Don't Read in the Closet volume one (88 page)

Half an hour later they
parked the car alongside dozens of others and made their way toward the massive
bonfire they could see through the trees ahead. Laurie and Jonah settled on one
of the huge logs that surrounded it while Marc went off in search of beer. It
was really too hot for the bonfire still, but the woods would be pitch black
without it, even if everyone had brought lanterns along. And the heat did
nothing to prevent Jonah from pressing close to Laurie’s side.

Jonah put his mouth right
up to Laurie’s ear to be heard above the frenetic techno music that pulsed from
the giant speakers on either side of the makeshift DJ booth across the
clearing. “So are you ever going to claim your prize?”

Laurie grinned. “Only when
you least expect it.”

“I think tonight would be
a good time.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, see,
that’s the thing about being the loser.” Laurie leaned into Jonah and nipped at
his earlobe. “You don’t have any say.”

Jonah shivered as Laurie’s
tongue soothed away the sting from the bite, but in the next second he
stiffened and subtly shifted a few inches away.

Laurie looked around and
spotted Marc coming around the bonfire with a trio of beer bottles in hand.
Luckily, Marc seemed to be totally engrossed in whatever the tall, tight-bodied
blonde at his side was saying and hadn’t noticed Laurie’s minor slip up.
Knowing about it was one thing, but seeing it would be quite another and that
was one thing Marc had specifically mentioned during their talk. He had enough
respect for his friend to try to honor his wishes, though it sure would be
easier if Jonah was a little less hard to resist.

The song changed to one
Laurie recognized and Jonah turned toward him, face
alight
with excitement. “Wanna dance?”

Laurie shook his head
sheepishly. “I don’t dance.”

“Too bad.” Jonah stood
when his brother arrived sans the blonde from before. He snagged one of the
beers from Marc’s hand and drained it with a speed that had even Laurie
blinking. He handed the empty bottle back and grinned. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Marc
laughed and dropped onto the log beside Laurie. He handed Laurie one of the
beer bottles and tossed the one Jonah had finished behind them. “You’re not
going with him?” he asked in a casual tone as Jonah disappeared into the crowd
of writhing bodies just outside the sitting area that surrounded the bonfire.

Laurie shrugged. “Let him
do his thing. You know I can’t dance worth a damn.”

Marc snorted. “True.”

“What about you and that
blonde?”

Marc took a long pull from
his bottle and gave an appreciative sigh. “Oh, I’ll be seeing her later.”

That time Laurie snorted.
“I’m sure you will.”

****

Jonah had no idea how long
he’d been dancing. Song after song passed by in a blur. He sucked down another
couple of beers and grooved with anyone who happened to be nearby. Male,
female, it didn’t matter. He loved to dance and he was going to live it up
while he had the chance. At that moment his partner was a guy with inky black
hair and a multitude of piercings. His eyes were wild and Jonah knew he had to
be on something, but Jonah didn’t mind until the guy crowded him and pressed
something to his lips.

Jonah jerked back and
shook his head. “No.”

“Come on, baby.” The guy
lifted his hand again. “It’s just a sugar cube.”

“I said no.”

“Don’t be like that. It’ll
make you feel really—”

“You heard him, Rick.”

Jonah stilled at the
familiar voice. Travis stepped up beside him and suddenly “Rick” was all apologies.
The guy took off through a gap in the crowd and Jonah turned to face Travis. He
hadn’t seen much of him since the incident with Laurie at Beckett’s. Travis
still popped into the shop occasionally, but he didn’t linger as he had before
and he wasn’t anywhere near as flirty. Right then, though, his arrogant smirk
was at its highest wattage. He looked good; Jonah couldn’t deny it. Even in his
grease-covered mechanic coveralls, Travis was still gorgeous. Out of them and
wearing a clingy T-shirt and even clingier jeans, he was downright devastating.

Jonah crossed his arms
across his chest, appreciative of Travis’s looks, but not affected by them as
he might have been before. “Hey, Trav.”

“Jonah. Long time no
talk.”

“Yeah.”

Travis made a production
of glancing around. “Who are you here with?”

“Marc and Laurie.”

“Ah.” Travis’s smile
twisted with amusement. “You up for a walk?”

Jonah bit his lip. He had
no real interest in taking a walk with Travis, and he didn’t think Laurie would
like it if he did. But he was still wondering what the deal was between Travis
and Laurie, and there would be no better source than the proverbial horse
himself. Finally, he shrugged. “Sure.”

Travis inclined his head.
“Follow me.”

 
Jonah obeyed, trailing behind as Travis wove
his way around the dancing couples and the other people who appeared to be
doing some approximation that consisted mainly of uncoordinated flailing and
jumping.

They moved deeper into the
woods, away from the light of the bonfire. Travis stopped when it was just
bright enough for them to make out each other’s features in the near-darkness.

Jonah leaned back against
one of the trees, the roughness of the bark digging into his skin through the
thin material of his shirt. “Since we’re not walking anymore, I assume you have
something to say.”

“More like
do
,” Travis murmured. He approached
until he was close enough for Jonah to feel his body heat. “I seem to recall
making you an offer the other week. I’m still up for it if you are.”

