Page 119 of Something Like Winter

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The guy outside was handsome enough to be a hustler, but he couldn’t have been working the streets for long. Even indestructible youth showed signs of wear from such a life. But what else could he be doing out there so late at night? A young guy, looking for his first experience? But those eyes had been desperate, not horny. Growling at the universe in general, Tim turned around and headed back out the door.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

The guy’s head whipped up, expression guarded. “You bounce here or something?”

“No, I’m not the bouncer.” Tim cocked his head. “I just don’t get why you’re out here in the rain when you could be inside.”

The blue eyes blinked. “I’m not old enough.”

“Never stopped me.” But Tim had looked older—had surely been older—when he had first come here. “Don’t you have somewhere better to be?”

The hooded head shook. “I don’t have anywhere at all.” The guy’s stomach grumbled loudly. If this was a scam, it was a damn good one.

“Come on,” Tim said. “I’ll buy you dinner.”

“I don’t need charity.” But the lack of conviction in his voice said he did.

“Fine, then I’ll take you on a date. Happy?”

The difference was small, but it was enough to get the kid following him to the car. “What’s your name?”

“Ryan. You?”

“Tim. And don’t worry, I’m not some pervert.”

“Then you’d be the first,” Ryan mumbled.

“I mean it,” Tim said, looking at him across the top of the car. “I’m not picking you up. I don’t go for hustlers.”

Ryan eyed him, assessing the truth of this and then nodded. “I guess guys like you don’t need to pay.”

Don’t be so sure, angel eyes! Tim had met plenty of Marcello’s clientele, and some were very handsome. That usually meant they had weird kinks only escorts were willing to indulge. Or that they required discretion.

Tim drove them to Denny’s, figuring the diner chain was good enough to give Ryan a full stomach while avoiding a romantic atmosphere.

“I love their veggie-burgers,” Ryan said, flipping through the menu. “Have you tried those?”

“Nope. I prefer the real thing.”

“How do you know if you haven’t tried?” Ryan raised a thin eyebrow. Were they plucked, or naturally so fine? With his hoodie pulled back and some color returned to his cheeks, Ryan’s beauty positively stunned.

“How old are you, exactly?”

Ryan toyed with the straw of his drink. “Nineteen. You?”

Not jailbait then. “Twenty-four.”

“So you already graduated?”

“College? Yeah.”

“Lucky! I still have three more years. Well, supposedly.” Ryan’s lips grew tight, but he perked up when the waitress came by. “Two veggie burger platters, please!”

Tim chuckled. “Is one of those for me?”

“Mm-hm.” Ryan nodded, his expression mischievous. Tim could imagine him being quite the handful, in more than one way.