Push & Pull (The Midwest Series #2) - eBook

CHAPTER ONE
MAY 26, 2013 – KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN


“Where the fuck are you, Nathan?” Brent Cameron muttered as he paced in front of his car. “We had a plan.”

The plan had been for Brent to graduate, pack up his belongings, and follow his parents home to Zeeland—the small town along Lake Michigan where he grew up. He’d done that.

He’d stayed there for three of the longest weeks of his life, being fussed over by his mother and simultaneously harassed and adored by his younger brother and sisters while his father beamed proudly at him for graduating with honors.

But now that he was back in Kalamazoo with a car full of camping gear and a meticulously planned itinerary for two months of fun, his travel companion was nowhere in sight.

Brent had texted Nathan about the trip a dozen times since graduation, and as far as he knew, nothing had changed. The lease on the apartment he shared with Nathan was up. If everything had gone according to plan, Nathan had moved his belongings to his mom’s house where she was storing them for the summer. And turned over the apartment keys to the management company a few days ago.

So why the hell is he late?

“Get your dick out of Caleb and show up, you fucker,” he grumbled. “We were supposed to be on the road twenty minutes ago.”

Of course, Bret was happy his best friend had worked things out with Caleb, the guy he’d been in love with since high school. But Christ, they were supposed to be leaving now, and Nathan was nowhere to be found.

Brent did feel guilty that their road trip would separate Nathan from his boyfriend for the better part of the summer but not enough to cancel the trip. Brent had been dreaming about this for years, and nothing was going to get in his way.

A shiny black Porsche Panamera pulling into the lot drew his attention away for a moment. His gaze roamed appreciatively over the gleaming curves, but it wasn’t until it pulled up next to him that he noticed the driver inside. He blinked in surprise. Lowell? Brent frowned. What the hell is Caleb’s roommate doing here?

The vague sense of unease that had been building in his stomach turned into full-fledged anxiety.

“Is everything okay?” he blurted out as Lowell Prescott opened the car door and swung his feet out onto the pavement. “Did something happen with Nathan and Caleb?”

Lowell looked up at him through thick dark lashes. “They’re fine.”

Brent’s worry turned to annoyance. “What the fuck are you doing here then?”

Lowell stood gracefully despite the length of his legs and the fact he was getting out of a low-slung sports car. As he crossed the few feet of space between them, Brent was surprised to realize they stood eye to eye. He’d remembered Lowell as being shorter than him. They’d met each other in a “rocks for jocks” geology class they’d taken together their freshman year. But other than a few brief conversations they’d had trying to get their respective roommates together, they hadn’t spent much time in each other’s company since.

Huh.

A moment later, another familiar car pulled into the lot. Brent let out a sigh of relief. Nathan. Finally. Maybe Lowell was just here to say goodbye or something. Weird, but whatever.

“Dude. There you are. I was starting to wonder if you were bailing on me,” Brent joked as Nathan got out of the car, but it fell flat when he saw the expression on Nathan’s face. He looked guilty as fuck.

Brent narrowed his eyes. “Nathan? What the hell is going on?”

Nathan raked a hand through his dark curls. “Um, look, I’m not sure how to say this but … I’m—I’m not going to be able to go on the trip, Brent.”

“What the fuck?” Brent yelled. “You’re ditching me? Why?”

Nathan looked miserable. “I’m sorry. I just can’t be gone from Caleb. Not after what we’ve been through. It’s going so well, and I don’t want to fuck it up now.”

“Fuck you, man.” Brent felt sick to his stomach.

“Caleb’s moving to Chicago in a couple of weeks. He’s got a temp job lined up until the assistant director position at the theater officially begins in August, and I’ve decided to go with him. We’re going to get a place together and everything.”

“And I’m just shit out of luck apparently,” Brent said bitterly. His dreams for having a fun-filled summer lay shattered on the pavement in front of him. Worst of all, he felt completely betrayed by his best friend. “How could you do this to me? Whatever happened to the bro code?”

“I’m sorry, Brent. I feel really shitty about this,” Nathan said.

“Well you should! You are the biggest jackass I’ve ever met. No, fuck that. That’s too good for you. You’re the lowest form of life on the planet, you asshole.” Brent’s anger continued to bubble up. “I can’t believe you’d do this to me after all we’ve been through as friends.”

“Brent …” Nathan sounded hurt, and a surge of pleasure went through him. Good. Maybe he’d made Nathan feel as shitty as Brent felt right now.

