Free Heart on the Run by Havan Fellows

wasn’t your everyday spaghetti variety. And the tension in the air while they all three ate…well, you needed your knife to cut through it. “Cooking for us isn’t part of his job description; he’s being nice, and you seem to jibe at him every chance you can. Just because he doesn’t notice it most of the time doesn’t make it okay.”
    He looked at the display of phone chargers by the register in the electronics section.
    “ You know, you should really order one from Apple. These off brands are dangerous to the electronics, I heard.” Mason stood next to him, moving some of the packages around to see the tags.
    “ Yeah.” He waved at the pretty woman behind the counter, and she quickly came over to them.
    “ I love your viper bites,” she giggled. God help them, she even twirled her hair. Did that crap really work on straight guys?
    “ You should see his other piercings,” Mason purred, threading his hands around Sprocket’s waist and leaning into him.
    Rolling his eyes—this was a game Mason loved playing on chicks when they showed interest—Sprocket asked the clerk if they carried Apple chargers.
    She immediately stopped playing with her hair, but at least she kept her smile on, and it was genuine. “Nope, sorry, we only have the Just Wireless brand. They promise they’ll work on all Apple compatible products, though.”
    “ Thanks anyway,” Sprocket said, turning from the display.
    Mason released his midsection and matched his steps as they headed to the front of the store and the exit.
    Once they were in the parking lot, Sprocket reaffirmed his earlier statement. “I’m serious about Chaz.”
    Mason shrugged. “I know you are. That’s the problem.”
    Sprocket froze mid-step, yanking Mason’s arm to force him to do the same. “What exactly does that mean?”
    “ It means”—Mason took a deep breath before elaborating—“that I’ve paid damn close attention during the times he’s been over under the ruse of learning our appliances—which obviously aren’t up to snuff for his kitchen highness.”
    “ Mason…” Sprocket growled.
    But his best friend waved off his interruption and continued, “I wanted to give him a chance. Hell, it was my idea to connive him into coming over on a regular basis in hopes that maybe he’d pull his head out of his ass and see you. But I gotta say, it’s lodged so far up there that, even if you two did diddle again, you’d never fit in his—”
    “ Enough.” Sprocket practically shouted, waving his hands in the air between them to shut his friend up.
    “ All I’m saying is that I have to stick with my first impression of him. He’s just not that into you…and he’s an idiot.”
    “ Jesus Fucking Christ, Mason, do you have stock in that book? Do you get royalties when you say that fucking phrase?” Sprocket’s rage lacked the proper amount of bite.
    Mason stepped forward and took Sprocket’s hands in his. “Sprocks, you know I love you, man. I want you to be happy above everything else. That’s why I cornered Chaz into coming over. I thought if he got some time with you, well hell, who wouldn’t fall for your adorable ass? But it hasn’t happened. So yeah, I hurt his feelings last night, but for those hours he was late, I saw you. Every time you glanced at the clock, your face fell a little more. I wanted to upset him, because, damn it, he upset you.” Mason shrugged and pulled him forward so they continued walking to the car, releasing his hands. “So you can bitch at me all you want, but until he proves that he’s worthy of your frowns along with your smiles, he ain’t getting jack shit from me.”
    Sprocket sighed. He understood where Mason was coming from. The man had always been determinedly loyal. But Sprocket had to clear the air, tell Mason about the talk Chaz had with him.
    “ Chaz and I spoke last night about…well, I guess about us while you were pouting in the other room.” They reached the car, and Sprocket propped