The Gift Read Online Free PDF Page B

just been imagining it. Or … perhaps … their hands, their fingers were barely touching … maybe if August slipped their hands all the way together he would hear more …
    And suddenly everything was distorted by a loud bang as the door to the pool slammed open and the room filled with the busy chatter of children.
    August yanked his hand away and Doren disappeared under the water with a splash. He turned towards two preteens, skinny bodies clad in tight swimwear, preparing a space with towels and pop cans and an iPod, getting an early start on the day before the older folks got there and hushed them into controlled silence. August grimaced when he saw Doren's clothing in a pile almost right beside the kids' developing nest. As quietly as he could manage, August swam to the other side of the pool and pulled himself from the water, dripping, instantly cold. He grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around his middle, squeezing the water from his hair and had to choke back at laugh when Doren's head popped out of the water only inches away. "A little help here?"
    As though on swivels, both of the young girls turned their heads in the direction of his voice. August groaned, his mind desperately repeating, "Please don't recognize his voice, please." He hushed Doren with a finger, the headlines already floating through his mind: Rock star exposes himself to twelve-year-old girls in hotel; parents mortified, children traumatized, public in hysterics! He could walk over and get Doren's clothes, but that would probably end up drawing more attention. Instead, he tightened the towel at his waist and peeled his soaking pajama pants off.
    "Here." August thrust the pants under the surface of the water. "Be quick. And be quiet." Doren held the patterned flannel up, disdain and disbelief darkening his face. "Just do it!" August hissed.
    Short of another towel, Doren had no other options. With a disgusted click of his tongue, he reached into the water and struggled into the pants. He was slim, which helped, but nowhere near as small as August was. The pants were still way too tight and all August could think of was stuffed sausage as Doren climbed his way out of the pool. August couldn't help himself, he laughed as he wrapped a towel around Doren and the soaked cloth. Doren flashed him a look of murder, which only made August laugh again. "Come on. Let's get out of here before you're seen. Leave your clothes, I'll get them later."
    It was August's turn to pull Doren to the door, but when they reached it, Doren stopped. He looked at August, and then turned back to the pool where both girls suddenly spun in his direction. He flashed them a smile and a wink, and, exasperated, August dragged Doren into the hall as the excited peals of joy and disbelief began to bounce around the walls of the poolroom.
Doren
    He still couldn't believe the two of them been in the poolroom for over an hour. It felt like minutes, seconds. He sat in August's hotel room as August made coffee in the little four-cup machine that came with the room. Doren had changed into the hotel robe; his hair drying into crazy peaks while he watched August bustle around the teeny space of the "kitchen" area and mused silently over how much smaller August's room was than his. Weird, considering they were right beside each other, but perhaps that's how it had been designed back in the day. Maybe the rooms were meant to house someone important who would be traveling with someone unimportant. Not that he thought August was, by any means. A good assistant was worth their weight in gold and all … or whatever the hell Anton had told him. And if August had managed to capture his attention while standing in that god-awful navy polyester blend, then August was certainly worth having around if for nothing more than entertainment value. Besides, watching August hustle down the hall with nothing but his wet shirt clinging to his cold chest and the towel around his waist had certainly