Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 3

wasn't sure why the man had comforted him like this after last night's disaster, but his best guess was that Ethan was just being Ethan. The nice guy, the good friend—always picking him up when he fell.
    It wouldn't work this time. Jude had gone too far, and he knew it.
    He extricated himself as carefully as possible, hoping like hell Ethan wouldn't wake up. There was still a slim chance he'd been too drunk to remember exactly what happened—but not if he came around with Jude snuggled up to him like a morning-after stripper. Miraculously, Ethan remained asleep, so Jude slid over behind the wheel to survey the damage outside.
    The tree lying across the road was a massive one. No way he and Ethan could move it without a chainsaw. And even if the truck worked, there was no way to get around that thing. Woods lined both sides of the road. He'd been hoping to limp the truck along the last thirty miles or so to the campground, or at least get them a fair distance so they could try walking the rest of the way. Obviously, that wasn't going to happen.
    "That's a big tree."
    Ethan's voice, thick with sleep, sent a jolt through him. He decided to act casual—if Ethan didn't bring up last night, he wouldn't either. "Yeah," he said. "I was just wishing I'd brought a chainsaw."
    "Looks like the weather gods are displeased." Ethan groaned, leaned forward and dropped his head in his hands. "Whiskey hangovers suck."
    "You need water." Jude popped the door open, grateful for the distraction. "I'll go grab some. Be right back."
    "Any chance of coffee?"
    "Caffeine's bad for hangovers."
    Another groan. "I'll risk it."
    "Not yet." With a quick smile, Jude slid out and headed for the truck bed.
    He'd stowed the coolers last for easy access. Drinks in the blue one, food in the red. He lowered the tailgate, and noted with cautious relief that the damage back here seemed minimal. A good thing, since they might be stuck here awhile.
    Thinking about that sent a nervous twinge through him. The longer they were alone, the better chance Ethan would remember last night. He really didn't want to talk about that.
    He grabbed two waters, headed back to the cab and handed one to Ethan through the open door. "The finest cheap bottled water in the city," he said. "Probably packed with all sorts of nutritious chemicals. Drink up."
    "Mmph." Ethan twisted the bottle open and sucked down three-quarters of it at once. "Okay, I drank. I demand coffee."
    Jude smirked. "You're just going to make it worse."
    "Don't care."
    "All right. You win. It's gonna take a while, though."
    "I'll help. Be there in a minute."
    Nodding, Jude returned to the back and started pulling out gear. He'd brought a little Coleman stove and a percolator, but they'd been shoved pretty far back. As he piled things on the ground, he heard the passenger door open. Ethan came staggering into view a moment later—yawning hugely, running a hand through his unruly hair.
    Jude couldn't help noticing he'd fastened his jeans. And wondering if he knew how they'd come undone.
    "So, how screwed are we?"
    For a few seconds, Jude couldn't breathe. Then he realized Ethan meant the whole stranded thing. "Pretty much completely," he said, and gestured down the road the way they'd come. "It's fifty miles back down to that little dip-in-the-road where we gassed up. And we're still thirty miles out from the campgrounds."
    Ethan frowned. "You weren't kidding about the middle of nowhere."
    "Nope." He decided against explaining his reasoning—Mike. Still fucking with his life, even though he'd broken it off. He couldn't risk letting his ex find out where he'd be, because the man was seriously unbalanced.
    Mike had not taken being dumped well.
    "Well, someone will come up this way eventually, right?" Ethan said. "And they'll have to stop at that tree. So we just wait. We've got food and shelter."
    "That, or we hike it to the campgrounds," Jude said, a little too quickly. "It'd take two days walking, but we could backpack some of this stuff, and call a tow truck from there."
    "I guess." A look flashed across Ethan's face. Disappointment? "Gotta take a piss," he muttered. "Be right back."
    "Sure." Jude watched him wander off into the woods, and then turned back to finding the Coleman. He wasn't sure why the idea of walking upset Ethan, but staying here to wait around was just a bad idea. They'd get to talking. Last night would come up. And there would go the relationship with his best friend...the only good