Read And Call Me in the Morning for Free Online Page B

get through whatever conversation followed, but that was what friends did. And no matter what, Zane was his best friend first and last.
     
    Even if Eli did now wonder—all too vividly—if Zane's lips would be as soft or his kiss as sweet as memory promised.
     
    So maybe he'd stick his head under the faucet before he left. A good dousing of cold water might cure what ailed him. Then again, it might not, and he wasn't too sure he wanted it to.
     
    * * * * *
     
     
    Eli let himself into Zane's apartment with the key that lived on his own chain. Stopped when the significance registered. Sighed. At the time, his having gotten his own key made sense. He and Zane were always running in and out of one another's apartments. Eli had forgotten his lunch? No problem, Zane would pick it up for him. Zane needed a clean shirt? Eli would swing by before work.
     
    Now Eli found himself wondering if there was more to keys and easy familiarity than he'd previously thought, and hated the new uncertainty. Life had been simpler before he'd kissed Zane.
     
    Then again, Eli supposed anyone who'd ever kissed a friend probably felt the same way.
     
    Zane's apartment door swung open smoothly on well-maintained hinges. Though he had a comfortably middle-class apartment in a middle-class neighborhood and God knew he didn't fling his cash around, certain things gave hints about Zane's more than middle-class upbringing. For one, the leather living room set, buttery soft and welcoming, and for another, the soft rugs that cushioned a tired man's aching feet.
     
    No lights on. For a moment, Eli wondered if he'd missed a text from Zane telling him to meet up at a bar. Somewhere a little more neutral than a suddenly portentous home. Then he caught the sound of water pattering down on tile, followed by Zane's slightly off-key tenor cheerfully massacring its way through an a capella rendition of something Mozart.
     
    Habit. Eli had done this a hundred times, if not more. He toed off his shoes and padded toward the bathroom to knock on the door, always left slightly ajar to let steam out. This time, he hesitated before applying knuckles to wood. If he wanted to, he could sneak a peek through the slight gap in the door.
     
    Before he could properly think about it, he did. He couldn't see much, not through the frosted glass of the shower door, but he got a glimpse of bare skin pinkened by the heat of the water and a shadow of dark hair sleek at both head and below the waist. Looked and, for a still moment, couldn't look away.
     
    The water shut off abruptly. “Eli?”
     
    Eli blinked and snapped out of it. “Yeah, I'm here.” He coughed. “I mean, I'll be out there. In the den. Waiting for you.”
     
    Was it just him, or did Zane hesitate, as if he thought about turning around one way or the other? Half-exposed, he could go either way, and dear God, Eli didn't think he could cope with the choice.
     
    He wasn't sure what to feel when Zane opted for discretion and whipped the draped towel off the top of the shower door. “Give me a minute.”
     
    Eli rested his forehead on the cool wood paneling and tried to ignore the temptation to let himself look again. Despite it all, or maybe because of it, he couldn't help but chuckle quietly to himself. “Take your time. I'm not going anywhere.”
     
    “So you say,” Zane muttered.
     
    How to respond to that, Eli didn't know. He settled for tucking his hands in his pockets and turning to prop himself on the wall instead. “You feel up to going out to get a drink? I'm in the mood for McClosky's.”
     
    “I have beer here.” The shower door rattled. “Give me ten. Wait. I'm decent. Look at me.”
     
    Eli didn't generally refuse Zane. He did as he'd been asked, simultaneously relieved and disappointed to see Zane cloaked in huge, soft blue towels. With his wet hair plastered over his forehead and his grin both shy and cheeky, he looked at once about half his age and exactly like the friend he'd