Last Chance Read Online Free

his glasses to read the menu. More and more, he realized he didn't need them. Now he wore them for show, or maybe because he refused to acknowledge the obvious—he was turning into a freaking bloodsucker.

    “We'll have coffee, scrambled eggs, and wheat toast, dry.” He turned to Aric. “That'll be easy on your stomach.”

    So much for the menu. But he didn't care what he ate. He slipped it behind the napkin holder and put away his glasses. The waitress came back with a thermos of coffee and left it on the table.

    Stu poured two cups, then shoved one across the table toward Aric. “So you have no idea who was following you?”

    Aric shrugged. “Probably just my imagination.”

    “What about that weird smell?”

    “It could have been from an herb or some flowering shrub.”

    “Yeah, but—”

    “It was nothing, so drop it already.”

    Stu relented. “Okay, fine.” He took a sip of coffee, then set down his cup. “I couldn't make sense of those formulas scribbled all over your papers. Are you studying science or something?”

    “It's really not that interesting if you're not into it.”

    “How do you know what I'm into? For such a brainiac, you assume a lot.”

    “I'm getting my PhD in molecular biology, studying molecular mechanisms of various blood cells. Now are you happy?”

    “That sounds awesome. So you're smart.”

    Aric frowned at Stu's smile. No shit, I'm smart, he thought, but he bit down on his lip to keep from saying something harsh. What did this guy know of hitting the books?

    Stu kept talking. “But you seem too young to be working on your PhD. Are you some kind of Doogie Howser?”

    “I'm twenty-six,” Aric snapped. “What does my age have to do with anything?”

    “It's just…I thought you were younger than me, and I'm only twenty-two.”

    Irritation flared in Aric, but he couldn't blame Stu for taking him to be younger. Most people did. It didn't help that he had a scrawny body and had been called girlie more times than he cared to remember. He hated his looks, but at least he'd always been smarter than his classmates. That saved him from being a total loser. As he grew into his gangly frame, guys began to take notice. Too bad it all went down the toilet after that fateful night in Prague.

    Maybe it didn't matter in the long run. He never had much luck when it came to relationships. Always choosing the wrong guy for the wrong reasons. He'd believed Devon had been the one, the guy he'd been searching for, someone he could share his life with. And like a grand fool, he'd handed his heart to him on a silver platter—and Devon devoured it.

    He had to loosen up, not get so worked up over what Stu said. What did he care, anyway? He'd eat, leave, and never see this guy again. It was time to put the spotlight on Stu.

    “Are you going into the NFL?” Aric couldn't give a rat's ass, but he had no idea what to say to a jock. “I've read that scouts are already sniffing around you.”

    “Yeah…” Stu lowered his eyes. “It's expected.”

    Aric's brows knitted together at the indifference in his answer. He thought Stu would be more enthusiastic.

    Stu tapped his ring on the rim of his coffee cup. At first Aric thought it was a class ring, but on closer look, he could see it was embossed with some sort of heraldic form. Before he could comment on it, Stu surprised him—again.

    “I want to get my lit degree. I have one more year before I'd even consider the draft. I'm going to England this summer on an exchange program.”

    “Don't they play a different football over there, like soccer?”

    “I'm studying poetry, not playing sports.” Stu's eyes scrunched as his mouth turned down. “You're really rude, you know that? Not all of us on the football team are dumb jocks.”

    “Sorry, yeah…” Aric looked down at his fidgeting hands. “I didn't mean…uh…” He looked up. “You're a poet?” Yet he couldn't visualize Stu as one. Maybe it was his athletic build.