No Good Deed - Marie Sexton Page 0,30

in a gang. The other had been as well, years earlier, but had since left it behind. They weren’t on the best of terms with each other on normal days, but there they both were, standing shoulder to shoulder. Their stances spoke of anger and barely contained violence. Charlie couldn’t hear their words, but their expressions and angry gestures said it all. This wasn’t a pep talk. This was a threat. Jeremy was being told in no uncertain terms to get the fuck off Charlie’s lawn and never come back.

It took a couple of minutes, three men squaring off on his lawn, but Jeremy knew when he was beat. He finally held up his hands in surrender, backing up. The two gang members watched him all the way back to his duplex before turning to Charlie, still watching out the window.

Charlie raised his hand to them. “Thank you!” They might not be able to hear him through the glass, but they understood the gesture. One nodded. The other tossed him a two-finger salute.

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief, hoping he’d seen the last of Jeremy.

Jonas’s testing took longer than expected. Charlie waited for him in the hospital waiting room for twenty minutes before he finally emerged. He wore a small green ribbon pinned to his jacket.

“I have one for you too,” he said, stopping to pin it to Charlie’s collar.

“I take it this represents kidney disease?”

“Or bipolar disorder. Or global warming. Or text-free driving, medicinal marijuana, missing children, stuttering and lisping. I googled it in the elevator. There’s literally like a billion things it could stand for, some of which I can’t even pronounce. But yes, in this case, it’s for kidney disease. March is awareness month, and that’s probably when they’ll rip out my kidney for some complete stranger.” He sighed, looking up at Charlie. He looked exhausted, his eyes pinched, his face a bit paler than usual. “I need a hug.”

Charlie chuckled and obliged him, pulling him into his arms. Who cared that the old lady walking past them glared? Charlie held him, rubbing his back. “I take it the testing sucked.”

Jonas’s answer was muffled against Charlie’s chest. “Physically, it was no big deal. But mentally, it was a bit overwhelming.”

“What was the psychological part like?”

“Lots of questions about my past and my parents and my support system and how I handle stress.” He stepped back to grin at Charlie, although it did little to change the tired look in his eyes. “I debated telling them my primary coping mechanism was letting you tie me up and fuck my brains out, but it didn’t seem like the time.”

Charlie laughed. “You trying to tell me that’s what you want to do?”

“Obviously.” But he sounded more tired than enthusiastic. “Eventually, at any rate.”

“You still planning to go through with the surgery?”

“Yes.” But Charlie recognized the haunted look in his eyes. “The closer it gets, the more terrified I am. Maybe I failed the tests today. Maybe it won’t matter.” He sighed. “I don’t want to think about it anymore right now. I’d rather think about, I don’t know, fluffy bunnies and glitter.”

Charlie put his arm around Jonas’s shoulders and steered him toward the door. “I have an idea. How do you feel about checking out the Tap House?” He caught Jonas’s questioning sideways glance. “Don’t worry. I texted Gray and I know for a fact he won’t be there. Warren’s working. Phil lives all the way in Golden now, so we don’t have to worry about him. I promise, you’ll feel better afterwards.”

Jonas chewed his cuticle, then seemed to catch himself. He shoved his hands into his coat pockets. “Gray’s new boyfriend will be there?”

Charlie decided it wasn’t the time to remind him that Avery was more than Gray’s boyfriend. He was his husband. “Avery will be playing. But the place will be packed. He won’t even know we’re there.” They climbed into the car, and Charlie aimed them toward home. “We don’t have to. It was just a suggestion.”

“I’m curious, I admit. And a beer sounds pretty damn good, at the moment.”

“We’ll leave as soon as the show ends. Sooner, if you want.”

“As long as nobody asks me about my coping system, I’m game.”

Chapter 11

The testing itself had been exhausting. But the worst part about it was that Jonas was now one step closer to surgery. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get over the terror that thought inspired in him. Most days, he did his