Push & Pull (The Midwest Series Book 2) Read online

  “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.

  Chapter Two

  May 26, 2013 – Northeastern Illinois

  Brent

  The throbbing in Brent’s temple that had begun when Lowell announced he was taking Nathan’s place increased. Elle King’s raspy voice wasn’t helping either, but at least, it drowned out Lowell. Lowell was driving Brent crazy. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to fuck Lowell or strangle him. Right now, he was leaning toward choking the life out of him, but a part of him couldn’t deny he was attracted to Lowell. Had been since day one when he saw Lowell in that geology class they had together freshman year.

  When Nathan reappeared in Caleb’s life, Lowell had reappeared as well. They’d only had a few conversations, but Brent hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. Something about the big eyes and in-your-face attitude did it for him, even if it drove him a little nuts too. But this setup pissed him off.

  Fuck Nathan for ditching him for Caleb.

  Fuck Caleb for tanking his plans with his best friend and throwing Lowell at him.

  Fuck Lowell for assuming he could waltz in and take Nathan’s place.

  Fuck all of them.

  Brent accelerated to pass a slow-moving truck, and the roar of the powerful engine made his balls tingle.

  And fuck Lowell’s completely badass car.

  “I’d be careful about speeding,” Lowell said sleepily. “This car attracts a lot of attention, and with out-of-state plates, you’re going to be a target.”

  “Don’t tell me how to drive,” he snarled before he realized that was a pretty shitty thing to say to the owner of the car.

  “Fine, but you’re paying the tickets you get, then.”

  Brent waited at least sixty seconds before he eased off the accelerator. He had budgeted every moment of this trip. He’d even included an emergency fund in case his car died. Of course, that wasn’t likely now that he was driving a Panamera with less than twenty thousand miles on it, but he certainly couldn’t afford to pay for speeding tickets or an increase in his insurance.

  And, it was Lowell’s car, after all.

  A little while later, Brent glanced at Lowell out of the corner of his eye and saw that he was sleeping. Or, at least, he looked like he was. His eyes were closed, his lips were parted, and he was curled up in the seat. Which was impressive considering he was over six feet tall.

/>   Damn, Lowell was bendy.

  Brent groaned under his breath and shifted in his seat as he wondered just how flexible Lowell could get. From the way his legs were tucked up onto the seat, Brent could imagine him folded in two, legs behind his ears as Brent drove hard into him ...

  No! Brent thought, shaking his head to clear the images out. No, he wasn’t having sex with Lowell no matter how bendy he was. Flexible did not equal a good idea. He couldn’t think of a worse idea than fucking Lowell, to be honest. He didn’t even like Lowell.

  Of course, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Lowell’s defiant announcement about being versatile either. Why the fuck had he told Brent that?

  Probably to drive me nuts, Brent thought. That’s all you’ve done since you showed up today, Lowell.

  Brent sighed and he glanced down at the dashboard. He squinted, trying to figure out what the fuck all of the dials and buttons meant. The car was chock full of them, more than he could hope to grasp while driving. Lowell had run through what some of them were for, but Brent hadn’t really been listening. He’d been too pissed off to focus. And now he was starting to regret it.

  He was going to have to take some time to familiarize himself with the car. He hadn’t lied about knowing how to drive a manual transmission. It was what he’d learned on, thankfully. It would have been embarrassing as hell to stall a Porsche. He finally located the gas gauge and discovered he had plenty of gas. Which was good because he wasn’t sure what a car like this needed compared to his efficient, gently used Ford Focus.

  Brent frowned when he saw signs for a construction detour ahead. He’d made a few trips into Chicago over the years for Blackhawk games with Nathan, but he couldn’t remember if he was supposed to take the exit before the detour or not. Nathan ditching him and Lowell taking his place had definitely thrown a wrench into his carefully laid plans. He didn’t even have the GPS set to map his route because he didn’t have a clue how to program it in this car.

  What the fuck is a college student doing with a Panamera anyway? he wondered as he dug in his pocket for his phone.

  He managed to get the navigation app on his phone up and running just in time to realize he was supposed to take the next exit. He had to rev the engine and cut off a pickup truck to get there, but he made it. Honking horns followed him, and he glanced over at Lowell again. Lowell peered at him through one half-open eye, and Brent gave him a guilty smile before looking back at the road.

  Once Brent paid the toll and was on I-90, he relaxed enough to appreciate the feel of the powerful engine and smooth suspension.

  Damn this was a nice car. How did Lowell afford it? Visions of a sugar daddy or extortion schemes involving closeted athletes danced through Brent’s head. He’d heard rumors about both floating around campus at various points. They’d always seemed far-fetched though. Brent shook his head and snorted at himself. He was being totally ridiculous.

  They slowed to a crawl as they passed through the endless construction in Indiana, and Brent had to focus to keep from rear-ending someone when it became stop-and-go traffic. It was a relief once they reached the stretch of causeway through Wolf Lake and speeds began to pick back up. A short while later, a sign welcomed them to Illinois.

  The highway veered west as he approached the sprawl of the south side of Chicago and followed signs toward the Dan Ryan freeway. He glanced at the clock and was relieved to see it was late afternoon. The worst of Chicago’s rush hour was still an hour or two away. Traffic was steady, but nothing too crazy. He and Nathan had been stuck in a traffic jam during a snowstorm one winter on their way to a Blackhawks game and had missed the first two periods. It had been a fun trip though and was part of why they wanted to include Chicago as a destination on this road trip. Well, that and Boystown.

  They’d both looked forward to spending some time in the East Lakeview neighborhood where they could be free to be out. They’d never made it to any of the bars or clubs there before. Of course, Nathan and Brent had both been closeted until about a month ago.