“I’ve wanted to take this trip for years. I’ve spent a shitload of time planning it. You know very well I can’t afford to go on my own, and now I’m going to lose out on all of the stuff I’ve already paid for. It would totally serve you right if I sent you the fucking bill.”

Nathan winced. “Wait; hear me out. I think I have the perfect solution.”

“Yeah? Tell me your brilliant idea.”

“Lowell.”

Brent looked over at the guy in question, who offered him a cheery little wave. Brent saw red. “What the fuck kind of solution is that?”

Lowell squared his shoulders and gave Brent a sunny smile. “No, it’ll be perfect. I’ll go in Nathan’s place. You won’t have to cancel the trip at all.”

Brent stared blankly at him while the words slowly sunk in.

“You’ve got to be shitting me! I don’t even know you,” Brent sputtered. Sure, he knew Lowell by reputation. And that reputation was as being one of the sluttiest twinks on campus. He was also widely known as a jersey chaser thanks to his obsession with hooking up with the few jocks who were out of the closet. And more who weren’t.

Brent had never had an issue with Lowell in the past. In fact, he’d defended him to Micah Warner. Micah was a closeted baseball player Brent had been hooking up with last year who had always seemed to have it in for Lowell. His comments about Lowell had seemed nasty and unnecessarily cruel, so Brent had called him out on it.

But spending an entire summer with a guy he didn’t know was an entirely different thing.

Lowell shrugged and stepped forward, close enough to touch. “So? It seems like it’ll be the perfect way to get to know each other.”

“And if I don’t want to get to know you?” Brent knew he sounded peevish, but he was too angry to care.

Lowell’s laugh was light, and it tinkled like ice cubes in a glass. "Do you really mean to tell me you don't want to get to know me in all sorts of ways? I don't believe that. I’ve seen the way you look at me." Lowell reached out and dragged a finger across the black fabric of Brent’s T-shirt before circling his nipple. Brent flinched again, backing away, even as the skin tightened, and his nipple hardened to a pointy little nub.

Flustered and irritated by the reaction, Brent pushed Lowell’s hand away and crossed his arms. "You're nuts if you think I'm taking you with me on this road trip."

Lowell's lips curved upward in a playful smile. "Oh, sweetheart, that's what you think."

The smile and words only served to make Brent angrier. He looked back at Nathan, feeling used. “Have you all just been cooking up this plan while I’ve been gone?”

“We’ve been talking about it for a couple of weeks, yeah,” Nathan said softly. “Trying to figure out the best solution.”

“What the FUCK? You couldn’t be bothered to mention this when we talked on the phone?”

Nathan’s uneasy look deepened. “I thought it might be better if we discussed it in person.”

“You could have fucking called me and said, ‘Hey, can we meet up? I need to talk about the trip with you.’ Don’t I at least get a say in what happens with the next two months of my life? Jesus, you guys are unbelievable.”

Nathan opened his mouth but Lowell spoke first. “Look, Brent, I get that you’re pissed, but you don’t have a lot of options at the moment. Frankly, you’re between a rock and a hard place right now, and I’m your only solution. Either you cancel your trip and lose money, which sucks. Or you change your plans and go by yourself, which also sucks. Or you take me. I also suck, but in much more enjoyable ways.” Lowell winked.

Brent gaped at him for a moment. Lowell stepped forward and put his finger under Brent's chin. "Unless you’re offering to do something useful with that gorgeous mouth, I suggest you close it."

Brent's mouth snapped shut fast enough to rattle his teeth. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Lowell's eyes twinkled. "Well, there's this thing gay boys do, it's called—"

"I know what sucking cock is," Brent yelled, confused and annoyed by the pretty twink with the big gray eyes who always made him feel off-kilter and out of control.

"Good to know, sweets; good to know."

“And make all the jokes you want, but this isn’t fucking funny. My whole summer is ruined.” Brent turned to Nathan. “And you. You’re a complete traitor. You’re right though. I have no choice but to put up with him.” He jerked a thumb to indicate Lowell. “So fuck you, Nathan. If you think I’m going to forgive you for saddling me with that cock-hungry twink for two months, you have another thing coming!”

Nathan made a sound of protest. Brent scowled and held out his hand to Lowell, ignoring Nathan completely. “If I’m stuck with you, then we’re taking your car. And hand over the damn keys. I’m driving.”


MAY 26, 2013 – SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


Brent scowled and stomped harder on the accelerator, the twin-turbo V-8 engine of Lowell’s car roaring in response. His grip on the wheel was so tight his knuckles were white. Lowell winced. He was used to babying this car, and Brent wasn’t being particularly gentle with it.

