Read Online If I Must Lane by Amy Lane - Free Book Online

never had the full Thanksgiving works before, and he had become extremely fond of stuffing and gravy.
    They made love a lot—but not every night. Some nights they just brushed their teeth and went to bed together. Joel started to wonder, in a very real way, if he’d ever be able to go to sleep again without knowing Ian was next to him, breathing in the dark.
    They still talked over dinner and worked out on Monday/Wednesday/Fridays and watched every science fiction show on television. Supernatural was still their favorite, only now when they watched it, Ian confessed to a long-time crush on the shorter actor who played “Dean.” Joel wished he could have claimed a crush on the taller guy who played “Sam,” but really, “I’ve only got eyes for you right now, Ee. We can crush on other guys later.”
    Ian flushed then, and Joel enjoyed watching that very much.
    Joel told the story of his last girlfriend, Rachel, the “skank ho” who had slept with most of his dorm before breaking up with him.
    “Everyone else had to get shots for chlamydia,” Joel muttered, shaking his head. “Brother, I was never so grateful for Sister Margaret in my life!”
    Ian heard the story with wide eyes and the sudden shock of someone who realizes he’d had a near miss. “I never thought of that,” he confessed. “I- I guess I just wanted… a person there.”
    “Someone to love,” Joel supplied, rubbing Ian’s calf as it rested on his lap. They were “handsy” lovers—the kind of people who didn’t do a lot of public kissing, but once they were alone, in their sanctuary, were always touching. Joel liked it like that; Ian close was good. Ian closer was wonderful.
    And really, that was the wonder of becoming lovers. The good things didn’t change, they only got better. And the best things, like choosing a Christmas tree and buying decorations, well, those became amazing. Fun. Intense. Anything Joel could do to make Ian’s days different from each other, to make reality as compelling as the rabbit hole in Ian’s brain that he still disappeared down, well, that was Joel’s favorite thing.
    Unfortunately, Joel didn’t realize that this meant the bad stuff got worse until he walked smack-dab into their first major fight.
    Joel was early. At Ian’s request, he’d given up riding when it got dark early, and for once, driving actually got him home before his bike would have. As he opened the door, he heard voices coming from Ian’s bedroom, and then the door opened, and Ian appeared—sans shirt—talking to the person inside.
    Logically, Joel knew it was a client. Logically, Joel knew this was Ian being Ian, completely unaware of his surroundings, including the weather, which was cold enough to make his chest goose-pimple and his nipples pebble, even inside. Logically, Joel knew it was no big deal.
    Emotionally, the glare he cast Ian’s way was enough to make his “roommate” trip over his own toes and fall down, right there in the hallway as his client came up behind him.
    The distinguished, middle-aged woman was sleekly dressed in a pantsuit with pearls, and she smoothed some of her silver-tinted hair back from her face and smiled at the man sprawled at her feet.
    “Ian, good Lord! I always knew you were eccentric. I had no idea you were clumsy!”
    Ian started to pick himself up and cast Joel a wounded look. “Sorry, Professor Kohl. My roommate sort of took me by surprise.”
    “Oh!” The professor’s eyes lit up, and she extended a hand towards Joel. “Mr. Martinez, I’m so glad to meet you in person! We sure have appreciated your efforts in the department, that’s for certain.”
    Joel smiled and hoped it looked sincere. “Anything I can do to help Ian, Professor,” he said through a dry throat, and he winced as Ian threw him a glare that said plainly the he didn’t need any help if Joel was going to look at him like he just did.
    The professor looked from one man to another and took in the undercurrents.