Pulling Away Read Online Free PDF

house. He hoped Noah hadn’t bought a motorcycle.
    33

    PULLING AWAY
    Charlie rang the bell and waited. He listened for the familiar sound of Noah’s soft footsteps, but instead he heard running just before the door was flung open.
    Standing at Noah’s front door was a tall guy with dyed red hair dressed in very tight jeans and a midriff shirt. He was actually quite good looking. The man raised a sculpted brow at him.
    “Yum,” the guy said, looking him up and down. “Noah, Adonis is here to see you.”
    Charlie took a step back, his heart hammering in his chest.
    Was this why Noah had stopped seeing him? God, was Noah fucking this guy?
    Noah suddenly appeared behind the guy. His eyes widened when he saw Charlie. “Hi.”
    “Who the hell is this?” Charlie heard himself ask. It was almost like he was watching this happen outside his body.
    “What?” Noah stared at him.
    Charlie’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. His stomach lurched. He felt nauseous. “I can’t believe this.”
    “Believe what? Charlie—”
    Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Noah to be sleeping with someone else. It certainly made sense now.
    Stupidly, he hadn’t put two and two together. Noah disappearing for days and ignoring him. Wearing contacts now. Being weird on the phone when he did reach him. All this time he thought Noah cared about him. Maybe even too much. Charlie guessed he’d been wrong about everything.
    “You’re cheating on me?” he managed to rasp out past the 34

    PULLING AWAY
    pain in his chest.
    “Cheating on you? No.”
    He backed up again and crouched on the ground, his stomach twisting violently. “I’m going to be sick.” The guy, whoever he was, smirked a little, then turned to Noah. “Looks like you have your hands full, babe. I think I’d better go to Buddy’s without you.” He kissed Noah’s cheek and then hurried past a hunched over Charlie. “I’ll call you later.”
    Noah knelt beside him. “Are you all right?”
    “All right? No, I’m not all right. My lover’s cheating on me.”
    “I’m not cheating on you. And…and why do you care anyway? I’m just a guy in the neighborhood you have sex with sometimes.”
    Charlie froze, his stomach clenching. He met Noah’s gaze.
    Noah had gone very pale. “How did you know about that?” Noah grimaced, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he said, “Come inside, Charlie. I think we need to talk.”
    Noah stood and reached down to assist Charlie up.
    Charlie’s legs wobbled, but Noah steadied him with his arm around Charlie’s shoulder. Charlie was a little surprised at the intimate contact considering everything, and even more surprised at how natural it felt. He allowed Noah to steer him into the house, his mind reeling. How could Noah have known about what he typed to Sly Cat? And who the hell was the guy with the motorcycle?
    35

    PULLING AWAY
    Noah took Charlie’s hand, led him into the living room, and gently pushed him down on the couch. Noah sat beside him.
    “First, the guy who was here? He’s my friend, Kevin. You talked to him on the phone the other day, remember?”
    “Yeah.”
    “We don’t have sex, okay? Kevin is gay and so am I, but that doesn’t mean we do anything. We’re just friends. He’s my best friend. You have friends, too.” Charlie bit his lip and wanted to turn away, unwilling to admit to Noah he had no friends. But Noah wouldn’t let him.
    He grasped Charlie’s chin and forced him to meet his gaze.
    “Charlie?”
    “I don’t have any friends anymore, Noah.” God, he was pathetic. “They all dumped me after my parents’ death.”
    “That’s terrible. Why would they dump you?”
    “Why did you?” Charlie asked.
    Noah’s hazel eyes widened, and he released Charlie’s chin.
    “I didn’t.”
    Charlie sighed. “I’ve had…difficulty dealing with their death. Some of my friends wanted me to see a shrink and I refused. Others just disappeared after I wouldn’t go