In the Distance Read Online Free Page A

I’m pretty sure your mom would kill you over that one. Be safe getting home and I’ll talk to you soon.”
    The connection went dead before I could reply, but then again, what more would I have said? Jamie was there and I was here. We might not be as close as we once were, but we were still friends. After all the crap that had happened last year, that was a miracle in and of itself. We just needed more time to work out all the kinks. That was all.
And there’s some oceanfront property in Kansas you might want to look at.
    I rounded the corner at Sixtieth and Lexington, grateful for the endless supply of Manhattan cabbies as I grabbed the first one that idled at the curb. “West Twenty-Ninth and Seventh.”
    As the lights and buildings raced by, I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes. I needed my own pillow and mattress and eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. But the closer we got to my condo, the more restless I became. Talking to Jamie and hearing how happy he and Ethan were had only emphasized that he’d moved on and I was still stuck in the same place I’d been for the past nine years. Leaving Blake’s had been a no-brainer, but the thought of going back to my empty condo had my brain scurrying for anything to quell the rising loneliness that surged inside me.
    With only a few blocks left until we hit Seventh Avenue, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my list of contacts. As it started ringing, I pushed aside everything from the past year and focused on the here and now.
    “My ass is too tired for you to come over for a booty call right now, Pratt. And that’s saying something, seeing as I’ve been trying for months to get a booty call from you. So, since we’re not hooking up in the next few hours, what couldn’t wait until, say, nine, when I’ll be more coherent?”
    I pulled out two twenties for the cabbie and got out of the taxi. My building was trendy, expensive and perfectly located. And the thought of walking into it, knowing I’d be all alone, made me sick. I needed a friend. Specifically, a friend with benefits.
    “My calendar suddenly cleared for next weekend.”
    “And that means what exactly?”
    I stared up the windows of my very dark and empty condo.
    “Tell me about the place you’re taking me to in Reno this weekend.”

Chapter Three
    Tyler
Last Week of October
    Siouxsie and the Banshees crooned over the speakers in the kitchen. Ethan’s latest playlist included all his usual rock favorites, but he’d included a few themed songs to help get us in the mood for the holiday.
    Halloween had always been my favorite holiday as a kid. I loved the candy and decorations, wandering around the neighborhood with my friends. But my favorite part had been the costumes. For one night, I could be anyone or anything I wanted to be, as long as I didn’t dress up as anything my parents considered deviant or satanic. For a few hours, I was able to forget I was Tyler Mitchell, perfect son of Marjorie and Ed Mitchell. Tyler Mitchell, who had to pretend to be someone he wasn’t all year long. Family or no family, at least now I didn’t have to pretend anymore.
    “Tyler, we need more cranberries from the back. Chef Martin’s need to dress as many of our dishes with cranberry sauce as possible has put a dent in our supply. So before we have an uprising of dissatisfied, cranberryless diners on our hands, I need to whip up a new batch for the other hundred plates that seem to require that extra special touch.”
    Trying to suppress my laughter, I smiled and set my knife down. “Sure, Chef Lassiter.” Chef Martin threw his towel at his husband and feigned a hurt look. “What? It’s festive.”
    “It looks like blood, E.”
    Chef Martin smirked before turning back to his station. “Exactly. It’s festive.”
    Cranberry relish. Fingerling potatoes. Pumpkin tarts and scones. Ethan and Jamie celebrated all the major holidays with their ever-changing custom menus, but they had gone over the