“Jesus, man,” said John looking Troy up and down, “you look god awful.”
Troy frowned, tossing his lunch box on the picnic table.
“That’s not what a best friend is supposed to say,” said Troy. “A best friend is supposed to be supportive even when their friend looks a little tired.”
“You look like you stayed up all night,” said John, taking a bite of his sandwich. “Why didn’t you text me and ask to skip lunch?”
Troy shrugged, “I have lunch with you every day during the summer. It’s better than eating at the resort, you know how my dad is about me taking breaks. Besides, your construction hours are so long I would hardly get to see you otherwise.”
“True,” John said, taking a swig from his water bottle, “but that still doesn’t explain why you look so fucked. What’s the deal?”
“Late night,” Troy said, crunching on a chip.
“Fine,” said John, “if you’re not going to talk about it, I’ll talk about the girl I just met. She’s a human, so I know the pack probably won’t go for it. Still, though, she is hot as shit...”
Troy scanned the construction site as John babbled on about some girl. Men were seated in small groups amid the piles of materials and tools. They were almost all men from his family pack, most of the people that lived here were. In fact, most of these men were people Troy had known his entire life, some of them even helped babysit him and his siblings when they were small.
Out of the corner of his eye, Troy saw someone he didn’t recognize. He looked again and set down his sandwich. Amber eyes stared back at him. It was Blake.
“Holy shit,” Troy said.
Blake raised an eyebrow and gave another dangerous smile. He raised his water bottle in acknowledgment before taking a drink. Troy watched Blake extend his neck and his Adam’s apple bob as he drank. Sweat clung to Blake’s forehead and arms. It made Troy’s throat go dry.
“What?” asked John, glancing over his shoulder toward Blake. “Do you know that guy?”
“No!” Troy sputtered. Blake winked at him. Troy tried to hide his blush.
“No,” Troy repeated, “I don’t know him. Isn’t that, odd? Don’t we normally know everyone?”
John picked at his food. “It’s the busy season. You know that they like to hire outside help when we need it.”
“Oh,” said Troy, still staring at Blake. Blake stared back with a bemused smile on his face. “Do you know that guy?”
“His name is Jax something.”
“Blake Jax?”
“Yeah,” John said. “How did you know that?”
“I think he must have come by the resort looking for a room,” Troy said.
“Oh,” said John, “well, I know your dad must have turned him away. He’s a lion or something. We were really strapped for guys here, not even enough humans wanted to work on this project, so the foreman made an allowance for this Shifter. Still, I don’t know how he could feel safe in a city full of wolves. Cats are crazy, man.”
“You’ve got that right,” Troy said.
“Hey listen,” John said. He stood up and brushed crumbs off his clothes. “I’ve got to get back to work. Let’s meet up later for Call of Duty or something?”
“Sure,” Troy said, “no problem. I’ve got to get back, too.”
“Sweet,” John said. “Later man.”
John tossed his hard hat back on and trotted off to the work zone. Troy eyed Blake before standing. He was happy to see him, sure, but how could he face Blake after he slunk off last night? Plus, how could he hide their relationship from his family and friends now that they were in the same town?
“Hey, kid.”
Blake was sauntering toward Troy without a care in the world. Troy froze.
“Uh,” he said, “hey.”
Blake stopped a little too close to Troy. Troy could see the stubble that clung to his jaw. He itched to reach up and run his hand across his face. Or even to press their lips together.
“You disappeared so quickly last night,” Blake said, voice pitched low. “I was hoping we could get to know each other a little.”
Troy thought of all the curious ears tuned in our their conversation.
“We can’t talk about this here,” he whispered. “The Shifters here are all part of my pack. They can’t know.”
“Where can we talk?” Blake asked. “Look, kid, I don’t normally do this but I actually think you’re pretty cool.”
“I’m flattered,” Troy said, rolling his eyes.
“You should be,” Blake said. “I’m a hot commodity.”
“Meet me on Sunday,” Troy said, “I have it off.”
“I do too,” Blake said.
“Perfect, there’s a movie theater in town. We will go to a showing at noon. It doesn’t matter what.”
Blake furrowed his brow. “I take it back, you’re not actually that cool.”
“No one else will be there,” Troy sighed. “We can talk there, I promise.”
Blake pushed forward on his toes so his mouth hovered close to Troy’s ear.
“I look forward to it,” he whispered.
Troy shivered, Blake’s breath hot against his skin. What he wouldn’t give to kiss him hard.
“I’ll see you then,” Troy said, trying to will away the boner that was making itself known in his jeans.
Blake winked again and turned on his heels. He sauntered off, scooped up his hard hat, and perched it atop his unruly mop of hair. Troy took the opportunity to run his eyes over Blake’s back. Even in the t-shirt, jeans, and work boots he could see the ridges of the muscles he explored last night. Now he knew how Blake stayed so fit and tan. Construction workers were totally his type.