The Closer You Get Read Free Page A

of artisan bread in a variety of shapes and flavors. When the two brothers pressed their faces to the glass and saw pizza being served, they exchanged a look and a shrug and went inside.
    They’d lived in a few small towns, and usually the only pizza you could get was some reheated frozen stuff from a local convenience store. This was a real Mom & Pop operation. The kitchen area was all open. There was a huge brick oven built into the back wall and a cute, little brunette tossing dough and sliding pizzas in and out of the oven. There was a man working by her side. They looked alike, possibly brother and sister.  
    Cash and Rye took a small table in the corner. The waitress brought them their beer and took their order. “You guys new around here?” she asked, a twangy accent to her high-pitched voice.  
    “Yes, ma’am,” Cash answered.  
    “Well, welcome to town,” she said. “First beer’s on the house. I’ll get your pizza right out to ya.”
    Cash grinned at Rye, and he found himself grinning back. Free beer. Cool.
    “Maybe this town won’t be so bad,” Cash said.
    “Yeah, we’ll see. Might be worth it just for this place. If that pizza tastes as good as it smells, we’re already two steps up from where we were.”
    Cash was looking around. “I met a guy yesterday,” he said.
    Rye felt himself go tense all over.  
    “The other guy in the wreck. Adam.”
    Rye watched as Cash avoided eye contact at all cost. “We just got here.”
    “I know,” Cash said. “I told him I wasn’t interested. But he gave me his number anyway.”
    “So…it’s out, then? You’re not gonna play straight?
    “Do you want me to?”
    “I want you to do what’s best for you.”
    Cash nodded. “Well…the guy pegged me right off the bat. So I think it’s best just to be honest. Maybe if I’m not hiding my sexuality, it won’t be seen as a weakness.”
    Rye had no response. Truth be told, he was a nervous wreck. He’d been nervous since Henderson and the two towns they’d tried out after that had only validated his anxiety. Cash was simply in the wrong part of the country for being gay. On several occasions, Rye had tried to talk Cash into moving to a city, but Cash wanted to stay within a day’s drive of their mom and sister, and Rye mostly agreed. He’d hate to not get to watch his niece and nephew grow up.
    With a sigh, Rye asked, “You gonna call this guy?”
    “Nah. Like you said. We just got here.”
    Rye nodded but looked down at his hands anyway. “Look, I appreciate you being careful. But if you like this guy—”
    “You’ve sacrificed relationships too, Rye. You never say so, but I know you were in love back in   Henderson.”
    Rye dropped his head back. “Bullshit. Even if I was, she pretty much killed those feelings. Don’t worry about me, Cash. Take care of yourself. Maybe this place will finally be home. Maybe this guy is for real.”
    Cash shrugged. “Maybe. But I’d rather be careful for a while. Get settled into our jobs.”
    Rye shrugged. “Just don’t be too careful. You really need to get laid.”
    “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
    “You know what it means.”
    “No. I don’t. Go ahead and say what you’ve got to say.”
    “Fine. You’ve just been downright bitchy lately; that’s all.”
    “Bitchy? Who was it threw that temper tantrum when he stubbed his toe yesterday.”
    “Wasn’t a temper tantrum.”
    “Was so.”
    The waitress brought their pizza and grinned at them. Rye smiled back because she was female and was wearing no ring. He thanked her with his best, most charming wink, and when she left, went back to his stoic demeanor.  
    “You know, it’s okay if you smile at other people, now and then,” Cash said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean, you switch on the charm to get laid, and switch it right back off for the other ninety-eight percent of your life.”
    “Oh, getting laid comprises way more than two percent of my life, I guarantee you