just moments ago.
After I’ve got all the papers back in the box, he carries it back to his car, not even allowing me the chance to say I’ll do it myself.
My mood is pissy to say the least for the short drive to my apartment complex. Conner’s misunderstanding of my relationship with Reid got under my skin. His confusion about it makes me wonder if he’s interested in me. But, on the other hand, why should I care if he is?
Because you’re interested in him,I admit to myself. It is the reason I went back to the gym in the first place.
Hell, it’s impossible not to be interested. His body looks like it’s carved from stone. When I first saw him last week, even though it was only for a few seconds, it took way too much effort for me to peel my eyes away from him. Then, when I went back to the gym tonight, I hadn’t hoped to do more than steal a few casual glances. You can’t assume every good-looking man you see is gay. That shit gets you into trouble real quick.
But now knowing that he is, well that changes things. The initial attraction I felt has now moved into a completely different sphere. If I act on the attraction, then it can’t be anything other than just sex.
That’s all I’m capable of right now. Hell, it might be all I’m ever capable of.
We pull into the parking lot, and I point him in the direction of my building. He parks in the spot that’s assigned to me and cuts the engine.
“Thanks.” My single worded good-bye is cool and detached. As I move to get out of the car, he asks, “Are you upstairs or ground-level?”
“Second floor. Why?” I turn in my seat to face him before opening the door.
“You couldn’t walk more than two steps without dropping everything before. Now, you’re just magically going to be able to carry your bag, briefcase and a box up a flight of stairs. Oh, wait, and you’re going to dig your keys out of your pocket and open the door at the same time.” He crosses his arms over his chest, stifling a cynical laugh. “This is gonna be good.”
He shoots me a wry look when I ask, “Did you want to get them out of my pocket for me?”
Though I want to laugh at the look he’s giving me, calculating through it all, I can’t deny that he’s right. There’s no way I can get upstairs on my own. I pull my keys out of my pocket and dangle them in the space between us. “Fine,” I snip, shaking the keys back and forth a few times, waiting for him to take them from me.
He stares at the keys like they’re diseased or something. “I’m sorry, my hearing must be going,” he jokes, cupping a hand up to his ear. “I didn’t hear you say ‘please’.”
As if I wasn’t already in a mood, now I have to deal with him laying into me for my manners, for actually needing his help. After a long day of work, and now this shit with my arm, add in dealing with Conner, I’m exhausted. “Then, don’t help.” I move to get out of the car, denying him the chance to take the keys from me.
He shakes his head and slides out of his seat, walking around the front of the car to meet me on my side. Rather than immediately moving to help me, he watches me struggling with everything before finally conceding. “Give me that,” he mutters under his breath, taking my briefcase and bag from my hand. He lifts the box, tips his head to the sidewalk, letting me walk in front of him with my keys still in my hand.
I open the door and let him past me, before closing it behind us. What’s normally a cramped entryway, with my bike hanging on the wall, feels even smaller now with Conner standing there. The stairs are too narrow for us to walk up next to each other, so he lets me up first.
I lead the way down the hall to my door and unlock it. Conner stays out in the hall, waiting for me to step inside. “Thanks.” I lean against the door, holding it open for him. “You can just drop it wherever.”
Instead of chucking my stuff on the floor like I’d expected him to do, Conner walks straight into my dining room and puts the box and my briefcase on the table. He drops the gym bag on a chair and stands there, waiting for…I have no clue what the hell he’s waiting for.
“Thanks again.” I remain standing by the open door, clearly indicating that I’m not inviting him in.
He walks toward me, glancing at the pictures on the mantle as he does so. “Sure, no problem.”
When he’s gone, I finally feel like I can breathe again. Not wanting to pay too much attention to the fact that Conner has put me on edge, after popping a few Advil, I twist open a beer, flop down on the couch and get lost in a game.
When my phone rings and I see Reid’s name flash across the screen, I almost consider not answering it.
“Fucker,” I greet him. His only response is a loud laugh.