  Their coming out had happened a lot more dramatically than either of them had planned. The interview Nathan had done in the school newspaper had been Brent’s idea to win Caleb back. But he’d underestimated just how viral it would go. Nathan was the first college hockey player in the country to publicly state he was gay, and the internet had blown up. The fact that Brent was also gay and had come out at the same time sent the media into a feeding frenzy.

  Of course, reporters had tried to pair them off. Nathan and Brent had been fuck buddies for a year or so while they were in college, but there had never been any romance. Thankfully, after Nathan had steered the media toward the secret relationship he had with Caleb in high school, they’d run with that angle, taking a bit of pressure off Brent.

  But now Brent was out of the closet for the first time, his best friend was nowhere to be found, and he was stuck with Lowell Prescott for the next two months.

  “That backfired spectacularly on me,” he grumbled under his breath.

  His phone prompted him to exit the highway, and he followed the instruction, relieved to see that it was less than two miles to the hotel. As awesome as the Panamera was, he was ready to get out and stretch his legs.

  As he navigated through the neighborhood and slowed to a crawl in front of the building, he felt some stirrings of unease.

  After a lot of internet searching, he’d found an affordable, basic hotel with no frills. Everything was so expensive in Chicago, and he’d been afraid of blowing his money on the first leg of the trip. Going with a budget hotel had seemed like a good idea. The place hadn’t looked too bad online, but in person, the neighborhood was pretty grim. He eased into a spot in front of the hotel, put the car in neutral, and pulled up the emergency brake. His worry grew as he glanced around. It wasn’t exactly a great looking area—rundown and rough around the edges. Hell, there was an auto service center right across the street and a dry cleaners next door. Weird.

  Lowell stirred, and Brent looked over at him as he blinked sleepily and stretched. “Are we stopping for gas?” he asked through a yawn, his jaw popping.

  “Nope, we’re at the hotel.”

  Lowell glanced around, then looked at Brent with a skeptical expression. “What hotel?”

  “Uhh, the one we’re staying at tonight.”

  “I’m not staying here!”

  “What the fuck do you want me to do?” Brent asked, turning in his seat so he could glare at Lowell. “I don’t know what the fuck you did to afford a Porsche, but not everyone has that much money, you know! Some of us had to work while we were in school and budget like hell. This is what Nathan and I could afford, okay?”

  To his surprise, Lowell’s cheeks turned faintly pink. “What I did was have a grandmother who died. Gramma Rose had a boatload of money, and she set up a trust for me that I had access to once I turned twenty-one. I don’t have to do anything, and it still earns me money. I bought a car with the interest. I am not going to fucking apologize for my dead grandmother leaving me an inheritance!”

  “Oh.” Well, shit. Brent suddenly felt guilty about his earlier speculation about Lowell’s income. But it didn’t change the fact that his own budget was minuscule by comparison. Well, by most people’s standards actually. “If we’re taking this trip together you have to understand that I can’t throw my money around. We’re going to camp and stay in places that advertise as being ‘budget, no-frills lodging’,” he quoted the online description.

  Lowell sighed. “Is camping really necessary?”

  Brent blinked at him. “In state parks and national forests? When we’re hiking and up near Pictured Rocks and Tahquamenon Falls? Yeah. What kind of trip did you think we were taking?”

  Lowell cleared his throat. “Well, Nathan said it was a road trip around Lake Michigan, but he failed to mention our exact itinerary. And I didn’t ask.”

  “Jesus Fucking Christ,” Brent grumbled. “This is a complete shit show.”

>   “That we can agree on. Clearly, we need to talk more about where we’re going. But let’s focus on this right now. Can I offer a compromise for the non-camping portion? What if I pay for our hotels?”

  “While we’re in Chicago?”

  “For the whole trip.”

  Brent gaped at him. “You’re shitting me.”

  “Nope. Look, I’m not a snob. I’m happy to eat at diners and go to cheesy roadside destinations. I love them, in fact. Believe me when I say I don’t need luxury, but I do have a line! I’m not staying in a place that is probably infested with bedbugs and roaches.” The thought made Brent’s skin crawl, and he had to suppress a shudder. He certainly didn’t love the idea either. “Not to mention what would happen to my car in a place like this. I doubt they have a secured garage.”

  Brent winced. He could clearly imagine what would happen to a Porsche in this area. They’d probably walk out in the morning to find it vandalized, stripped for parts, or stolen completely. Maybe staying in a fleabag hotel wasn’t such a great idea. And maybe his decision to take Lowell’s Panamera hadn’t been smart either. Oh, God, he hadn’t even considered what camping in this car would be like. Fuck. “It’s street parking only here,” he admitted.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. While we’re in Chicago, can we please stay in a hotel I pick? For the sake of my car, if nothing else. Do you have reservations here?”

  “Nah, they, uh, didn’t actually take reservations.” Maybe that should have been Brent’s first clue that the place was skeezy.

  “Then you’re not losing anything if we go somewhere else. I promise I will pay for all of it, so you’ll actually be saving money.”

  Brent sighed and raked a hand through his hair, not quite ready to admit defeat. “I ... I don’t know.”

  “Maybe we can figure out a compromise on some of the other places as we go. It doesn’t have to be a four or five star place every time. But at least for the next few nights, let me pay for a nice hotel, and we can figure the rest out from there. Please, Brent.” Lowell’s fingertips were cool against his arm, and Brent reluctantly met his gaze. Lowell stared pleadingly at him with huge eyes, and Brent’s resolve crumbled.