Free Pulling Away by Shawn Lane

PULLING AWAY
    …“Listen, I changed my mind. Sorry about before. I guess I was a little grumpy. Is it too late?”
    “For?”
    Geez, Noah was going to make him spell it out?
    Charlie held up the condoms and lube he’d been holding.
    “What do you suppose?”
    “Oh.” Noah blinked behind his glasses, then grinned.
    “Oh.”
    Charlie laughed. “Yeah. So, is it too late?” Noah seized the condoms and lube and simply walked down the hallway. Charlie guessed that meant it was not too late. He pulled off his T-shirt as he followed Noah to the bedroom.
    He watched Noah pull the quilt, blanket, and sheet off his sleigh bed in one swift motion. Charlie kicked off his deck shoes, all the while noticing Noah had tugged off his jeans. He licked his lips, waiting for Noah to remove his snowy white briefs. Noah made short work of it. Last, but quickly disposed of, was Noah’s shirt. Though it was true Noah wasn’t all rippled muscles, he had nicely defined pecs. Charlie’s mouth went dry.
    Noah ripped open a condom package and glanced at Charlie. “Aren’t you going to finish undressing?” Charlie nodded and removed the remainder of his clothes, a strange warmth filling him when he saw the clear admiration in Noah’s gaze. He stepped closer to Noah, reached out and took off the man’s glasses, then set them on a nearby nightstand. Noah really did have pretty eyes…

    ALSO BY SHAWN LANE
    Sorcerer’s Lover
    The Squire

    PULLING AWAY
    BY
    SHAWN LANE
    AMBER QUILL PRESS, LLC
    http://www.AmberQuill.com

    PULLING AWAY
    AN AMBER QUILL PRESS BOOK
    This book is a work of fiction.
    All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously.
    Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
    Amber Quill Press, LLC
    http://www.AmberQuill.com
    All rights reserved.
    No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.
    Copyright © 2008 by Shawn Lane ISBN 978-1-60272-432-7
    Cover Art © 2008 Trace Edward Zaber Layout and Formatting provided by: Elemental Alchemy PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA For Zack and Isaac

    PULLING AWAY

CHAPTER 1
    Noah Riggins wondered if he ought to just walk into Charlie Banks’ house or knock. He’d been standing outside the closed door for a good three to four minutes thinking about it.
    He’d known Charlie practically all their lives. They’d grown up in the same neighborhood, gone to the same schools.
    They hadn’t been best friends or anything. They were the kind of friends you did stuff with when your normal friends weren’t available.
    In truth, Charlie had been popular when they were kids.
    Good looking and athletic, he’d been a pitcher on the high school baseball team. Noah hadn’t been unpopular , but they’d 1

    PULLING AWAY
    definitely had a different set of friends.
    Now, as adults, they both owned the houses they’d grown up in. Noah’s mother and stepfather had sold him the house when they retired to Arizona.
    Whatever their relationship growing up had been, it had changed recently. In the five years since high school they’d both come out as gay. It had shocked the hell out of Noah when Charlie came out. He didn’t guess it had surprised anyone about himself, though.
    Anyway, Noah’s relationship with Charlie had changed last weekend when they’d had, what was to Noah at any rate, mind-blowing sex. It had been fantastic. He couldn’t even remember who’d made the first move. He’d been at Charlie’s house, in the kitchen, and before he knew it, they were going at each other. And they’d had sex two times since then.
    Of course, they hadn’t really talked about it, but to Noah, Charlie was sort of his boyfriend now. Wasn’t he? So should he knock or just walk in?
    Noah sighed, pushed his eyeglasses back