Crash: M/M Straight to Gay First Time Romance Read Online Free Page B

letter to State, he almost smiled at me but nodded encouragingly instead.
    Those memories follow me all the way home. It’s lucky for the both of us that I live in town. Making the trip to my house and the hospital every day would have been an issue if I lived out in the sticks. Hazelton isn’t exactly a bustling metropolis, but the downtown area offered all the comforts of a big city at a fraction of the cost. Working for the state’s parks and recreation department means that although my work is steady, it isn’t lucrative. Still, I love what I do. I help people. I intervene in lives that would otherwise go off the rails and end in disaster.
    This place was hit pretty hard by the economic downturn and people’s lives still haven’t fully recovered. We are all just one or two bad weeks away from being flat broke and out on our asses. It’s better than it was. Once upon a time, the two biggest industries in this place were meth and gutting foreclosed homes. In all of the hardship, the kids were hit the hardest. Crime, violence, drugs, prostitution-- the kinds of things you don’t associate with charming little cities nestled in the mountains--all flourished. Just like me, this town has fought hard to be better than it was. I like to think my rec center is part of the recovery. I like to think that the kids in my afterschool and summer programs are safer than the kids who aren’t. I see something every day in my line of work that breaks my heart, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. 
    When I get home, my sister is waiting for me.
    “I’m here to drop off the dog. That’s something I never thought I would have to say,” says Darlene. I pull her into a tight hug and kiss the top of her head.
    “That’s an interesting color. What is that?”
    She runs her hand through her asymmetrical cut and smiles.
    “Something called Pixie Frosting. I wasn’t sure what it was either but it was too cute not to give it a try. What do you think?”
    I look at the pinkish tresses and shake my head.
    “It looks like frosting,” I admit. Flecks of pink and a color that might be some shade of green mar the silvery whiteness of her hair. It looks like one of her cosplay wigs.
    “I know, right! Come on, Buster! Daddy’s home,” she calls out excitedly.
    The red nosed pit bull sprints across the playground in front of my house and jumps into my arms, sending us both to the ground. It is several minutes before I can pry him off of my chest.
    “Aww, heartwarming,” she says, slinging a duffle bag full of Buster’s things at me with mild disgust.
    “You’re not coming in?”
    “No, I have to run. How are things going down there at the hospital? Must be hard being a newlywed,” she says, teasing.
    “He woke up,” I say.
    “Holy shit. No way! I just knew you were going to sit by his bedside and pretend to pine away for him for at least another month.”
    “No. He is up, and he seems to be mentally fit, despite dropping a car on his head.”
    “Did you tell him? How did he take it?”
    “I told him. He looked...I don’t know. Maybe pissed off, but not really.”
    “It’s gotta be like waking up in the middle of a nightmare,” she says with wonder in her eyes. I punch her arm softly.
    “Hey, being married to me is hardly the worst thing that could happen to a person,” I say, defending my honor.
    “None of your ex-girlfriends seemed to feel that way,” Darlene says, winking.
    “Whose side are you on now?”
    “His,” she says, definitively.
    “Yeah, well, so am I,” I say kicking the dirt with my boot.
    “Is he like that guy?”
    “Yes and no. His personality is very different, and his looks are different in a lot of ways. But when he smiles, it looks like what I imagine that kid’s smile would have looked like,” I say, thinking back to the few smirks Liam had offered in their short exchange.
    “Just remember that he isn’t that kid. That kid is long gone,” Darlene reminds me, her face losing any