“Another time, I hope,” he says sweetly, and the music in his voice draws at something deep inside me.
“Yup!” I blurt out, louder than intended. His smile twists me up—and worse, I think he might be able to tell. I start rubbing my jaw like I lost my mind, but I can’t stop. “Sounds good, then! And you need anything, you just let me know. Sure thing.” I clear my throat and repeat myself. “Sure thing.”
Cubby tilts his head to the side, amused. “Thanks, Chase.”
I shove my hands in my pockets as I turn and walk away, hurrying through the towering pine trees without another word. I’m sweating and embarrassed, and maybe even a little panicked. Cubby doesn’t seem upset, thank God, but I just saw his ass in those little pink shorts, and now I can’t stop thinking about it.
I wonder if I was staring at him while we talked, maybe at his face.
This isn’t like me. For a hell of a lot of reasons, this is not the way I typically act or feel.
It shows too, because when I get to my buddy Sully’s place an hour later, my brow is tight like it usually gets when I’m worrying about something.
I sit in the driveway in front of his log cabin, which is perched on a hill outside of town. Hawks call out from the sky, the breeze is nice and cool, and I’m still freaking out.
Sully is my closest friend from back when we were kids. He’s gay, and I’ve never had any problem or discomfort with that, so it’s not like I’m afraid of being attracted to a man.
I turn the rearview mirror to look at myself. I’m not even sure if that’s what this is. Being attracted to Cubby. I’m just kind of fascinated by him. There’s something about the way he carries himself through the world that I can’t stop thinking about. Something about the way he tosses his hair back and sticks his hips out to the side when he talks to me, and how sweet his voice is—
“Chase,” Sully says, smacking the front of the truck. “Right on time.”
I snap out of the trance and push the door open. “Good to see you,” I grunt. We squeeze each other’s shoulders, the way we always greet each other, and Sully offers me an even smile.
People tease us because we look like brothers. He’s a few years older than me, his hair is a lighter brown, and I’m a little taller while he’s a little stockier. He’s also got some black tattoos on his right arm, always having been the cooler of us two.
“How was the trail?” I ask.
“Quiet. I finished a few days early too.”
I nod. “Glad you’re back.”
Sully’s job is to maintain trails and state parks, which includes plenty of nights spent out in the woods alone. He’s like me—happiest when he’s outside and using his hands, not the type to waste a lot of words.
“Your mom good?” Sully asks. “Your aunt and uncle?”
“Yeah, fine. Your dad?”
“Yup.”
We nod at each other.
“You watch that movie?” I ask him.
Sully chuckles. “Didn’t make any sense!”
“None,” I say with a laugh. “But that scene.”
“Shit,” he says, hands up, and we both laugh.
After a minute of silence, the only sound the wind blowing through the trees, Sully nods. “Should we get started?”
We grab chainsaws and tools and head into the woods. When he’s home, my best friend and I work together. We’re handymen, laborers, lumberjacks, really whatever needs getting done around Lake Steamy. But today, we’ve got a plan to do some work for ourselves for once.
Sully’s cabin and my cabin are on the same mountainside hill, both tucked on a road outside of town. It takes a good half hour to walk between our places, and we’re finally getting around to throwing a bridge over the stream that runs between the properties.
Usually, we just fall into our routine, working together like we’ve got one mind. Today, though, Sully starts taking down a tree to make the bridge, and I’m left standing there like I don’t know what to do. When I go to start my chainsaw, I realize I forgot to check the oil back at the house, and when I try to stack some rocks from the stream into a level landing, I fall on my ass in the water with asplash.
“Damn it!”
