BO bounded up the stairs, two at a time, and waited for Adam by the door. The grin pulling at Adam’s lips when he joined him bordered on ridiculous. It managed to be both childishly adorable and mind-bendingly sexy all at once.
Bo’s chest tightened. It wasn’t fair. What had he done to deserve the torment of working for—and living with—someone he wanted but couldn’t have?
Adam jutted a chin toward the door. “You gonna stand there all day or go inside?”
With a scowl, Bo gave the knob a twist and shoved the door inward. Whatever met him on the other side couldn’t be any worse than standing there moping over the future of his sure-to-be-crushed heart.
Except, in a way, it was.
“Oh my God.” Bo lifted a hand to cover his gaping mouth as he stepped into the room. No, not just a room, but a library. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in the same rich mahogany as the one in his bedroom lined every wall. More bookshelves, slightly shorter to allow the warm glow of morning sun to peek over their tops, stood back-to-back to form aisles down the center of the room. A cozy nook with overstuffed leather armchairs, a shared ottoman, and a plethora of colorful throw pillows and fuzzy blankets sat off to the side.
Adam stepped up beside him and folded his arms. His grin had somehow grown in both size and absurdity. “I thought you might like this.”
Bo dropped his hand and shook his head. “There must be thousands of books in here. Have you read any of them?”
When Adam quirked a brow, his grin slipping into a wry smirk, Bo gave himself a mental kick to the nuts. Of course he’d read them. Maybe not all, but at least some. He wasn’t the brain-dead meathead the media made him out to be. Not by a long shot. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s all good.” Adam clapped Bo on the shoulder. “I give off the dumb jock vibe on purpose. It’s more intimidating that way. People think I’m stupid enough to do the crazy shit. Keeps ’em on their toes because they never know what to expect.”
“Oh. Right.” Bo nibbled on his lip and stole another glance to the side. Adam lit up as he scanned the room. His passion for the vast collection was evident, and when those smoky irises shifted to meet Bo’s gaze, another punch to the proverbial gut had Bo clutching at his stomach. Why did Adam have to be so perfect?
“Go on, look around. Anything that strikes your fancy is yours for the reading. I’ve got a little bit of everything. I can’t seem to pick a favorite genre, so I read it all.” Adam gestured around the room. “It’s my guilty pleasure.”
Bo frowned. “What is? Reading?”
“Yeah.” Adam chuckled. “I never finished high school because my pop pulled me to focus on training. At the time, I thought it was the best thing ever. What hormonal adolescent wouldn’t be on board with the idea of doing the thing they love all day instead of going to school? But that doesn’t mean I don’t like to read and learn new things. I just have to keep that part of me hidden, right alongside my clothes-diva, musical-loving alter ego.”
Bo’s heart pinched. Adam’s father had been the reason he’d left high school early? What kind of parent would place athletics so far above their child’s education? It was one thing to drop out of college to pursue a professional sports career, but an entirely different thing to have a parent complicit in the loss of a basic childhood right.
No one deserved to lose the chance to finish high school, and Bo hadn’t missed Adam’s addition of “at the time.” Did he regret the lack of a diploma as much as Bo did?
“I’d say the Beast is more an alter ego than that side of you.” Bo tipped his chin and pursed his lips. “It’s almost laughable to think of you in that way, now that I know who you really are.”
“See?” Adam poked a finger into Bo’s chest. A spark of warmth seeped into his skin at the contact. “No one would fear the real me. That’s why I gotta keep that dude buried deep.”
Bo wandered farther into the room, trailing his fingers over the well-loved spines of countless books. “You’ve read all of these, haven’t you?”
“Nah. Not all of them.” Adam mimicked Bo’s absent tracing, stopping short of where Bo’s fingers still rested. Bo itched to feel the warmth and comfort of Adam’s touch again, but as if reading his mind, Adam dropped his hand and stepped away. “I’ve read quite a few, but not all. Those I haven’t read are here because I hope to someday.”
Bo wrung his hands to dispel the urge to reach out for Adam’s. Instead, he continued his trek through the rows of books, marveling that several of the titles had brothers on his own shelf down the hall. “You’ve got good taste, Mr. Littrell.”
“Hey, what’d I tell ya about that ‘Mr.’ shit?” Adam winked when Bo shot him a look. “I’m kidding. You can call me whatever you want.”
Bo chewed back a moan and gripped his shoulders in a self-hug. Memories of lying in Adam’s arms swirled through his brain. He’d barely caught himself from spilling an inappropriate term of endearment when he’d woken pressed against that hard body, encircled by the solid warmth of that strong embrace.
He bit his lip until the tang of coppery blood hit his tongue. It was time to change the subject. “Have you ever thought of going back to get your GED?”
