Read Starting Fires for Free Online

the local places. Real good food. You’ll like it.” I nodded and began getting ready.
     
    They took me to a small restaurant on the edge of town, passing Lucas’ bar on the way. Most of the time, they played there twice a week. I learned that they were both interested in playing professionally, but Lucas and Ian’s jobs wouldn’t allow it. Charles was drums. Wally guitar. Ian bass. And Lucas was the main vocals, but could also play the guitar.
    Once we made it back home, Wally went straight to his room and fired up his Xbox. The next day, I needed to buy all of my books, and make sure I had everything I needed for classes. Before going to bed, I wanted to relax and watch some TV. Charles came in while I was channel surfing and joined me. The two of us were lounged on my bed watching a show on Discovery about sharks. We hadn’t been talking much, mostly enjoying the sight of Great Whites leap out of the ocean. That’s what I loved about Charles. We didn’t have to fill the silence… and then he filled the silence.
    “So. Lucas…”
    I didn’t want to talk about this, but knew he wouldn’t let up if I ignored him. “What about Lucas?”
    “You like him.”
    “I barely know him.”
    “But you still like him.”
    I sighed. “Is this where you tell me not to waste my time? That he has herpes? Or that he is married? Or that he secretly saves all his finger and toenail clippings?”
    “No,” he laughed. “This is the where, as your friend, I am obligated to tell you to guard yourself. Don’t get me wrong, Lucas is great. Just… complicated.”
    “What do you mean complicated ?” Now I was interested and turned to face him.
    “It’s… well…” he looked to the ceiling trying to find the words. “He doesn’t date. Not really. He’ll take girls out here and there, but they never last. And they always think that they’ll be the different one. The exception, but Lucas isn’t the relationship type. I don’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all.”
    “Why doesn’t he date?”
    Charles sat up and turned towards me. “This isn’t a challenge, Marlowe. If you want to have fun, then go for it, but don’t expect anything more. He’s my friend. I don’t want it to get to a point where I have to choose between the two of you, and that’s what will happen. It will end badly. It always does.”
    “For your information, Charles , I’m only curious. Chill out. Yes, I think he’s attractive but I’m not interested in dating anyone right now. Last night, I was drunk.”
    “And? So?”
    “And. So, that’s the only excuse I have. What do you want from me? He’s hot.”
    “You skank,” he smiled.
    “Whatever.”
    We were silent for a few minutes, wrapped up in the show before Charles spoke up again. “Mark really hurt you, didn’t he?”
    I shrugged, not wanting to talk about that either. “I’m just trying to move on and forget about it all. He wasn’t worth the years I wasted. That’s the part that makes me the sickest.”
    “Lesson learned and all, I guess,” Charles sighed, “At least you get to take that with you. Now, you can recognize the signs in advance, and stop yourself from making the same mistakes. It’s not time wasted. It’s growth.”
    “Well, look at you,” I smirked.
    “Yeah, that was pretty deep.” He stretched out on the bed and groaned dramatically.
    I smiled, but deep down I knew he was right. If anything came out of my relationship with Mark, growth was it.
     
    The next day I went to an unaffiliated college bookstore and found all but one of the books that I needed. I had my laptop in my backpack and tried to find the last one online, but couldn’t get wireless in the store. The clerk pointed me to a coffee shop across the street. With my laptop in my arms and a massive bag of books, I walked over to it and dumped everything onto an empty table. After ordering a drink from the barista, I searched for the final book.
    While perusing some websites, I heard the