Just Between Us Read Free Page A

“Must be it.”
    Ryan’s heart thudded in his chest as he breathed in the tangy aroma of Sam’s skin. Blood pooled in his groin, his cock lengthening against his thigh. He was so thankful when Steve pulled into the parking lot of Broker’s he practically leapt out of the car. His body was just out of control today.
    Sam followed after him slower, chuckling. “Guess you’re hungry too.”

{ 3 }
    The burgers were phenomenal and the beer was plentiful. A few girls asked Sam for autographs, but fortunately, there were no aggressive fangirls.
    Sam listened, grinning, as Ryan regaled him with tales of feud between the bio teachers and chemistry teachers vying for lab space and the antics of his students. Sam’s interjections and observations were few but always made Ryan laugh. The tension that had built up on the car ride over was gone, leaving nothing but the easy friendship they always had.
    ***
    “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so full,” Ryan groaned, patting his stomach as they exited Broker’s nearly two hours later.
    Sam snorted, shaking his head. “I find that hard to believe.” He got into the car, leaving his door open for Ryan.
    Ryan climbed in, smiling at his friend. Sam lounged back against the right-side door, right leg on his left knee again with his foot in Ryan’s direction. His arm draped over the thigh, fingers resting just inches from his crotch, a beacon for Ryan’s gaze. He willed his eyes to stay on his friend’s face.
    His blood buzzed pleasantly from the few beers he’d had, making his heart thump heavily while sitting so close to his gorgeous friend’s spread legs. He was so intent on not paying attention to the temptation Sam presented that he didn’t even notice when the car began to move.
    The silence between them was heavy, but not awkward. Ryan leaned back against the seat with a sigh, enjoying the feeling of having a belly full of good beer and better burgers, the company of a friend, and not having to worry about driving himself home.
    “So, Ms. Archer is still trying to get in your pants?” Sam asked, shifting on the seat. His foot brushed Ryan’s hip. Ryan chuckled at the mention of the PE teacher and her obvious, and fruitless, flirtation.
    “I don’t know how else to make it clear it’s not going to happen without getting rude. She’s a nice woman, but...you know…” He trailed off, shrugging. The truth was, he had no interest in anyone. Well, anyone but Sam. And he could hardly say that.
    “Not interested?” Sam’s head tilted, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. Ryan studied his friend’s gaze, wondering if he suspected the truth, but saw nothing but friendly interest in his enticing eyes.
    Ryan shook his head. “Whatever. I’ve been talking all night. What about you, big shot? When’s the next book out?”
    Sam frowned. Ryan knew that the celebrity, attached with being a top author, was a part of the job his friend wasn’t fond of. He loved writing the books, but the craziness that accompanied a book release was not his favorite topic.
    “Four months. They want it out in time for Black Friday.”
    “Which one is it?” One of the perks of being a writer’s best friend was getting to read the books before they were out.
    “It’s the last one in the Chance trilogy. Manhunting.”
    Ryan rolled his head toward Sam, eyebrows raised. “Is that the one with the bounty hunter chick?” He remembered it well; a case of mistaken identity, a stubborn bounty hunter, and a down on his luck pawn shop owner. The book was much lighter than Firebrand, full of a lot of humor and steamy opposites-attract sex.
    “That’s the one. Thankfully, the tour will be a lot smaller than the one for Firebrand. Only about 10 cities this time.” Sam cracked the knuckles of his right hand, stretching his arm along the back of the seat.
    “How many days?” Ryan didn’t really want to think about Sam being gone again before he had to, but he wasn’t going to avoid