Adam guffawed. “I’m nearly forty. It’s a bit too late for that.”
“It’s never too late.” Bo turned on his heel to face Adam head-on. “I never finished high school either, and you can bet your butt I’ll get my GED the first chance I find. Even if I am forty.”
Rather than firing off another flippant response, Adam squinted his eyes. He swiped his thumb over his lower lip and followed the same path with his tongue. The action drew Bo’s gaze to that plump, kissable mouth. His balls tightened.
“You didn’t finish high school either?”
Bo swallowed and worked his jaw back and forth. Admitting to his lack of education wasn’t something he made a habit of, but Adam wouldn’t judge him. Not because he shared the same deficiency, but because he was a good man. Bo trusted that now more than ever. “My dad passed away when my sister Lulu was only eleven. I was eighteen, so I took custody. My priorities shifted after that. No way I’d let Lulu end up in the system when I could take care of her myself.”
“And taking care of her meant quitting school so you could work?” Adam’s voice dropped an octave, and he frowned. “I’m not sure I could ever do something that selfless.”
Bo laughed. “You could. Trust me, you could. If someone you loved suddenly relied on you for their very existence, you’d give up everything to make sure they never wanted for anything. I don’t regret quitting school because I did it for Lulu. She’s my whole world.”
Adam’s frown softened into a flat-lipped smile. “But you’d go back and finish if you could.”
“Heck yeah.” Was that really a question? “I fully intend to. Some day.”
Nodding, Adam ran a hand through his cropped hair. “I’ve got a proposal for you.”
A nervous chuckle slipped past Bo’s lips. No way the proposal Adam had in mind would mirror the one Bo wanted to hear. Inappropriate or not. “Ah, okay.”
“Retirement’s looming in my future. Having my high school diploma might prove beneficial, especially considering I have no fuckin’ clue what I’m going to do with my life when I can’t fight anymore.” Adam shrugged and offered a lopsided grin. “I’m an old man. The thought of going back to school terrifies me. Any chance you’d be interested in doing it with me? I could use the support. I doubt I’ll ever do it on my own.”
If Adam had grown a second head, Bo wouldn’t have been more surprised. He closed his gaping mouth with a clash of teeth and pressed his lips together to keep it shut. Was Adam really offering him a chance to get his GED? With guaranteed time to study because he’d be doing it alongside Adam? “Ah….”
What the heck was he supposed to say? He had no clue how much it would cost. Did he have the funds? Lulu’s education took priority over his own. He couldn’t risk running out of money. His budget was already tight.
“Tell you what, don’t decide now. Do some research for us. See what it’ll take to get enrolled or whatever we’ve gotta do.” Adam slapped a palm against the solid wood of the nearest bookshelf. “If you’re willing to help, consider the tuition costs a perk of the job. You’d be doing me a favor, after all.”
Bo was shaking his head before Adam finished speaking. “No way. If I do this, I’ll pay my own way.”
Rumbling laughter filled the air, and Adam waggled his brows. “You have no idea how much work I’ll be. Trust me, it’ll be compensation well earned.”
When Bo shook his head again, Adam landed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Dude, I’ll be a huge thorn in your side. Think about how much effort it takes to wake my ass up in the morning and multiply that by, like, fifty. At least. You deserve a little extra for the pain and suffering.”
Bo groaned and raised a dramatic hand to his forehead. “You’re not doing a great job of selling the idea.”
Adam snorted. “You can always say no. But if I don’t have studying to keep me occupied while I wait for the training camp to start, I might have to take Kyle up on those singing lessons he suggested. Which would mean practicing at home. A lot. Like, all the time. Night and day. Day and night.”
“Okay, okay, okay.” Bo couldn’t hold in the laughter, especially when Adam grinned like a loon when he did. He wasn’t that bad of a singer. In fact, the deep bass rumble of Adam’s voice did indecent things to Bo’s body and brain alike. Especially when he wasn’t actively trying to sound like a drowning cat. “I’ll do it.”
“And you’ll let me pay?”
Bo sighed. His heart did an extra little flip. If the masses had any clue how sweet and wonderful the real Beast was, he’d be fending off suitors with a stick. Or he’d be married. Or, if nothing else, his bed wouldn’t be empty every night, as it had been the past week.
The sinking weight of jealousy tugged at Bo’s belly. That was a reality that wouldn’t last and one he’d have to learn to live with. Even if Adam had shown a return interest in Bo, it would be short-lived now they’d secured the label of friendship around whatever the heck this was between them.
Once Adam moved on, his infamous slew of fast-and-dirty affairs would kick back into full gear. And when they did? Bo would have to sleep two doors down with a pillow over his head while Adam gave other men the things he wanted.
He scowled. Life was so totally unfair.