A Boy Called Cin Read Online Free PDF Page A

like me and I'm not sure I'd actually want to be in your place, so if you're looking for a life swap, you might wanna look elsewhere."
    Tom laughs. It's a really pretty sound. "No, I mean, you're way more attractive and people would figure it out. What I mean is that it's kinda lonely being me. You just looked like you could use a cup of coffee. And when you turned out to be an asshole... kind of a turn-on, actually."
    "You know you can just pay people for that." Cin leans against him again. Tom is a practical furnace and Cin's always run cold, so between them the air is comfortable.
    "Not really the same." Tom turns his head to rest it on top of Cin's, breathing into his hair. In what seems like an act of bravery, he moves his arm around Cin's waist and holds him closer. "I do have a stupid little crush on you. But I'd also like to be friends."
    "I believe the term is friends with benefits. Which I could be into."
    "Yeah?" Tom rumbles into Cin's hair. "I could be into that, too. Let me take you somewhere nice for the night?"
    The promise of a genuinely comfortable bed is almost worth compromising the few principles he has, but all joking with Rachel aside, Cin's not interested in Tom's money. Considering the conversation they just had, he doesn't want Tom to think he is, either.
    "No. You slum it with me one night."
    "Prove to you that I don't think you're just a toy I can buy?" Tom dips his head to kiss Cin's cheek.
    "Prove to you that I still don't give a crap about your money." Cin looks up at him. "But also, yeah, that."
    "I'm gonna have to sleep in my clothes."
    "You can always sleep naked." Cin wiggles his eyebrows.

Chapter Three
    The clock on the bedside table says 6:44 when Tom wakes, which he assumes is a.m. based on the light coming in through the window. Unless he slept through until summer, but Cin's still curled up beside him, so his first guess makes sense.
    It takes him a second to realize that Rachel is climbing into bed on the other side of the room. "I expected you to be gone," she says.
    "Me too." Tom clears his throat when he hears how rough it is. "Cin asked me to stay."
    "If you hurt him—"
    "You'll break my legs, I know." Tom takes the opportunity to breathe in Cin's scent, which is mostly cheap shampoo, but no less appealing for it. "Good night?"
    "The best. Girls are amazing. I'm going to turn into a lesbian one of these days."
    Tom chuckles. Rachel seems like a sweetheart, but he also wouldn't want to cross her. She looks like she could keep the leg-breaking promise.
    "Gimme a clue on the way to his heart? Just a tiny hint?" Tom asks hopefully. Friends with benefits sounds great, but he'd really like to just put Cin in his pocket and take him home with him. Which would be completely unfair and Cin has a life of his own, but still. Tom wants to be a part of it.
    "He gets embarrassed when people give him things, so you have to just leave stuff where he'll find it with a note. He's allergic to flowers, so maybe not those. There's a brand of hand cream he really likes, but it's something like eight dollars a bottle, so he won't buy it."
    Guilt hits Tom like a freight train at the idea that Cin won't spend eight dollars on himself. "Thanks. When's the best time to escape unseen?"
    "Sometime after Cin wakes up and you tell him you're going." Rachel looks at Tom seriously. "Don't leave him without saying goodbye."
    Tom nods, aware that there's probably more to that instruction than good one-night-stand etiquette. "You got it. Night. Err, morning?"
    Rachel makes a vague sound and then curls up under the blankets, facing away from the other bed. Tom gives her five minutes to fall asleep, which is probably four more than necessary, and then dips his head to kiss Cin's nose. Cin jumps, half-asleep, and then makes a soft sound that's almost a purr.
    "Morning," he mumbles, snuggling closer to Tom's warmth. Tom thinks about telling him he's the sweetest thing he's ever seen in the morning, but decides against