Boyfriend for Rent by Jamie Lake Page B

Hunter’s legs and kneaded the knots he felt under the skin.
    “Ooh. Yeah, right there. Thanks, man.” Hunter said, closing his eyes.
    Casey massaged his calf up and down, just the way Hunter liked it. His hands travelled from his leg s to his thighs.
    “This al right?” Casey asked.
    “Yeah, it’s perfect,” Hunter said, thrusting his crotch forward once again as he became more comfortable.
    Casey threw himself into the massage, gripping and sliding, gripping and sliding.
    “Hey Casey,” Hunter said.
    “Yeah?” Casey responded.
    “It’s a little dry. Got any oil?” Hunter suggested.
    Oh, my God, Casey thought. He was going to cream in his shorts. Everything Hunter said could be explained away as perfectly innocent, even while it brought forth some deliciously filthy alternative ideas.
    “Sure,” Casey said. He looked around for lotion in the downstairs bathroom cabinet. Nothing.
    Dammit.
    He didn’t want to take the time to run upstairs and check too. He wasn’t sure how long this moment was going to last , and he wanted to enjoy it while he could. There was something in the kitchen that could work. “All you’ve got is olive oil,” Casey said.
    “Me? It’s our house now. It’s both of ours,” Hunter slurred.
    Casey smiled at the thought as he hurried into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle from the cupboard.
    “Whatever works,” Hunter said, his head leaned back.
    Casey fell back to his knees and flipped open the bottle of olive oil.  He poured it on his hands, oil dripping down his wrists as he worked his way from the back of Hunter’s calf to his thighs. Pressing and sliding, pressing and sliding.
    Soon, Casey found his way to Hunter’s inner thighs.
    “That good?” Casey asked.
    “It’s okay. You can keep going, if you want,” Hunter said, breathing in.
    Oh, he very much wanted to keep going. Casey started to move his hands into uncharted territory when a loud and familiar ringtone cut through the air. He froze.
    Shit .
    “You wanna get that?” Hunter slurred. “Callin’ late. Might be important.”
    “No.” Casey shook his head. He slid his hands back down Hunter’s legs. “It’s fine.”
    “You should get it,” Hunter insisted as the phone continued to ring. “How do you know it’s not about your mom?”
    Casey knew he could lie, but it wouldn’t be right. So even though the truth was going to ruin what they’d had going, he said it. “It’s McDermott’s ringtone.”
    “Oh.” Hunter pushed himself up into a more upright position. “He still has his own ringtone.”
    Casey sat back on his heels. “I just never took him out of my phone.”
    Hunter nodded and stood. He swayed slightly, but caught himself. His voice was surprisingly sober sounding as he said, “You might wanna think about why that is, Casey.”
    The phone stopped ringing, but Casey made no move towards it. All he could do was watch Hunter trudge towards the steps and then disappear upstairs, leaving Casey with that statement ringing in his ears and questions following after. Questions that were going to need to be answered, and soon.
     
     
     
     
    _________ o _________
     
    CHAPTER 28
     
    T he night before came crashing down on Casey as he was startled awake by a clatter from the kitchen. He dragged his way into the kitchen where he found Hunter dumping rags into the trash. Rags that looked like they’d been soaked in oil.
    “Morning,” Casey said, his cheeks burning as he remembered the olive oil.
    Without making eye contact, Hunter cleared his throat and mumbled, “Good morning.”
    Oh, yeah, this was going to be awkward. Casey could’ve kicked himself. He and Hunter were supposed to be leaving for the reunion this morning and they were tiptoeing around each other.
    “Gotta go get ready,” Hunter said. He brushed past Casey up the stairs. A minute later, the sound of the shower came down the stairs.
    Casey sank into the kitchen chair, clutching his aching head. He shouldn’t have done