Read Online Just Like a Man by Elizabeth Bevarly - Free Book Online

whimsy as he observed him that this was the first time he'd actually ever
seen
Adrian at work. Because Adrian was most assuredly working, there was no question about that. Adrian never stopped working. There had been times when Michael had wondered if he even knew how.
    "Raptor," Adrian said by way of a greeting when he drew within earshot.
    "Sorcerer," Michael greeted him just as succinctly.
    He came to a halt just shy of swinging distance, though whether that was because he feared Adrian might punch him, or he might pop Adrian, he wasn't entirely sure. He only knew he didn't want to get too close. Not now. Not ever again.
    "You can't touch me, you know," Adrian said without preamble. "You, OPUS, none of you. Because I haven't done anything wrong."
    "We won't touch you," Michael agreed. But he qualified, "Because we
can't prove
you did anything wrong. Big difference, Adrian. But that's about to change."
    "I sincerely doubt it. I am, after all, a law-abiding citizen now, a working stiff just trying to make my way in the world."
    Michael smiled sarcastically and echoed, "I sincerely doubt it."
    "And now you're an accountant," Adrian added, intoning the final word as if he were voicing the name of God Himself. "Among other things," he added with a grin.
    Michael let that go. "Yeah, so I know what it really is to be a law-abiding citizen and a working stiff. If you think I'll buy that crap coming from you, you're out of your mind."
    Adrian's smile grew broader, but he said nothing more about that. "I suppose I should have realized you'd show up sooner or later," he continued. "I must be losing my touch to have been surprised by your presence here tonight. Really, the only thing that should be surprising is that it took you this long."
    Michael feigned shock. "What? Doubting yourself? That's not like you, Adrian."
    Adrian smiled. "Not doubting myself," he said. "Just reminding myself that I shouldn't get too complacent."
    "Oh, go ahead," Michael told him. "Get complacent."
    Now Adrian's smile grew feral. "What, and make your job easier? Not bloody likely."
    "My job?" Michael echoed blandly. "What does the fact that I'm an accountant have to do with anything?"
    Adrian chuckled in response, and there was something rabid in the sound. "Oh, right. Like I'm supposed to believe you've really become an accountant? You? Crunching numbers for a living?"
    Michael shoved his hands carelessly into his pockets and shrugged. "Well, I did major in accounting, after all. And it isn't so different from what I did before."
    Adrian leveled a dubious gaze on him. "It's entirely different from what you did before."
    Michael shook his head. "No, it's different from what
you
did before. But then, you were always different, weren't you, Adrian? You always wanted something the rest of us didn't. And you could never understand why we didn't want it, too."
    "Not anymore," Adrian replied cryptically.
    Michael eyed him narrowly. "What?" he said. "You understand now? Or you don't want it anymore?" He grinned cynically. "Or am I supposed to believe you're not different anymore? That you're just like the rest of the world now?"
    "I am like the rest of the world," Adrian stated with all confidence. "I've always been like the rest of the world. You, Michael, you're the one who was always different. You're the one who actually believed good would always triumph over evil. That the average human being was inherently decent. Do you still? After everything that happened, do you still believe that?"
    Michael ground his teeth together hard. "Yeah, Adrian. I do still believe that. In spite of everything. Because I still think you're the aberration."
    "Well, Tatiana rather liked me, didn't she?"
    Michael waited for the white-hot rage that should have come with the other man's remark, and was surprised to find it was only a little bubble of irritation now. Wow. Time really did rub away the rough edges. Because what else could have explained why he no longer cared that much