Jonah clucked his tongue
and gave Travis a considering look. “Well, as I was about to tell you that day
before we got interrupted, I’m not interested.”

Travis shifted a bit
closer. “Oh, really?”

“Not at all,” Jonah said,
keeping his eyes on Travis’s. “But what I
am
interested in is why Laurie seems to hate you.”

“Yeah, he does, doesn’t
he?”

 
“Mmm-hmm. And what’s the story there?”

Travis shrugged and
dragged one long finger down the center of Jonah’s chest. “Why don’t you ask
him?”

“I already did.”

Travis laughed. “And he
wouldn’t tell you?”

No, he wouldn’t.
Jonah had
asked one of the nights they stayed at the guesthouse. Laurie’s immediate
reaction had been to shut down and brush the question aside. It’d hurt, but the
look in his eyes prevented Jonah from pressing the issue at the time. Of
course, Laurie’s refusal to answer served only to make him even more curious.

When Jonah stayed silent,
Travis’s fingers started toying with the hem of his shirt. “What are you gonna
give me if I tell you?”

Jonah smirked and tried to
make it as cocky as the ones Travis normally gave him. “Good, old-fashioned
gratitude.”

“That’s not enough. I’d
prefer a good, old-fashioned blowjob.”

Jonah rolled his eyes. “
So
not happening.”

Travis shrugged again and
backed off a few steps. “Well, you can just go on wondering then.”

“Okay. If that’s how you
wanna be.” Jonah turned on his heel and started walking away.

“You and Laurie, huh?”
Travis called out after him. “You know I had that ass first, right? Yeah, I
tore that little boy pussy up, and I made it
really
memorable. He ain’t never gonna forget me.”

Jonah meant to keep
walking. Honestly, he did. But before the idea even registered in his brain, he
was already halfway back to where Travis stood. He kept going until they were
less than a foot apart, and that arrogant grin goaded him into throwing a punch
that Travis never saw coming.

He felt the crunch of bone
under his knuckles with almost unholy satisfaction.

Travis stumbled back a few
steps and fell to his knees, his hands flying up to clutch at his nose.
“Fucking asshole!” he yelled. “I think you broke my nose!”

Or at least that’s what it
sounded like, though Jonah couldn’t be sure because Travis’s voice was nasally
and muffled by his palms.

“Yeah,” Jonah growled,
halfway tempted to kick the bastard while he was down. “And you won’t be
forgetting
that
anytime soon, will
you? Fucker.”

Jonah turned to head back
to the bonfire, but froze before he could take a step. Laurie and Marc were
standing a few feet from where he
stood,
both wearing
similar expressions of shock. Jonah smiled at them, not bothering to look back
at Travis, who was cursing and muttering behind him. “Ready to go?” he asked
with false cheer. “I think it’s about that time, don’t you?”

He didn’t stay to see if
Marc and Laurie agreed. By the time they made it out of the woods, he was
already waiting for them at the car.

CHAPTER 6

Aside from when Marc asked Jonah what had happened
between him and Travis, and Jonah refused to answer, the drive back to the lake
house was made in absolute silence. Laurie was still buzzed from the beer and
Jell-O shots he’d had, but what he’d overheard of the confrontation between
Jonah and Travis sobered him considerably. He’d only caught the tail end, and
Marc had too, though he was playing dumb because he knew how humiliated Laurie
had been by the entire thing with Travis the summer before last. Laurie hadn’t
wanted Jonah to hear it like that. Hell, he hadn’t wanted him to know about it
at all. Too late for that.

God, when he’d spotted Jonah following Travis into the
woods, it was impossible to say which
was the stronger
emotion—
fury at Travis, or the sense of betrayal from the idea that
Jonah was sneaking around behind his back. It was lucky Marc had been beside
him right then. Nothing good would have come from Laurie tearing off after them
in a mindless rage. Instead he and Marc had gone together and kept their distance
just to see what would happen. The last thing Laurie expected was to show up as
Jonah was planting his fist in Travis’s face.
Not that it
hadn’t filled him with a perverse sense of pleasure to see it.
Of
course, that still didn’t answer the question of why Jonah had gone with Travis
in the first place. Laurie had every intention of asking once they were alone
again.

Marc dropped them off in front of the house with a
“see ya later,” and turned the car around to go back the way they’d come.
Laurie knew he’d made plans with that blonde from the rave, but Jonah looked a
bit lost as he watched Marc’s taillights disappear.

Laurie reached out and grabbed Jonah’s upper arm.
“Come with me to the guesthouse.”

“But what if Marc comes back and realizes we’re both
gone?” Jonah asked, but he didn’t put up any resistance as Laurie started to
tug him along.

“I don’t care. We need to talk.”

“Yeah.”

Laurie released Jonah’s arm, and Jonah fell into step
beside him. When they got to the guesthouse Jonah withdrew the key from his
pocket and unlocked the door. After the third time they’d spent the night
there, he’d stopped putting it back and just kept it on him at all times. Right
at that moment, Laurie was immensely grateful for that fact. His patience was
gone. He needed his hands on Jonah and he needed it as soon as possible. But
there were other things they had to get out of the way first.