Page 25 of Left on Read

“What do you like to do to relax?” I asked as we headed to my car. We’d talked about a lot of different topics, but oddly enough, our hobbies hadn’t really come up.

“Draw, mostly. And work out.”

“You’re an athlete?” That made sense, considering how fit he was.

“Not really. Not anymore.” He folded his long legs into my car as he settled on the seat. “I go to the gym, and me and my buddies at the club do choreo and stuff like that. And Zane and I still do our routines and mess around with parkour, but nothing like when we were kids.”

“That sounds exhausting.” I started the car. “I’m lucky my parents were so busy with my siblings they pretty much left me alone. So many of my students are overscheduled with lessons and practices and have no time to just be kids.”

“That was my parents. Zane and I were so busy we barely had any downtime to ourselves. And they used to send us to these STEM camps every summer. Those were…not fun. Like going to summer school.”

“Did you enjoy any of them? The lessons or sports teams?”

“Some of them.” He drummed his fingers on his thigh and looked out the window. “I was always that kid chasing butterflies on the field because I got bored just standing around waiting for stuff to happen. Team sports weren’t for me, but we did dance and gymnastics for years. Those we really liked. The other stuff was just meh.”

“Was there a reason you had to do so many things? Did Zane like them?”

He snort-laughed. “Not a chance. Zane’s not like me. He’s good at pretty much everything he does because he’s a stubborn bastard who won’t let anyone win or tell him what he can and can’t do. But it was our parents’ idea to keep making us try new things instead of just letting us do the stuff we loved. They were really big on academics and put us in all these extracurriculars so they’d look good on our college applications. They knew the odds of me getting into college without some sort of athletic scholarship were about the same as being hit by a meteor. They were hoping to strike gold and find a hidden talent the recruiters would want.”

“College isn’t for everyone.”

“It wasn’t for me. But my parents didn’t think like that. They were…” He cleared his throat. “They wanted me to live the same life they did, but that’s not in the cards for me.”

I could feel the tension growing as he shifted in his seat. I’d also noticed he spoke of his parents in the past tense, so this was probably a sensitive topic.

“You like to draw?” I asked, picking one of the things he’d said he enjoyed but hadn’t expanded on.

He smoothed his hair back from his face. “Yeah. It’s kind of always been my thing. Just doodling or whatever. But it helps me relax. It’s pretty much the only time I can zone out.”

“I wish I was artistic. I can’t even draw a stick figure.”

He chuckled. “It’s a skill like any other. Just takes time to figure out. But you like to read?”

“Yeah. I’ve always been a bookworm.”

“What do you read?”

“Anything I can get my hands on, really. But I’ve always loved mysteries and sci-fi. I’ve been on a big biography and nonfiction kick since I started teaching.”

“My buddy, Quinn?—”

“The guy who had the shelf contact?” I asked, trying to keep track of the names of his friends. It fascinated me when people had tons of friends, especially since I could count my friendships on one hand. But it made sense a guy like River would know everyone. He was so easy to talk to that I’d spent most of the day forgetting to be anxious about what I said or worrying about how I might look.

It was as refreshing as it was unsettling.

“Yeah, that’s him. Quinn’s a big reader. I swear I’ve never seen him without a book. He’s really into sci-fi, too, and was telling me about this storyline for this series he’s reading. Something about a virus that gets unleased on the internet and basically kills every connected device just before aliens come and take over.”

I snort-laughed and took a left turn to hit a small local brewery to pick up some beer. “At this point I don’t think aliens would have to try very hard to take over. I’d welcome them with open arms because how much worse could they possibly be?”

“Right?” River patted my thigh. The touch was quick and seemed subconscious, but the effects on my body were anything but. My heart rate picked up, and my chest tightened with both longing and desire.

Nope, not going there. This was… I had no clue what this was, but it wasn’t a date. Time for my dick to go back to sleep and forget all about the gorgeous guy who was confusing the fuck out of it.

“I’d totally welcome our new alien overlords. Hell, I’d happily tell them everything I know just to help them with the process.”

Laughing, I pulled into the lot behind the brewery. “I’d be right there with you.”

“What time is it?” River glanced at the dashboard just as I turned off the car. “Oh, good. It’s almost food time. The beast is not happy, and he’s about to get really loud.”

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