Page 180 of Tech Bros

“I mean, I’d love to say I’m living my best life, but this code is legit trying to kill me.”

“You’re going to see your mom this weekend?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that something you look forward to or no?”

“My dad is making me come visit him next weekend to make up for missing Easter with him and his wife.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question.”

“It won’t be all bad. The food will be good.”

“Whathaveyou been eating?”

He gives me a sidelong glance. “Mostly takeout. My ass might be a little bigger, but my clothes still fit, so…”

I didn’t need the mention of his ass. I’ve gotten lucky that he’s been sitting in another chair and we haven’t made a wholelot of eye contact, but now I’m thinking about his ass—a vivid memory of putting my fingers in his hole while Isaac’s cock was inside it warms my thighs and makes me shift my laptop to cover anything that might come up.

Dawn is making its appearance, a lavender hue lightening up the sky outside Evan’s patio doors. “I can make breakfast.”

“That’s not necessary.”

I close my laptop. “Well, I could use a break from this, but I feel like we’re close. Are you hungry?”

Evan sighs and gives me a look I can’t read. The overall vibe is sad, I think. “I could eat. But there’s a place down the block that makes good food and likes dogs. We can take Apollo.”

“Okay.”

He hasn’t changed clothes when he leads Apollo out of his bedroom. He’s put on a pair of Adidas slides with his socks. Apollo perks up when he sees me stand up from the couch, wagging his whole butt as he hurries over to sniff me and shove his nose and big jowls repeatedly into my leg. He nearly knocks me off balance.

I pet him wordlessly, something constricting in my chest so tight I have to knock my fist against my sternum. The dog looks up at me, tongue out, panting, and while I want to smile at him, my chin is trembling, and I can barely breathe.

He walks away from me the moment he hears his food hit his bowl, and I stand straight, rubbing my chest wondering what the fuck that was. Evan fills up a water bottle and shoves his keys, wallet, and phone into his pockets while Apollo wolfs down all four cups of food. Last time I asked, he weighed something like a hundred and seventy pounds, but I swear he’s bigger.

“He looks good,” I manage to say.

“We go on a lot of walks,” Evan says. “He comes to work with me sometimes, too. Huge hit.”

“I bet it’s nice not to have to commute, huh?”

“I never minded the commute, but yeah.”

A massive sense of unease forces the next words from my mouth. “Do you want me to go?”

“Fuck, Deacon.” Evan drops his head, his hair falling to hide his face. His hands are shoved into his hoodie pocket, and his shoulders are tense and tight. “Does Isaac know you’re here?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I decided to come after I left his place. It was late. I didn’t want to wake him.”

“And you’re sure you want to be here?” he asks.

I nod.

“Can you give me a reason you’re here then that doesn’t involve Isaac or the software?”