Page 2 of Heat Transfer

His hand remained there, even though I had swamp back, and I didn’t dare try to extricate it, savoring all these small touches.My brother Ollie and his best friend Liam were touchy and feely like this too, always had been, so at first, I’d figured I was reading into Felix’s constant presence.

Except now Ollie and Liam were dating, and that shift in dynamics fed the hope monster in my chest.

“You look like you can take it.” Regina winked, laying on the flirtation thick.

I licked my lips. Little did she know that lit my fires even more.

“Are you guys clearing out right after?” Felix asked as he let his hand drop.

I took the opportunity to whip off my shirt and wring it out, and a ridiculous amount of liquid poured from the flimsy Brannon Contractors tee. “I don’t have immediate plans. What’s up?”

When I glanced up, his gaze lingered on my chest, and heat flushed through my body. He just stared because I was a big guy, that was all. Brawny and covered in fur, I stood out in a crowd.

“Unfortunately, I’m out.” Regina blew me a kiss. “I’ll catch you guys next time though.”

“Maybe we could grab a bite to eat?” Felix asked, hooking his thumbs in his pockets. The frisson of vulnerability in his tone had me paying attention. I’d drop anything for him in the first place, but especially if something was going on.

“You pick where. Let’s go.” I wrinkled my nose, waving out my sweaty shirt. “Maybe not anywhere nice though, because I doubt they’ll let me in like this.”

“You want to join?” Felix asked Ezra, who was in the middle of a conversation with one of the new guys.

“Thanks, but I’ve got to head home.” He gave an up-nod. Secretly, I was relieved. Wanting more solo time with Felix was masochistic, sure, but I couldn’t help myself. Kind of like picking at a scab. Even though you knew it’d get infected, you kept at it, which was a vicious tendency of mine.

The sweat cooled on my skin, gluing like paste, but the brisk breeze already helped make me more presentable. The scent of early fall drifted by, one I craved. The shirt was pretty sodden, so I continued waving it around. Pulling the damp fabric back on at a restaurant would feel fucking gross, but it wasn’t the first time I’d had to it.

“Tacos at Granita?” Felix poked me in the stomach.

My skin quivered at the touch, his effortless tease. His constant closeness did things to me, lit me on fire, even though it would never amount to anything.

Even if I desperately wanted it to.

“Yeah, we can sit outside,” I said, gesturing to my sodden shirt.

“Please, you know it’s not a no-shirt, no-service sort of place. Strip down all you like.”

Torture. Pure, unadulterated torture.

I swallowed hard and rubbed my beard. “All right, let’s go.” I lifted a hand in a wave to Ezra and the others. “See you around next time, guys.”

We set off across the green toward the street. Granita was a few blocks from here, a spot Felix and I had fast started to frequent when we realized how many calories you burned from sword fighting practice. Who knew my geeky historical hobby would replace a gym day?

Felix buzzed beside me, suspiciously quiet.

“How’s—” I started.

“Aria broke up with me.” Felix’s shoulders were hunched, his gaze on the grass beneath our feet as we hoofed it over to asphalt.

“Shit, when?” I hooked a thumb into my pocket. As much as I tried to tamp it down, hope bubbled to the surface. Since I met him six months ago, Felix had been in a relationship, which made him off-limits.

Guilt splashed over that hope because clearly Felix was hurting over his breakup.

“Last night. I would’ve texted you, but I figured I’d see you today.” He ran his fingers through his glossy black hair, the late afternoon sun bringing out deep brown shades. My fingers itched to do the same, but guaranteed that’d be a bridge too far. The guy had been dumped, but that didn’t mean he was queer.

“Fuck, that sucks.” I bumped his shoulder with mine. The sweat had cooled on my skin, and even my shirt had dried a little. By the time we reached Granita, it should be just damp.

The bricked buildings all stood out in the near distance at the roadside, crammed together, intermingled with a mix of restaurants and houses. The scents of crisp autumn leaves blended with exhaust fumes, flooding through my system. As much as I loved living in the suburbs, I appreciated these jaunts into the city with Felix. Even though it was just an hour away, Philly was a different landscape than Kennett Square, with activity every which way.

“She kept trying to throw it on me,” he muttered, scrubbing at his face. “Said I wasn’t interested anymore, that we’d gone in different directions.”

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