Hot at Last Read Free Page A

kitchen.
    “So you two are just deciding what should happen to me now?” Ken pouted.
    Avery piled Ken’s plate with bacon and eggs. “Stop whining and eat.”
    Using his left hand wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped. Avery was a good cook, and Ken’s appetite kicked in hard. “No boyfriend I’m putting out?”
    “You know there isn’t.” Avery dished out his own plate then poured coffee and juice. Finally, he grabbed a prescription bottle and sat at the small table opposite Ken.
    “One in the morning and one at night with food for the pain.” Avery dug into to his breakfast. “You slept like the dead.”
    “You resisted me.” Ken smiled.
    “It was really hard when you were drooling on my pillow. That muscle relaxer hit you like a truck. Feel okay?” Avery nodded to the shoulder in a sling.
    “No pain as long as I don’t try to do anything with my right arm. It’s a weird reflex. If only I were left-handed.” Ken chewed on a strip of bacon.
    “I know. Crappy luck. But hey, what are friends for?” Avery sipped his coffee. “Maybe, now, you’ll think about giving up the stage?”
    Ken shoveled eggs into his mouth and pouted. Once he’d swallowed, he couldn’t keep quiet. “It could’ve happened to any of the men up there.”
    “I know, but you’re not twenty-two. Your body doesn’t bounce back as fast. The doctor said that last night. You might not believe it because you don’t remember it, but younger bodies recover faster. You need to take your time. Rest and heal. Why strain your body?” Avery asked.
    “Everyone should exercise.” Ken drank his juice.
    “I’m not fighting with you. I just want you to take care of yourself. Maybe, this is a wakeup call?” Avery suggested.
    “Maybe, it was just slipping on some beer? I take excellent care of myself. If I give up stripping, I’ll just be some old guy.” Ken tried not to look at his sling and focused on the food.
    “You’re not old. You’re just not young anymore. You can do something else.” Avery rolled his eyes.
    “You gave up on your dreams. I didn’t.” Ken kept eating. If he gave up, his father would be right. He’d win, and Ken couldn’t live with that.
    “Sometimes, you have to give up on your dreams and find new ones. I gave up on mine a long time before I met you.” Avery went to the fridge and got more juice.
    “Thanks,” Ken said as Avery refilled his juice. “What do you mean you gave up before you met me?”
    Avery chuckled. “You thought you were my dream? Or stripping?”
    Ken shrugged and winced. He picked up the bottle of pills and realized working one handed would be a challenge for a lot of things. “Sort of. What dream did you give up?”
    “Doesn’t matter.” Avery opened the bottle and set out one pill for Ken. “Take your meds.”
    “Tell me first.” Ken could throw a fit and get his way. Making a scene was what he excelled at.
    “Fine. My grandfather owned a barbershop. My uncles worked there. When I was little, they told me one day I’d work there, too. I’d inherit it.” Avery nodded to the pill.
    Ken took the pain pill. “That was it. A barbershop?”
    “Not everyone needs applause and fuss.” Avery went back to eating.
    “I know. So why aren’t you cutting hair?” Ken asked.
    “When they found out I like men, they said I’d cost them all their customers.” Avery put his empty plate in the sink. “So I was on my own after high school. My mom loved me, but I had to do something with my life and change the plan I had.”
    Ken frowned. “You never told me that.”
    “Doesn’t matter now. Bartending isn’t that different. Talking to people. A service job. I never aspired to higher education or fame. You think every man who gets on that stage wants to be on Broadway.” Avery put the pill bottle away.
    “Who doesn’t want to be rich and famous?” Ken never believed people who claimed not to.
    “I’d like to be rich. Famous, no. I like my privacy,” Avery said.
    Ken ate while