Heart on the Run (10 page)

“
Okay, I’ll bite.” Mason passed behind him, slapping his butt as he went to the other side of the aisle, studying the plastic flamingos dressed as pilgrims. “What ass-y thing did I do this time?” He picked up a flamingo with a pilgrim’s hat and leaves tufting out from its feet.

“
We are not buying that.” Sprocket shook his head, prepared to go to the mat on this one. He’d folded when Mason suggested they dangle heart-shaped lights from the roof for Valentine’s day, he’d bowed to Mason’s desire to spray paint the front bushes in red, white, and blue—though he did insist they buy a special type of water soluble paint that only took them three weekends to wash off the poor leaves—he’d accepted when Mason rearranged the Halloween skeletons to mimic positions from the
Kama Sutra
…but this, this was almost sacrilege. And he would not be permitting that thing in their front yard…ever.

“
Aw, come on. It’s perfect.” Mason held it up to his face, making a stupid wide-mouthed grin next to it.

“
Perfect for what?” Sprocket stepped back, putting space between him and the crazy man.

“
It will go smashing with the gnomes I bought the other day. They have turkey feathers coming out of their…” He reached his hand behind him like he was stroking long feathers coming out of his butt.

Sprocket blinked multiple times as Mason continued with his personal game of charades. “There is no way you’re serious this time.”

“
Silly boy,” Mason replied, jumping forward and planting a kiss on Sprocket’s lips. “I’m serious all the time. It’s just that sometimes I don’t give a flying fuck…but I’m serious about that, too.”

“
Put the flamingo back on the shelf or else you’re walking home.”

“
But…” Mason pouted.

“
No
butts
about it, which means no gnomes either.” Sprocket turned and walked away, muttering under his breath that he worked in a freaking craft store. Why would Mason ever consider buying this garbage?

He heard the clunking of heavy plastic hitting heavy plastic and then Mason was at his side with empty hands. “Speaking of asses…” he prodded.

“
Don’t be rude to Chaz anymore.” Sprocket walked across the Target store to the electronics section—the reason they were here. He needed a new charger for his phone; the old one only worked when he set the phone on top of two hardbacks and one trade paperback with the cord bent in a U-shape threaded back between the two hardcover books, all the while keeping a parallel position in the center of the top book. If it got joggled from that specific spot, it would suddenly stop charging. Sprocket was sick and tired of babysitting it, hoping for at least a partial charge by morning.

On the flip side, he’d learned not to coil his charger in a tight circle and cinch it with a bag clip, even if said bag clip had a pretty butterfly design.

“
Awww…did I hurt his feelings?” Mason taunted.

Sprocket swung his arm out and backhanded his best friend in the stomach. When Mason doubled over with a groan, he wasn’t faking it; Sprocket had a mean backhand.

“
It was uncalled for.” Seriously uncalled for. Last night, Chaz barely even broke a smile while he cooked an amazing vegetable pasta dish with a creamy tomato sauce that wasn’t your everyday spaghetti variety. And the tension in the air while they all three ate…well, you needed your knife to cut through it. “Cooking for us isn’t part of his job description; he’s being nice, and you seem to jibe at him every chance you can. Just because he doesn’t notice it most of the time doesn’t make it okay.”

He looked at the display of phone chargers by the register in the electronics section.

“
You know, you should really order one from Apple. These off brands are dangerous to the electronics, I heard.” Mason stood next to him, moving some of the packages around to see the tags.

“
Yeah.” He waved at the pretty woman behind the counter, and she quickly came over to them.

“
I love your viper bites,” she giggled. God help them, she even twirled her hair. Did that crap really work on straight guys?

“
You should see his other piercings,” Mason purred, threading his hands around Sprocket’s waist and leaning into him.

Rolling his eyes—this was a game Mason loved playing on chicks when they showed interest—Sprocket asked the clerk if they carried Apple chargers.

She immediately stopped playing with her hair, but at least she kept her smile on, and it was genuine. “Nope, sorry, we only have the Just Wireless brand. They promise they’ll work on all Apple compatible products, though.”

“
Thanks anyway,” Sprocket said, turning from the display.

Mason released his midsection and matched his steps as they headed to the front of the store and the exit.

Once they were in the parking lot, Sprocket reaffirmed his earlier statement. “I’m serious about Chaz.”

Mason shrugged. “I know you are. That’s the problem.”

Sprocket froze mid-step, yanking Mason’s arm to force him to do the same. “What exactly does that mean?”

“
It means”—Mason took a deep breath before elaborating—“that I’ve paid damn close attention during the times he’s been over under the ruse of learning our appliances—which obviously aren’t up to snuff for his kitchen highness.”

“
Mason…” Sprocket growled.

But his best friend waved off his interruption and continued, “I wanted to give him a chance. Hell, it was my idea to connive him into coming over on a regular basis in hopes that maybe he’d pull his head out of his ass and see you. But I gotta say, it’s lodged so far up there that, even if you two did diddle again, you’d never fit in his—”

“
Enough.” Sprocket practically shouted, waving his hands in the air between them to shut his friend up.

“
All I’m saying is that I have to stick with my first impression of him. He’s just not that into you…and he’s an idiot.”

