Yet a Stranger (The First Quarto #2) - Gregory Ashe Page 0,26
said, already wriggling out of his shirt. He had small, dark nipples against the light brown of his skin. “There’s no way you should be doing that kind of work with your knee jacked up again.”
“I don’t want you doing manual labor for free at my house,” Theo said, trying to keep his gaze at eye level.
Auggie went limp, sprawling on the sofa like he was dead. “You are this unending tangle of drama. You know that right?”
“Ok.”
“I’m helping you because you’re my friend. That’s what friends do.”
“Auggie—”
“You let Cart basically rebuild your entire house.”
“That was—”
“And don’t you dare say it was different.”
Theo sighed. “I’ll get you some clothes.”
He limped upstairs, found a clean pair of mesh shorts and a Nirvana tee with Kurt Cobain on the front. He found socks and an extra pair of sneakers. Then he carried it all downstairs.
Auggie was already in his boxers.
Theo groaned. “We’ve been over this.”
“What?” Auggie said.
“You know what. We’ve already had this conversation.”
“Did you know your floor is sticky?” He lifted one bare foot to demonstrate.
“Since you apparently need a reminder,” Theo said, “please keep your clothes on at all times.”
“You’re so weird.”
“House rule: at all times,” Theo repeated, dumping the clothes he’d collected in Auggie’s arms.
Auggie just grinned a huge, goofy grin as he wiggled into the t-shirt. Looking down, he plucked at the fabric and said, “He’s kind of cute. Who’s he?”
“Kurt Cobain.”
“Who?”
“Nirvana?”
Auggie shrugged.
“Never mind,” Theo said with a sigh.
They worked in the garage for a while. Although Theo hated to admit it, Auggie had been right: he wasn’t up to all the lifting and carrying, so after a couple of trips of hauling junk down to the road, he settled into a lawn chair and directed Auggie. Auggie, for his part, trotted back and forth, sweating and wiping his face with the tee, exposing those faintly defined abs, grinning like this was the most fun he’d ever had in his entire life. Theo went inside and made Country Time lemonade, shook a few ice cubes loose from the tray, and brought out two big glasses.
“Thanks,” Auggie said, wiping his face again with the shirt. He took a long drink. Then he said, “In a porno, this is where I’d say something about all the hard, sweaty work I’m doing for you.”
Theo coughed lemonade.
Auggie grinned.
“New house rule,” Theo said. “No talking about porn. Ever.”
“So many rules,” Auggie murmured and took another drink. “You’re so strict.”
“Auggie.”
“Well, you are. Last year you got so mad just because I borrowed—”
“Stole.”
“—your blender. And I brought it back.”
“Two months later.”
“But I brought it back.”
“Broken.”
“But I still brought it back.”
Then he grinned, and in spite of his best efforts, Theo burst out laughing.
When he’d calmed down, Auggie said, “Hey Theo?”
“Uh oh.”
“I know it’s not my business.”
“Oh no.”
“But just, you know, for the sake of argument, what if Cart really did have a good reason for not texting you?”
Theo blinked a few times. “Are you defending him?”
“No.” A faint flush worked its way into Auggie’s cheeks. “But I’m saying I think you should hear him out. Give him a chance to explain. And maybe tell him why it upset you that he didn’t respond.”
“He knows why it upsets me.”
“But did you tell him?”
Theo tried to think of a good answer to that. He settled on, “Who are you?”
Auggie smirked. “That’s what I thought.”
They finished cleaning out the garage. Theo tried to pay Auggie with his last twenty, and Auggie laughed so hard that he had to sit down on the driveway. The swampy Midwestern heat blanketed them, but the sun had started to slide behind the horizon. The air smelled like honeysuckle, and every once in a while Theo got a whiff of Auggie’s deodorant. Fireflies had started to bloom in the dusk.
“I made some phone calls,” Theo said.
Auggie cocked his head.
“I think I know a few places where Cal might have been scoring. If you wanted any more help looking for him, I mean.”
“Yeah,” Auggie said, smiling huge and then biting his lip. “Yes. I’d really like that. Thank you.”
“It just makes sense,” Theo said. “We’re a good team.”
Auggie nodded. He was still smiling. “Yeah. We are.”
13
Auggie was still wearing the tee, shorts, and sneakers that Theo had lent him when they walked toward the Malibu. The sun had stopped just at the horizon, like it was never going to finish setting. That was fine with Auggie. It was a perfect day, even if the air was so thick he felt like he was breathing