Lowell had underestimated Brent’s temper. They’d just passed Warren Dunes State Park as they traveled down Red Arrow Highway along Lake Michigan’s coast, and Brent was every bit as pissed as he’d been over an hour ago when he’d yelled at Nathan and called him “the lowest form of life on the planet.”

Lowell hadn’t argued with Brent about taking his car since that had been part of his plan anyway. He’d been surprised by how much stuff Brent had packed though. Thank goodness it was a hatchback. He’d put down the seats and loaded the back with bags and totes. It was amazing he could see out the rearview mirror.

Lowell had made sure Brent knew how to drive a stick before he handed over the keys though. There was no way he was going to let anyone drop the transmission on his eighty thousand dollar car. It was a barely-touched European show model he’d hunted down. It was the only way Lowell could even get his hands on a manual Panamera because the US version only came in automatic, and what fun was that?

He’d hoped that driving the Porsche would put Brent in a better mood. He’d been wrong.

Brent was pissed, no doubt about it, and Lowell’s guilt multiplied. He couldn't blame Brent for feeling set up. In a way, it was a set-up, albeit done with good intentions. When Nathan wavered about taking the trip, Lowell had stepped in. He’d assured Nathan it was the perfect solution.

Lowell had done it for several reasons. The main one was because he was pretty sure two months apart would put a major strain on Nathan and Caleb's relationship. Possibly even break it. After what they'd already been through, why would they want to test the strength of their new relationship any further? Lowell knew how miserable Caleb was at the thought of being away from his boyfriend.

Convincing Brent that Lowell going on this trip was a positive thing was proving to be more difficult than he’d planned. A lot more difficult. Lowell winced. Clearly, he should have listened to Nathan’s warnings about Brent’s temper and how he felt about this trip.

What Lowell hadn’t admitted to Nathan was his second motivation. He’d been attracted to Brent since they were in the rocks for jocks class their freshman year of college. And he’d only gotten hotter since.

Lowell had the summer free, so why not? A road trip around Lake Michigan sounded like fun. Add in fucking around with the hot guy he’d been drooling over for years? Hell, yes.

But now that he was stuck in a car with a pissed off Brent Cameron, he wondered if he’d made a very bad choice. Maybe he hadn’t thought this plan through thoroughly enough. He’d been so wrapped up in thoughts of hot, sweaty sex with a hockey player that he hadn’t considered what would happen if said hockey player didn’t want him at all.

Then again, had anyone ever turned him down?

Lowell contemplated the thought. No, his track record was pretty good. Once Lowell put his mind to it, he was rather irresistible. Of course, there was a fine line between being persistently flirtatious and just being creepy, and he was careful not to cross it.

He had to be careful not to push too hard now though or he’d totally alienate Brent. Of course, the flip side was what would happen if Brent was interested and developed feelings for Lowell. Ugh. He had that happen before, and it was always awkward.

No matter how yummy Brent was—and he hit all of Lowell’s buttons—a couple months of sex could easily turn messy. Lowell didn’t do messy. Or complicated. And he certainly didn’t do committed.

The thought of spending two months with only one guy—even one who looked like Brent Cameron—gave him the willies.

Lowell sighed.

He glanced over at Brent, who was still glaring at the road. Shit. Apprehension curled in his stomach.

He ran through various possibilities of how the summer could play out. Maybe it would work if Brent would agree to a casual hookup right from the get-go. There was no reason they couldn’t go off and find other people if they wanted. Hell, they could share. Lowell shivered at the idea of a threesome with Brent. Now that was a thought.

It improved his mood considerably.

“You cold?”

Lowell whipped his head around. “What?”

“You shivered.” Brent’s voice was gruff. “I can turn down the air conditioning.”

“I’m fine, thanks.” Lowell smiled to himself. Apparently, Brent was paying more attention to him than he let on. Lowell couldn’t resist flirting with him. “Besides, I’m sure you could keep me warm.” Brent tensed his jaw so hard it made Lowell wince. If Brent’s mood didn’t improve soon, he was going to damage the enamel on his gorgeous smile.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Brent snarled and stabbed his finger at the power button on the stereo. No doubt it had the opposite effect than the one he’d intended because there was nothing but a faint hissing sound from the speakers. “Goddamn it; how the hell do you use the speaker system in this thing?”

“Well, it depends. Do you want to listen to satellite radio or connect to a Bluetooth device?” Lowell asked, his tone calm.