“
Jesus Fucking Christ, Mason, do you have stock in that book? Do you get royalties when you say that fucking phrase?” Sprocket’s rage lacked the proper amount of bite.

Mason stepped forward and took Sprocket’s hands in his. “Sprocks, you know I love you, man. I want you to be happy above everything else. That’s why I cornered Chaz into coming over. I thought if he got some time with you, well hell, who wouldn’t fall for your adorable ass? But it hasn’t happened. So yeah, I hurt his feelings last night, but for those hours he was late, I saw you. Every time you glanced at the clock, your face fell a little more. I wanted to upset him, because, damn it, he upset you.” Mason shrugged and pulled him forward so they continued walking to the car, releasing his hands. “So you can bitch at me all you want, but until he proves that he’s worthy of your frowns along with your smiles, he ain’t getting jack shit from me.”

Sprocket sighed. He understood where Mason was coming from. The man had always been determinedly loyal. But Sprocket had to clear the air, tell Mason about the talk Chaz had with him.

“
Chaz and I spoke last night about…well, I guess about us while you were pouting in the other room.” They reached the car, and Sprocket propped his ass against the bumper, crossing his arms. Mason hopped onto the trunk and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

“
Oh, do tell.”

“
We both agreed that we were only going to be friends. No sleeping together. Turns out that night last year really was a one-time thing.”

Mason snorted. “You two are the most delusional people on the face of this planet. Well, besides the Kardashians, and they get a pass because a couple of them are hot…but you guys are right up there with them.”

Closing his eyes, knowing he would regret the next word out of his mouth, he muttered, “Why?”

Mason patted his shoulder. “Because you two can’t be friends. You like him way more than a friendship, and he…well, I don’t think he even knows what he wants. He looks at you sometimes across the table like he wants you on his plate instead of the food…and other times he acts like he wants to vacate the premises immediately. Whatever is happening between you two, it ain’t friendship and never will be. You either need to cut your losses now or go for broke.” Mason jumped off the car and turned to look at Sprocket, the corner of his mouth tilting up in a know-it-all smirk. “Either way, I think you’re in for a bumpy ride.”

“
Fuck,” Sprocket muttered, inwardly agreeing with Mason.

“
Speaking of which…wanna know which Kardashians I think are hot?” Mason smiled as he stood next to the passenger door.

Sprocket shook his head as he used the key fob to unlock the car. “No.”

Chapter Eight

It was so early the sun hadn’t quite managed to chase the gray away. An orangey glow bathed the whole cozy little street with its quaint shops. It looked like a greeting card and, despite the sting of the cold air on his exposed cheeks, warmed Chaz.

“
So…” Chaz snuck a glance under his lashes at Sprocket and blushed furiously when he got caught. “Uh… I was wondering…”

Sprocket high-fived a passing kid, some gangly teen in a scarred leather jacket Chaz didn’t recognize, in a smooth gesture. “Good to see you, Kenny. Got you in for a few hours before school, huh?”

“
Yep, thanks for the referral man. My mom is going to be real happy with her Christmas gift.” The kid trotted off in the direction of the parking lot Chaz and Sprocket had just left.

“
Who’s that?” Chaz asked curiously.

“
Kenny. He’s got six little brothers and sisters and no dad. His mom works over at the Rite Aid. We were there looking at yard decorations for Halloween and he came in to talk to his mom while we were checking out.”

“
You helped him get a job?”

“
Stocking shelves at the bookstore before school, yeah. He wants to play Santa this year, give his siblings a Christmas to remember. Why?” He clasped Chaz’s elbow gently. “Careful, Lydia slipped on the ice here and nearly fell last night.”

“
Oh…” He paused to let his body grow accustomed to the touch…which he could swear he felt through the layers of his Under Armour and outer wear. “Thanks. I’ve got tread so…”

“
Tread is good, caution is better.” Sprocket let his arm go and Chaz immediately missed the touch. “You were saying?”

“
Oh… I get my lunch break early…ten-thirty. Since you’re coming in early too…I wondered if you’d like to eat with me?”

“
Sure. Come get me when you’re heading out. Where do you want to go?” They slowed to a stop by the Craft Time display window, filled with black cats, snarling pumpkins, and other seasonal decor ideas.

“
I brought a picnic basket,” Chaz confessed. “Thought we could eat over at the gazebo.” His gaze traveled down the street to the park. A lone city workman was blowing colorful leaves off the paving stones. A few women bundled in coats and hats pushed baby strollers toward the play area. The gazebo he’d mentioned was empty, a still white structure overlooking a reflecting pool. Several thick icicles clung to the rain gutter.

In the summer, the city sponsored concerts and amateur dramatics in the gazebo. Weddings were performed there in the spring, and Chaz often ate his lunch there when it was empty, so he could watch the hustle and bustle of the street. When he’d first taken the job at
Alimentaire
it had been a dying street, and he’d often feared accepting Dermot’s job offer was a mistake.

Then came Sprocket…a tattooed, pierced, nearly alien being. Certainly a type of man Chaz had never encountered in his prep school and cotillion-filled youth. When Sprocket took that job as a part-time sales clerk at Craft Time, Chaz went from people watcher to person watcher.

Then came
that night.
The fire. The chaos, the fear that they’d all die…