Page 2 of Spring Breakup
“And no one else said yes,” Leo added.
Rosie closed her eyes on a laugh.
Dean had been so excited to spend a week with Rosie and Leo.
And, of course, Tyler, who he was sharing a room with, would be there too.
It was true that Dean had been in a relationship for a year, but it had been one of the loneliest, least inspiring years of his life.
He was in a rut. A relationship rut. A friendship rut. A creative rut where it was a slog to even pick up his pencils. He was in dire need of a reset and the special kind of companionship only Leo and Rosie offered him.
Leo actually knew him, saw him, and it would be a relief to be able to let his guard down.
But he would not be able to let his guard down around Tyler, especially if he thought Dean was some potential love connection.
He turned toward Tyler. It was snowing outside, and the man had on a tropical camp shirt and sandals. Something about that pricked at every annoyance sensor in Dean’s brain.
“Whatever our so-called friends planned”—Dean gestured toward Rosie and Leo—“we are not falling for it.”
Tyler blinked. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Dean clicked his tongue in irritation. “They have a plan. Trust me. I’m not going to be your spring break fling. Your getting-back-up-on-the-horse man of the hour.”
Finally, the sadness cleared from Tyler’s eyes, and Dean liked the way anger made Tyler’s cheeks flush. He liked it way too fucking much.
Damn Rosie. Damn Leo.
“If I want to get back up on the horse,” Tyler bit out, “I’ll choose a nicer horse.”
“I’m nice.” Everyone said so. “Did you bring warmer clothes? This is Alaska.”
Tyler’s mouth dropped open, and he seemed to shake his head in disbelief. Without another word, he grabbed his duffel bag off the baggage carousel and stalked toward the bathroom. Hopefully, to put on long pants and a pair of socks.
Leo threw his arm over Dean’s shoulders and said, “That was real smooth, lover.”
“Not my best work,” Dean admitted. “And I’m still mad at you.”
Leo kissed his cheek. “We’ll make it up to you later.”
ChapterTwo
Tyler wasn’t an impulsive person.He was thoughtful.
He thought and thought andthoughtabout everything from his five-year plan to his grocery list to every trivia question he’d ever missed on national television.
He obsessed over the present and the past. The future… hell, the future took up so much space in his head he was lucky his neck could hold it up.
It wasn’t an easy way to live, but in his thirty-two years on this earth, he’d perfected overthinking. It protected him from the unknown.Usually.
He wasn’t the type of guy to fly off on vacation with only a few days’ notice or break up with his boyfriend last week over breakfast without reallythinkingthrough the repercussions and the fact they lived together and now needed tonotlive together.
Not that Francis had left him much choice.
Tyler’s meticulously ordered life was crumbling around him, and he’d gone to Alaska instead of dealing with it. He hardly recognized himself.
He’d expected the cold weather. He’d expected snow. He was enough of a control freak to research the forecast prior to flying across the country. And yes, he’d packed warm clothes. But he hadn’t anticipated that Alaska would be so…greige. The sky was murky. The roads were covered in muddy slush. The snow was dirty.
It matched his mood. No complaints.
