Boston Boys [01] - A Life Without You Read Online Free Page B

when I do manage to shoot at the basket, I only sink the ball a few times.
    The orange sun streaks the horizon when he gives me one of those little basketball pats-on-the-butt that used to confuse the hell out of me in high school. With the tips of his fingers still on the back of my jeans he stops in his tracks and yanks his hands away as if burned by the denim. I cock my eyebrow at him before heading off to pull on my sweater and sit down to drink.
    “Sorry,” he mutters impishly and plops down beside me.
    “Don’t worry about it,” I say with a chuckle.

chAPteR thRee
    The skin on Jesse’s arms is prickled with goosebumps in the chilling air out in the park. We’re both struggling to catch our breaths when he moves beside me to slip on his sweater. With a quick zip his arm brushes mine as he reaches for his drink and chugs it down.
    As I watch the sun set, I think about Jesse’s plan. I can totally picture him in a normal house in his small town, living with Chirpy, three kids and a dog. That’s Jesse’s future. He was never meant to be mine, and that stings like a cutlass.
    I want to be with him all the time. I can feel my whole soul light up whenever he walks into a room and my blood burns when he smiles at me. I’m not so sure I’ve been able to hide the obvious longing on my face whenever he catches me gazing.
    It’s a while before I realize that Jesse’s watching me from his spot beside me, sitting quietly under a yellow glow from the street lamp. He gives me a small smile when I meet his gaze.
    “May I ask you something?” he asks in a low voice.
    I nod before I take another sip.
    “How long have you known you were… you know?”
    “Gay?” I say aloud. There are only a couple of people strolling by. Not that it really matters. I don’t flaunt it, but I also don’t care if people know.
    “You’re that open about it, huh?” Jesse says with a crooked smile.
    I smile back with a single-shouldered shrug. “It’s who I am, so why hide it? And I’ve always known, I think.”
    “So you’ve had, you know, boyfriends?”
    “A couple, but nothing serious.”
    One just wanted to be fucked all day and the other was too afraid to try it. There were also a few one-night-stands, but there’s 22 Erica Pike
    no need to go into details with Jesse. I’m pretty sure that the only person he’s ever been with is Chirpy.
    He lowers his head along with his voice. “And what you said, you know, about liking it from behind, is that true?” I take another drink to hide a smile. His face is adorably curious with his large eyes and slack lips.
    “Actually, I don’t. Some guys do, but it just hurts for me every time.”
    I’d had to bite down the pain a couple of times with that second boyfriend, but mostly we just used our mouths and hands
    – but again that’s something Jesse doesn’t need to hear.
    His eyebrows twitch, but he doesn’t say anything back.
    “Why?” I ask with a tease, nudging his shoulder with mine.
    “Do you want to find out if you like it?”
    “Um, no, that’s not what I meant,” Jesse says, waving his hands in front of him with the cutest alarm on his face and blush in his cheeks. Then he rubs the shoulder I nudged as he looks at the fading orange in the sky. “I mean, I’m just curious. You’re the first gay guy I’ve ever known.”
    “That you know of,” I say with a smirk.
    Jesse’s eyes meet mine again, wide with lack of understanding.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean that most people hide it during high school and then you meet them at a reunion some twenty years later to find that at least a handful have come out. It could be the guy who crept along the walls and hid in the bathrooms during breaks, or the big school bully who took his frustration out on unfortunate kids, or your best friend who pretended to be straight for years out of fear of being rejected.”
    Jesse’s mouth drops open.
    “Seriously, Jesse,” I laugh and push his knee with mine. “It’s