Page 35 of Leashed

His eyes followed her hand, returning to the needle on his shirt and tugging it out for himself. “We were communing with nature.”

“Obviously,” she muttered, slowly regaining her footing. “I didn’t know you have a brother. Older or younger?”

He hunched forward a fraction more. “That one’s older. Ryan. Totally responsible and cerebral. Complete opposite of me, way better looking.” A weird look crossed his face. “Probably right up your alley.”

“If I were single,” she stated, unsure who she was reminding as she set her coffee down and leaned a little closer to him.

“Yeah, for when you’re single.” He grinned. “Anyway, he’s heading east for work and my brother Alex is down in the Coachella Valley playing house with his girlfriend…” He trailed off with a shrug.

“Is Alex older or younger?”

“Twin,” he replied, sitting back as their meals were set down and thanking the server. “He’s the ugly one.”

She opened her napkin and set it in her lap. “Fraternal?”

“Identical.” He smiled and tugged his phone from his pocket, swiping his thumb over the screen a few times before he set it down and slid it over to her. “That was the three of us a few months back.”

Taking care to avoid accidentally scanning through his photos, she enlarged the picture to examine each brother one by one. “Your poor mother.” She laughed, shaking her head at the incredible genetics running through Bo’s family. “She must’ve had to hold the girls back with a wooden spoon.”

He swiped through a few more photos for her, pictures obviously taken during a night out. When a shot of a gorgeous half-naked blonde flashed across the screen, he covered it with his hand and flipped the phone facedown. “Yeah, so that’s them.”

“You guys look like you’re close,” she said as he dug in to his meal. “I’m kind of surprised I’ve never seen you out when you’re with Ryan.”

With his attention on his meal, Bo wrinkled his nose. “We don’t run in the same circles. He never leaves the apartment except for work, and I’m not home a lot except to shower.” He sniffed his shirt. “Which I probably should’ve done earlier.”

“I considered bringing it up, but…” She grinned and ran her pinky over the amphora.

“So you’re using me for my artifacts?” he asked, pointing his fork at her with one hand as he grabbed one of her fries with the other.

“Fair’s fair,” she retorted. “You’re using me for my library card.”

*

Bo pulled upbehind Sage as she parked in the lot behind her complex, reading over the text she sent him while she got out of the car, amphora cradled tightly in her arms.

Thanks for the follow home and coffee.

He rolled down his window and waved at her, watching to ensure she was safely inside before he eased back onto the road and began the drive home.

If Ryan were a dating guy, he and Sage would be perfect for each other.

Of course, for that to happen, Nixon would need to be out of the picture and Ryan would need to be back in the picture.

He jingled his keys while he walked the empty stairwell to his apartment, flicking the hall light on as he closed the door and kicked off his shoes. On the surface, the place looked no different than it had when Ryan was living there. Everything was in its place, neatly organized and cleaned. He walked through the rooms, turning every light on as he checked them over.

The TV remote was centered on the coffee table.

The kitchen sink was empty.

The fridge was full.

Shrugging off his jacket, he opened the hall closet to hang it, shoving it closed and tossing his coat over the back of the sofa when he saw the number of unused hangers on the rod. The bathroom was just as empty of his brother’s things, the counter cleared with the exception of Bo’s hairbrush. He pulled Ryan’s bedroom door shut as he passed it, turning his own bedroom light off as he flopped onto his bed. He tapped on Alex’s number, tossing his arm over his eyes when Alex answered. “Hey man, what’s up?”

“Not much. Everything okay?” Alex asked, his voice groggy.

He glanced at the time. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Didn’t realize it was so late. I’ll touch base tomorrow or something.”

There was a rustling of blankets, Charlotte’s voice whispering something in the background. “No worries,” Alex replied. “Do you need anything? Charlotte says hi.”

“Yeah, whatever. Hi and all that. Night.”

He disconnected the call and lay in the darkness for a few minutes.

He needed to shower.

He needed to do some laundry.

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he stood up and walked to the window.

He needed another run.

---