Chapter 10

“Was it a close call?”

“Hell, no!” Gene’s eyes flashed and Billy felt stirrings in his belly; heat slowly unfurled, rising through him, a flush creeping across his face.

“You okay?”

His eyes shot back to Gene, his body suddenly stiff and uncomfortable. Panicking, he turned his back on his new friend and pretended to look at some tools sitting out on a table. He reached for one and knocked a can of something—grease or oil, maybe—over and it splattered up onto his shirt. He cursed and jumped back.

Gene moved fast and had the can in his hand before it hit the floor. He handed Billy a rag, but that just smeared the black stuff around.

“Shit. Just making it worse,” he muttered.

“I have some T-shirts upstairs in my apartment. Probably be too big, but better than nothing. Want one?”

Gene did live upstairs. Something about being that close to his bedroom made Billy’s breath catch. “Um, yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Thanks.”