The Best Friend Read online Raleigh Ruebins (Red’s Tavern #1)

Categories Genre: Gay, GLBT, M-M Romance, Romance Tags Authors: Series: Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
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Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
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I’d had a taste of his cock and now I was craving it. His body really was just as addictive as I’d thought.

His company was, too. Evan really was the total package, in a way I’d never quite realized before.

I pulled out my phone and shot him a message.

>>Mitch: You said really cute things in your sleep last night, too.

>>Evan: What? I thought you slept like a log.

>>Mitch: I do. But I got up to go to the bathroom once, and when I came back…

>>Evan: Fuck, what did I say?

>>Mitch: Come to Red’s and I’ll tell you.

>>Evan: Not gonna happen.

>>Mitch: There’s a guy here dressed up like Dorothy and I know you’d find it hot.

>>Evan: Lol. You really do know me too well. But I can’t.

>>Mitch: I miss you, Valentine. I miss your lips, too.

>>Evan: Mitch…

>>Mitch: Okay, fine. I miss your cock, too.

>>Evan: You are impossible. Don’t make me hard while I’m trying to grade math tests.

I slipped my phone back in my pocket. I was distracting him, but I was also on the clock, and I knew I should have been cleaning the bar or restocking straws instead of flirting with Evan.

Again, though. I was addicted. And I couldn’t fucking wait to get my hands on him again.

The rest of the viewing party only got better. People got tipsier and tipsier, and as the movie went on, people started singing along and participating more. It was the most fun I’d had at work in a long time. After the movie ended, people stuck around, filling up the tables, booths, and the bar. I was running around making drinks all night, and finally I felt like I had a handle on the basics of bartending and not fucking it up.

A little later in the night, a collective gasp rang out from the center of the room and I looked out, watching as a small circle cleared in the crowd.

Right there, between two tables in the center of the room, a guy in a Tin Man costume was bending down on one knee, proposing to the guy in the Dorothy costume. The Dorothy guy was clearly and genuinely shocked, and a couple of tears broke off and ran down his cheeks as he said yes, over and over again. The whole bar erupted into cheers as the two guys embraced.

It got me, right down to my soul. And of course, all I could think was that I wished Evan were here to see it.

I hoped one day he could be that happy. I hoped one day I could see him that happy.

Or maybe even get to make him that happy.

Suddenly it felt like my heart was in my throat, for some reason. Was I fantasizing about how it would feel to propose to him, for fuck’s sake? Or just wishing I could make him one tenth that happy?

I slipped out my phone again. It had been a few hours since I’d last texted him.

>>Mitch: In your sleep, you were just talking about math. Nothing too embarrassing, I promise.

>>Evan: Oh, thank God.

>>Mitch: What did you think it could be? Did you have bad dreams?

>>Evan: No. I’d say they were pretty good.

>>Mitch: I dreamed about you.

>>Evan: Really?

>>Mitch: All night.

>>Evan: Fuck.

“Hey, am I paying you to smile at your phone or smile at our customers?” Red said, coming up behind me. I pocketed the phone right away.

“Sorry about that, Red,” I said. “I’m acting like my son.”

“No biggie,” he said. “Grace has things handled up here for now, anyway. Come help me grab some bottles from the back.”

I nodded, following him down the back hallway to the big storage room where we kept all the stock of liquor bottles.

“Who were you messaging?” Red asked. “You certainly looked happy.”

“Evan. I wish he was here to see that proposal.”

“Figured,” Red said.

“Am I that obvious?” I asked.

He chuckled. We both hoisted a massive box full of vodka up to the front of the hall, then started back again. “You’re a little obvious, I would say.”

“I’m probably texting him way too much,” I said. “My ex-wife always used to say she wished I’d message her more, and now… now I’m a damn addict.”

“You attracted to him?” Red said, pausing in the supply room and putting a hand on his hip.

My cheeks got hot. Suddenly it felt like I was being put on the spot for something, even though Red was just asking a simple question.

“Oh,” I said. “Um, well… in a way, I guess I am.”

“In a way? You guess?” Red asked.

I puffed out a laugh, my nerves suddenly all on edge. “You really don’t mince words, do you?” I asked.

“I do not,” he confirmed, giving me a polite smile, but still staring at me.

“I am… I have been feeling attracted to Evan. Yeah.”

“And the whole time you two have been friends, you’ve never felt like this before?”



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