“I don’t fucking care! I just want music!”

Lowell bit back a smile. “It’s paired to my phone. We can stream music from there.”

Lowell stretched his legs and dug in his pocket. He caught a glimpse of Brent looking at him out of the corner of his eye, and he made a show of it, thrusting his hips forward as much as the seatbelt would allow, dragging out the action as long as possible. Brent glanced over again, and the way his tongue swiped over his lips made Lowell think maybe Brent wasn’t totally immune to him. That gave him something to start with anyway.

“You can take a long, hard look later if you want,” Lowell teased, tone dripping with innuendo. “But for now, maybe you should keep your eyes on the road.”

Brent looked away, and his grip on the wheel tightened further, jerking the car to the left a little. “Just put on some fucking music.”

Lowell laughed softly, his voice going all husky, which he knew guys liked. “Oh, that kind of music. Sure, I have a couple of playlists for that. What are you in the mood for? Rough and hard? Slow and deep?”

“That’s not what I meant.” The muscles in Brent’s jaw popped again, and he let out a huff. “I would have thought all you listened to was show tunes anyway.”

Lowell raised an eyebrow at him. “I assume you mean that because I lived with a theater arts major for four years and not because I’m gay.”

“I know not every gay dude listens to show tunes,” Brent snapped. “Hello, I’m gay too.”

Chuckling, Lowell brought up a playlist he’d made for the road trip. “Yeah, but you’re a just-out-of-the-closet gay who’s spent his whole life playing sports. Even if you liked show tunes, you’d probably never admit it.”

“Nathan loves show tunes, and he’s never really hid it, so your theory’s completely shit,” Brent argued, then cleared his throat. “But that’s not the point. I was just thinking a guy like you probably did.”

Lowell chuckled again, but this time it wasn’t particularly amused. “A guy like me? What was it you called me earlier? A cock hungry twink?”

Brent reached up to scratch the back of his neck. “You heard that, huh?”

“Honey, half of Kalamazoo heard you,” Lowell said. “And I was standing two feet away. Of course, I heard you.”

“Yeah, uh, sorry about that.” Brent cleared his throat.

“You’re not wrong, but I want to get one thing clear, okay? I proudly own the cock-hungry twink title, but you don’t get to use it like an insult. I like who I am. I’m not changing my behavior for you or any other man. I get that the ‘out and proud’ thing is new to you, and I’m willing to cut you some slack,” Lowell said. “Just so we’re clear though? I am every bit as much a man as you are. So, for the rest of the summer, I don’t want to hear any jokes about how flamboyant I am or cracks about me being a bottom. Get to know me before you try to fit me into any one category.” Lowell rested his elbow on the leather armrest between them and leaned in to whisper in Brent’s ear. “Because this cock-hungry twink likes it both ways. I am as versatile as they come, and you wouldn’t believe how many macho jocks have begged me to top them. And trust me, they were more than satisfied by the time I was done.”

Brent was silent for a few moments before he cleared his throat noisily and shifted in the seat. “I’m sorry about what I said, okay? I shouldn’t have called you that, and I shouldn’t have assumed anything about you. But just so we’re clear, you’re making a lot of assumptions about me too.” He cleared his throat again. “And if we’re putting it all out there, I’m versatile too.”

“You don’t say?” Lowell drawled as he sat back, unable to resist sneaking a peek at the crotch of Brent’s cargo shorts. There was a noticeable bulge that looked very promising. “Well, it looks like we’re going to have a very interesting road trip then, huh?”

“Look,” Brent snarled, “that doesn’t mean a damn thing is going to happen between us, okay? What you and Nathan and Caleb cooked up isn’t something I’m going to forgive and forget. I need your financial help, and that is the only reason I agreed to let you go on this trip with me. I don’t care who you fuck or how you fuck them, but it’s not going to be me, okay? I’m plenty capable of getting laid and, clearly, you are too. So all I need you for is to split the cost of everything. Got it?”

“Oh, I got it,” Lowell said as he pressed play and music filled the car.

Lowell closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest, folding his hands in his lap. Maybe he’d made a mistake earlier. When Brent blew up at Nathan, Lowell had fallen back on his usual approach of flirting to diffuse tension. Unfortunately, it’d had the opposite effect and only made Brent more pissed.

Time to re-evaluate his approach. He’d back off until Brent calmed down.

With two months and hundreds of miles ahead of them, Lowell had plenty of time to win him over.

This ebook contains scenes involving injuries/medical content, internalized homophobia, bullying, coming out, and complicated family relationships.

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