In The Shade by Pandora Pine

Author:Pandora Pine [Pine, Pandora]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-11-30T23:00:00+00:00

17

“Let’s get you settled,” Chris announced, when he ushered Phillip through the front door.

Zeus, hearing his master, barked happily from the sunbeam near the sliding glass door and then ran to greet his guest.

“Hi, Zeus, guess we’re roommates now,” Phillip said tiredly.

“Upstairs,” Chris directed, lugging the heavy suitcases up the stairs. He turned left at the top of the stairs toward the spare bedroom rather than right leading to the master.

“Welcome home,” Chris announced, dropping Phillip’s suitcases in front of the walk-in closet. “The bathroom is through that door. It’s stocked with towels. There’s a magnetic shopping list on the fridge. Write whatever you need on it. We’ll go shopping after class tomorrow.”

Phillip, staring at his feet, only managed to nod.

“Look,” Chris said, tipping Phillip’s chin up to meet his gaze. “Where I’m from, people say thank you when you’ve done something nice for them.”

“Thank you… Chris,” Phillip said quietly.

Chris pressed a tender kiss to Phillip’s temple. “Come find me when you’re settled.”

Fuck. My. Life. Phillip lifted his big suitcase onto the bed and unzipped it. The spacious closet had plenty of blue plastic hangers and he set to work hanging his dress shirts and pants.

Today was the worst day of his life, but all things considered it could’ve been a lot worse. Instead of unpacking his things in a beautiful room, he could be heading south on 95, back to Georgia in defeat. No one gave him a snowball’s chance in hell to survive four years at UMass. And not only had he survived, he’d thrived. Well, until today.

Making matters worse was the way he treated Asher and Xander. Xander had been his only friend through freshman and sophomore year, he didn’t deserve to be yelled at. How could he ever face Asher again after he threw a tantrum in the man’s dining room? Chris had invited Asher and Xander to dinner next Tuesday, so he needed to figure out a way to apologize. Maybe he could ask Chris for help? Phillip shook his head. Everything was such a mess and it was up to him to set things to rights.

Walking into the bathroom done in shades of navy blue, Phillip saw a stack of towels sitting on the closed toilet lid. He set his razor and toiletries on the counter and turned to head downstairs to find Chris.

Zeus was waiting for him, tail wagging, at the foot of the stairs. Sitting on the bottom step, he sank his hands into the dog’s soft fur. “Where’s Chris?” he asked. The yellow lab twirled around and took off toward the back of the house. Phillip followed and could see Chris sitting at a desk in a large office. Greek treasures decorated every available surface.

“Come in, Phillip. Zeus, go lay down,” Chris commanded.

The dog took off toward the kitchen, while Phillip lingered in the doorway.

“Shut the door behind you and have a seat,” Chris said turning from the desk to face Phillip.

Phillip looked awful. The dark circles under his eyes made him look like he’d been in a fight.

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