Free Polished by Alyssa Turner Page A

know him some while we were down there.”
    “I guess you would have. Does he have a boyfriend?”
    “Boyfriend?” Spencer tried his best to seem shocked by the question.
    “Yeah, a boyfriend.” Rory shifted her hand onto her hip. “Don’t tell me you think he’s straight.”
    “The subject didn’t come up, exactly.” He cocked his head and narrowed his gaze, as interested as ever. “What makes you think he’s gay?”
    “For one, his eyes like to linger in all the wrong places when you aren’t looking.”
    Spencer shook his head. “You’re bullshitting me.”
    Rory giggled. “Your gaydar is nonexistent.” Spencer was quiet in response to her jibes and she smiled warmly into his unease. “That doesn’t bother you, does it? That he was checking you out?”
    Spencer flew his hands into the air in a gross dismissal of the entire subject. “You’re crazy. He isn’t gay.”
    “I’ll ask him.”
    “You will not.”
    “I won’t be all obvious or anything. I just want to know which one of us is right.”
    “Right about what?” Jack said from the edge of the living room. He was clutching a towel around his waist as best he could with his free hand, the other arm tucked awkwardly into his sling. Spencer swallowed and wondered if the hairs standing up on the back of his neck were a result of being caught talking about Jack or the punishment for staring at his six-pack.
    A pause hung in the air, heavy with the unspoken words on all their lips. Spencer shook it off, cutting the silence with a nervous rap on the counter. “Dude, I’m sorry. We didn’t get you the pajamas.” He started to get up, but Rory was quicker.
    “Babe, don’t. I’ll get them.” She was off to the bedroom and Spencer was left with a tanned, half-naked Jack Rothman staring back at him.
    “How’s your ankle?”
    “Hurts like fuck. Your shoulder?”
    “Nothing a few big-ass pills can’t fix.”
    Spencer tried to find a place to put his eyes. They kept drifting back to the slackened fabric at the darkening trail of hair below Jack’s navel. He actually felt his cheeks burn when Jack caught the line of his gaze. Looking away now would only confirm his guilt. Either way, he was screwed.
    “I kind of doubt that was what you wanted to ask me, though.”
    Spencer looked up at Jack’s smoky grin and immediately turned away in embarrassment. He gazed out the window at fireflies blinking in the night. “Uh, it was nothing.” Shifting gears, he pointed. “Over that foothill is the base of my ridge.”
    Jack sauntered nearer and tucked his head toward the window. Spencer cut his eyes in his direction, unable to resist another peek. Under his breath he cursed in aggravation at his feeble willpower.
    “What a moon out tonight, huh?” Jack remarked. “I can see the ridge. Must be a gorgeous view in the daylight.”
    Spencer nodded. “This place is really special to me.” It surprised him to speak such truth to a near stranger, but Jack didn’t really feel like one. Not anymore.
    Jack smiled. “It’s good to have someplace where you can be yourself.” He placed his hand on Spencer’s shoulder, squeezing softly.
    It was a welcome gesture and somehow familiar. Since they’d emerged from that godforsaken hole, Spencer had come to appreciate the gentle strength of Jack’s touch.
    Jack leaned close to his ear, close enough to feel warm breath on his neck. “You two are luckier than you know.”
    Turning toward him, Spencer searched Jack’s eyes for the hidden meaning he’d heard in his words.
    Rory appeared behind Jack with the pair of plaid cotton pajama pants Spencer favored for puttering around the house. It did weird things to him, knowing another man would be in his clothes.
    “Here you go, Jack,” Rory said with a warm smile, handing them to him. She slipped behind the counter to attend to the simmering veggies and sausage. “I’m going to toss this with garlic and oil and serve it over pasta.”
    “Sounds great.