Hate/Love by Avery Ford

Author:Avery Ford [Ford, Avery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-04-18T16:00:00+00:00

Hours passed. Dylan’s eyes began to burn, and he squinted and blinked against the pain. He knew strain when he felt it. He’d been pushing himself too far.

Brad was still seated beside him. He’d gone over Dylan’s findings a few times, then immersed himself in his phone so Dylan could focus. It wasn’t much of a date, but Dylan was grateful for Brad’s sacrifice. Brad made him feel safe.

“How’s it coming along?” Brad asked. He set his phone aside. “I see you squinting. Might be time to call it a night.”

“I’m half way through files from eight years ago,” Dylan said. He rubbed at his eyes. “If I push myself a little bit harder, I could have the whole thing done tonight, and we could head from the hospital straight to the police station.”

“I don’t know about straight to the police station.”

Dylan sat straight up in his chair and turned. Brad was so close the tips of their noses almost touched. “Are you really cracking gay jokes right now?”

Brad’s expression soured. “No. I was making a factual statement about the state of our evidence. I’m not the one who cracked gay jokes. That was all you.”

The chemistry that once made Dylan’s hair stand on end and sent shivers down his spine changed. From downy to razor sharp, it pierced through him instead of blanketed him. He narrowed his eyes and set his lips, fixing Brad with a hard expression. “Are you trying to bring up the past?”

“No. But I’m pissed that you’re still so hung up on the gay thing after all these years.” Brad’s chest was puffed and his shoulders were squared. Whatever tenderness once existed between them was gone. “You’re gay too, aren’t you? So drop it. You know that we’re normal people. Don’t fixate on it.”

Dylan’s expression continued to sour. He rose from his chair to gain the height advantage, but that only made Brad stand, too.

“I can’t believe you’re turning this into a fight,” Dylan said. “All I want is for this to be over with, and you’re nitpicking over a contextual misunderstanding?”

Brad clenched his fists. “I don’t think it’s nitpicking when I’m so used to you turning everything I say into fodder meant to bring me down.”

“I’m a grown man, Brad!” Dylan steamed. “I apologized. What more do you want from me? I’m trying to make this right, and you’re so stubborn you’re blowing everything out of proportion!”

“I’m stubborn?” Brad barked a laugh. “You think I’m the stubborn party? Have you taken a look in the mirror recently, Dr. Knocks-On-The-Wall-At-Three-AM?”

Dylan’s eyes were narrowed slits. He pushed at Brad’s chest in an attempt to get him to step back, but Brad was firmly rooted to the floor. Instead, he caught Dylan by the wrist and tugged him close. They stood chest to chest, Dylan’s body tense and as eager to pull away from Brad as it was to stay close to him for as long as he could.

“You know how I know you did that?” Brad asked.

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