Another Shot by Riley Long

Author:Riley Long [Long, Riley]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
Publisher: MLR Press
Published: 2015-10-21T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THREE

Ben woke to his phone buzzing in his ear, buried beneath his pillow. The sound filled his awareness until he couldn’t stay asleep a moment longer, and when he finally gave in to the demands of consciousness, the damned thing stopped. Another second passed, and it hummed two quick pulses to alert him to a missed call. Opening his eyes to his bedroom brightly lit by sunshine, he rummaged under the pillow until he located the tiny object. Ben tapped the home button. The digital display on the screen explained the light flooding his room—it was nearly eleven o’clock. Ben groaned and rolled over, simultaneously wishing he’d stayed asleep and wishing he’d been up hours ago. So much for a trip to the gym with Sarah this morning. It had been ridiculously late—or early—when Ian had finally dropped Ben off, and he was still feeling the effects of the long night.

Sarah. Suddenly, he remembered what had woken him in the first place. The phone vibrated one long time to notify him of a voicemail, and sure enough, the missed call was from her. Ben tapped out a quick apology text with a promise to call her as soon as he got out of the shower. Her response told him that she would come by in less than a half hour, and she’d have coffee and donuts on hand. He knew there was a reason she was his best friend. Of course, that meant she’d want all the details of the night before.

Ben sighed and tossed the covers off. In his closet, he found jeans and a T-shirt for his favorite band. He carried those to the bathroom and set them on the counter. In the shower, he let his mind wander to what had happened in the early hours of the morning. Ian was fantastic, as he always had been, but Ben found himself second-guessing the entire encounter. There was nothing regrettable about it by itself, but the feelings for Ian he’d tried for years to suppress had come tumbling back. So much for having a harmless one-night stand. After getting out of the shower and drying off, Ben yanked the gray Tall Order shirt over his head and tugged the jeans on to make himself presentable for Sarah, and by the time he was finished, she was knocking on his door.

“All right, I’m coming,” he called, making his way across his apartment to let Sarah in. “Hey, honey. Thanks for coming by.”

Sarah held a large bag in one hand, a coffee tray and his car keys in the other. “Thanks for loaning me your car. Drives like a dream.”

He barked out a laugh. “It drives like a ten-year-old sedan, but thanks.” Ben pecked Sarah on the cheek and took the doughnuts and coffee from her. “What’d you bring me?”

“Your favorite donuts from that fancy place on Leigh Street, and their fancy coffee, too.”

Ben’s mouth started watering. “You really love me.” He placed the goods on the counter, pulled a cup from the coffee carrier, and fished out the creamer.

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