Holiday Weekend by Charley Descoteaux

Author:Charley Descoteaux [Descoteaux, Charley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63477-820-6
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2016-12-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Ryan

I HADN’T expected to see a chartered bus pull up in front of my building at six in the morning just to volunteer at Elliott House again. I’d expected Glenn to come for me the way he had at Thanksgiving. I’d even talked myself into holding his hand while we walked to the MAX stop, if he seemed like he’d be okay with it.

Maybe.

Crap. I didn’t pack anything.

I’d thought the long weekend of volunteering would include trips home to shower and change, but a chartered bus suggested we would be going farther than the Elliott Foundation House in Southwest. The bus looked like one of the midsized ones the church used to take kids to camp and adults to play bingo at St. Anthony’s, only it was painted blue and white and had no markings aside from the registration.

The thought that I should’ve asked for details about the weekend disappeared when Glenn jumped off the bus and onto the sidewalk. He looked a little sheepish as he bounded toward the building. I rushed down and met him outside the front door. He must have waited out there for me, because I was still not very fast even after losing thirty pounds.

“What’s the bus for?” I almost cringed but caught myself at the last minute. Maybe I’m getting used to being tongue-tied around Glenn, because that didn’t sound cringeworthy. “Where are we going to volunteer?”

“Um… out to the coast.” Glenn reached out, but at the last minute he didn’t touch me. He did hold eye contact, though. “I just found out last night. I would’ve called, but it was pretty late. You have time to pack a bag, if you still want to go. If you don’t, it’s cool.”

“No, I’m still in.”

Glenn waved to the people watching from the bus—I recognized a face or two from Thanksgiving, but not every one of them. We went inside, and Glenn took my hand as soon as the door to the stairwell fell closed behind us. I squeezed gently, and Glenn looked up and smiled. I wanted to say I didn’t care where I went as long as he was there, but that even sounded corny in my head. Glenn probably wouldn’t laugh, but he might get scared off.

The whole time I was talking myself out of getting too heavy and sappy—it’s only six in the morning, after all—Glenn had been talking. Softly, so he wouldn’t wake anyone, but I couldn’t remember most of what he’d said. The sound of his voice took up so much space in my mind, I couldn’t even remember where I’d stashed my gym bag. Paulie had wanted to lose weight for a while, so we’d gone to the gym together a few times, but it was horrible. The locker room had smelled almost as bad as the diesel and solvent in the garage. I hadn’t even felt bad for convincing Paulie to go dancing instead. Cardio counts as exercise.

I shook those thoughts from my head and found the bag in the back corner of my closet.

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