“Oh yeah. He sounds like a fox.” Summer grinned.
Trent tried to stop Summer’s heart with the fierceness of his glower, but all she did was laugh in his face. His boss had long ago grown immune to his attitude and puffing. All he could do was sit there and take the ridicule. “Trent, you know I love you like a little brother, right?”
“You’re not that much older than me, Summer.” Trent leaned his head back against the headrest. He’d had the same throb behind his left eye all night, and no amount of Motrin had relieved it.
“I got you by five years. That’s enough. So, let me give you some good advice.”
Trent closed his eyes. “I’m sure I’m gonna get it whether I want it or not.”
“That’s what she said!” Summer laughed loudly, eventually making him have to hide his own smile.
“You’re an idiot.”
“But for real. Here’s my advice. First. Be true to yourself, Trent. Please.”
“What the hell is that supposed to—”
She put her hand up, effectively cutting him off. “Just what I said. Then second. Go out and get laid, man. You and Sil broke up months ago, and now you’ve got cobwebs growing on your balls and it’s making you unbearable.”
Trent did laugh that time because it felt true. It had been a long time. Probably way longer for Wood though. Trent dropped his head into his hands, because for the millionth time today, his thoughts went back to his roommate. Was this part of that game he’d mentioned? Trent really hadn’t been playing at anything, but now Wood was messing with his mind. He squeezed his eyes closed and tried to relieve some of the pressure building there, but all that did was make the headache worse. His body… his senses were all going haywire.
Wood’s smell, the feel of those silver strands on Trent’s cheek, those damn lips so close to his mouth… Fuck! Trent grabbed his hard hat, jumped down from the dump truck, and headed back toward the worksite without another word.
“Trent, wait!” Summer yelled. He heard her boots crunching over the gravel as she ran after him.
He slowed down enough for her to catch up, but he honestly didn’t want to see that judgment in her eyes. The silent voice he heard that called him a damn wimp for taking the coward’s way out and trying to push Wood away.
“You know where I am if you need me,” she said when she fell in stride beside him.
He tapped her on her hard hat. “Thanks, boss.”
“Anytime.” She winked, then effortlessly dropped her sternness back over her gorgeous features and broke away from him to get the guys off their asses and back to work.
Chapter Eleven
Wood
Wood sat at the dining table eating a box of Hot Tamales and looking over his sketch pad when his roommate came home. Great. He didn’t bother to greet Trent with a “good evening,” waiting to see if the man was still pissed with him. He listened to the sound of Trent’s heavy steps as he went to the closet and tossed his bag and hard hat inside. While he stripped out of his thick coat, Wood glanced up in time to see Trent bent over, removing his boots. The man sure had a fine ass. It was round and looked firm to squeeze, and Wood bet his hands would fit just right, gripping that narrow waist while—
“What are you staring at?” Trent asked, now facing Wood with his hands on his hips. The hips he was just thinking about leaving fingerprints on.
“I’m staring at whatever the hell I want to,” Wood responded, not missing a beat, regardless that he’d unintentionally gotten caught.
“You want me to walk slowly so you can get a better look?” Trent muttered, then turned and went inside his bedroom.
I’ma freakin’ strangle you, Bishop. I swear to god. Trent came out a few minutes later in a blue-and-white checkered robe, tied loosely around his flat stomach, and his towel slung over his shoulder. From the table Wood could see that sarcastic grin on Trent’s face. His roommate made sure to flip him off and mouth a very readable “fuck you” before he closed himself in the bathroom.
“You wish, you little shit,” Wood mumbled under his breath. God what was he doing? He popped a couple more Tamales in his mouth, then went back to his sketching of a vine of roses entangled around a heart. After he added some more shading to a razor-sharp thorn, he dropped his pencil and reclined in the chair. It was just after seven and he was getting hungry, his meager lunch of tuna on wheat out of the vending machine at work long gone. He wasn’t sure what he was and wasn’t allowed to eat, so ordering in was probably best until he could do his own grocery shopping.
He picked up his cheap cell phone and pulled up the grocery store nearest him. He hadn’t had to shop for his own food in forever, and he was curious what the prices were looking like now. Wood sat up straighter as he scrolled through the weekly ad at Kroger. He couldn’t believe how much a rib eye was per pound, or the cost of a bag of wings. Jesus. Wood tore a piece of paper from his notebook and began to make a list of necessities. His desire for steak and crab legs would have to wait if he wanted to be able to pay his cell phone bill next week. Instead he opted for easy pasta fixings, boneless chicken breast, and more deli meats for sandwiches.
“What the hell are you looking at so hard?” Trent asked when he came into the kitchen.
“None of your business,” Wood said, not bothering to glance in Trent’s direction, which only seemed to annoy him more as he bumped the table rudely with his hip.
“Let me guess. Are those the apartment classifieds you’re checking out?” Trent scoffed.
“You clinging to me already?” Wood asked, still focused on his drawing. “Should’ve known.”
“You’re a real arrogant son of a bitch, aren’t you?”
Wood pinched the bridge of his nose before he gave the damn brat his attention. He had a snarky comeback sitting on the tip of his tongue, but he forgot what it was when he looked up and locked eyes with Trent. He was still full of attitude and caution… but the animosity Wood had seen there before was gone, replaced with something that looked closer to respect.
If you can ignore the blustering and earn his respect, he’ll start to trust you. With his trust comes his loyalty.
Wood remembered the secret Bishop had told him about Trent. He decided to keep giving as good as he got because it appeared the only way his roommate was going to show him some decency and stop trying to play with his mind. If Trent wanted a challenge, then he’d give him one. He closed his sketch pad with a hard snap when Trent’s gaze traveled over his drawing. “That’s none of your business either.”
Trent frowned down at him. “I wasn’t trying to see it, asshole.”
“Yes you were.”
“No I wasn’t.”
“Mmhmm.” Wood got up and left Trent in the kitchen. He would’ve stayed to mess with him a little longer, but the moment Trent got close enough for him to smell his freshly cleaned body, his dick had gone painfully solid.
He closed himself in his room and leaned back against the door. Oh hell. He shoved his palm into his shorts and squeezed at the ache. What in the world was he doing? Dangit, he wanted to dislike Trent’s immature taunting to the point that it was an erection killer, but the little prick was having the opposite effect. Wood groaned as the throbbing got more intense. He had to get out of there and meet someone on his level, but he’d only been out of the halfway house a few days and he had more important things to take care of.