The Gift Read Online Free PDF Page A

something."
    "It is six in the morning."
    Doren's only reply was to snag August's hand and yank him into the hall.
    "I thought music people didn't get up this early," August grumped.
    Doren turned and winked. "I haven't been to bed yet."
    As August was pulled down the hall he rolled his eyes. This had better not be the start of a nasty habit. He liked his sleep. And if Doren was going to be a midnight rover, then Doren better be happy doing it alone. August was pretty sure there was nothing in their agreement that said he had to join his boss on early morning escapades.
    "Where are we going? I need a robe or something. I can't wander the halls like this." Doren might have been fully dressed but he was still in pajama pants and a t-shirt, his feet bare. And the hallway was freezing compared to the warm bed.
    He hissed at the tile on the stairs and stopped. "Cold! I need shoes. Or socks. Or something—" His arm was yanked, his words disregarded, and August was forced to follow, muttering grumpily, waiting at the heavy door to the lobby while Doren poked his head out.
    "Okay," Doren whispered, grinning like a twelve-year-old playing hooky. "All clear, come on."
    "We can't go in there," August said when they reached the far end of the hall, suspiciously eyeing the sign on the door that Doren reached for. "The sign says it's closed until seven."
    Doren waved him off. "I go where I want." Then he turned to flash another smile. "This is so cool! Just wait until you see it."
    There was no other word August could come up with but "Wow!" He stood in awe, staring around at what he was sure was one of the most enchanting spaces he'd seen in his life: concrete walls painted with images of robe-clad bathers and flitting cupids, clouds, flowers and birds. An alluring mist drifted along the surface of a crystalline pool. "It looks like one of those Roman bathhouses. What is it?"
    Doren smiled, flicking one of the light switches, and the pool was suddenly illuminated from under the water. "I knew you'd like it. It's a salt-water pool. Neat, hunh?"
    "Yes, actually. What makes the water all misty like that?"
    "It's heated." Doren's eyes fell to the front of August's pants, smirking. "And as we can both see the room is chilly. So, voila. Fog."
    August's cheeks flushed; he crossed his arms and shifted self-consciously. "Mist," he corrected. "Not fog. And you're a pig."
    Doren shrugged. "Nah, just a man. One would think you'd understand. Come on." Before August could stop him, Doren popped open his jeans and let them slide down his legs, stepping out of them while he pulled off his top.
    Once again August found himself struggling for something more than the "holy crap" that took up every single thought process in his mind. August's face began to burn. Without a word Doren turned, naked as they day he'd been born, and dove into the pool. Water broke to grant him entry, his body illuminated by the underwater lighting, and God but he was beautiful. August had never seen anyone quite like him. Not that he'd spent a lot of time with actual in-your-face naked men. But he'd seen enough porn to know that Doren's body was one of the good ones.
    Doren popped through the surface of the pool, shaking water out of his dark hair. "You coming?"
    "Uh, no? I didn't bring a suit."
    "So?" August wasn't sure whether to take Doren's lifted eyebrow as smug or confused. "Neither did I."
    August glared and pursed his lips. "Forget it."
    Doren shrugged and leaned back in the water, floating on the surface. "Come in like that then."
    The pool did look inviting. And it was pretty cold standing there on the concrete floor. "What if we get caught?"
    "Come on, Auggie!" Doren patted the water beside him. "Don't be a suck. When will you ever get to experience something like this again? Besides, what if I start to drown or something? I'll need you to save me." He righted himself and walked towards the edge of the pool, reaching teasingly for August's ankles. "Don't make me come