Everything Changes Read Online Free PDF Page B

lazy ass out of bed.” Jase grinned, turning easily to grab another mug out of the cabinet before handing it to Carey.
    As Carey stood next to Jase and lifted the carafe out of the coffeemaker to pour, Jase’s arm brushed his, and Carey was suddenly hyperaware of all the bare golden skin next to him. Jase was supremely fit, a yoga fanatic and runner, and his lean body showed the results of all the hard work, sectioned abs with no ounce of fat anywhere on him. Carey gulped, wondering where this sudden awareness of his friend’s physique was coming from, and he turned and sat down abruptly at the small kitchen table, taking a sip of coffee to cover up his confusion.
    “What do you want to do today, Carey?” Jase asked, sauntering over and flopping into the chair across from him, kicking his long legs out with a sigh and crossing them at the ankle. Carey stuck his own foot out and nudged Jase with it.
    “What do you think I want to do, man?” he asked. “Beach, and then more beach.”
    “Thought you’d say that.” Jase grinned and waved his arm at the beach gear stacked by the front door. “You brought your crutches, right?”
    Carey grimaced. He couldn’t wear his prosthetic at the beach and risk getting sand in the components. When he showered he used a so-called “water leg,” an old prosthetic made up of recycled and used parts he didn’t care about getting wet. It wasn’t safe to stand one-legged in a slippery shower, and there wasn’t always room to put a stool or plastic chair in to sit on. Carey didn’t want to get his water leg full of sand either, though, so that meant crutches.
    “Yeah, I always bring a set. They’re in the back of my SUV.”
    “Okay, we’ll grab ’em before we head out. You hungry? We can stop for breakfast on the way out there. I know a diner that has the best pancakes you’ve ever eaten.”
    The day’s plan decided, Carey finished his coffee and went back into his room to put on a pair of board shorts. He grabbed his leg bag and headed to the living room, then busied himself getting beach towels from the small linen closet. Jase dumped a container of ice from his freezer into the large cooler that he’d stocked with water, soda, and beer.
    They lugged all their supplies out to Jase’s black Jeep and stowed them in the back, Carey grabbed his crutches out of his own vehicle and added them to the pile before they finally set off. Twenty minutes later they were seated at a small outdoor table with tall glasses of cold orange juice, watching the world go by just a few feet away.
    Carey took a deep breath, relaxing back into his chair, sipping his juice. “Fuck, man, I love it here.”
    “I can’t imagine living anywhere else,” Jase said placidly. “I keep hoping you’ll decide to ditch that cold, snowy shit and move here too.”
    “Every winter I tell myself I’m going to,” Carey said jokingly. “If only Bill would start a satellite operation somewhere like here, or Hawaii. I wouldn’t complain about Hawaii.”
    Jase chuckled, then grimaced as his phone buzzed. “It’s Layla,” he said with resignation, looking at the caller ID. “If I don’t answer it, she’ll just keep calling, so lemme get it over with.” He snatched up his phone from the table and pushed out through the swinging gate to the sidewalk, his breezy “Hey babe” floating back to Carey’s ears.
    As Jase talked to his manager, a group of young women walked by, and Carey watched with amusement as they caught sight of Jase and giggled, whispering together, flipping their hair and slowing down as they passed him, hoping to catch his attention. Jase grinned at them, and Carey shook his head at his friend’s effortless charm. He attracted women and men like moths to flame.
    As he watched Jase flirt lightly with the pretty girls, still somehow managing to keep his conversation with Layla going, Carey remembered the night he’d found out about Jase’s bisexuality and what a shock that had