Breaking Rules with Travis: The North Avenue Live Guys, #3

By Sophia Nixs

I was a rule breaker, bad to the bone; someone who loved the thrill of danger.

One night of fun was never meant to go that far but desire always has a habit of taking over. It wasn't meant to destroy us or his brotherly bond in the process.

I never regret the past but now I wish I could change it all, been a good boy and kept my best friend just as that, a friend.

But it was too late, I'd tasted the forbidden and I wanted what I couldn't have. Him.

Can I finally be the good guy and live my new life alone without my best friend? Or will my rule breaking ways come back full force and have him back on his knees in no time at all–damn the consequences?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sophia Nixs
• Release date: Aug 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223255147

Book preview

1

TRAVIS

That was the last of it. Everything I owned was packed away and stored into the collection of brown cardboard boxes I'd acquired. They were scattered across the room, surrounding me as I admired my scribbled handwriting across the top of them to clue me in on where I'll need to place them when I arrive at the new place later today. I knew that by the time I got there, I'd probably be squinting at the letters through glassy, tired eyes, thinking what the fuck had I actually written on them and how the marks on top of them were even meant to form letters, let alone actual words. They looked more like scribbles than actual words.

All morning, I had been attempting to fight back my emotions that were gathering up inside me. I knew that if I allowed the tears to spill from my eyes, I'd struggle to rein them back under control. It didn't matter that I was alone at the moment and that no one could see me. The only thing stopping me was the fact that I knew the removal team was due at any minute.

I really hoped deep down that he'd turn up to see me, that my best friend, Gaz, wouldn't leave our relationship as broken as it currently was. I hoped that the strained pull we currently had could be magically dealt with and fixed and all that we had prior to the other weekend could return to what it used to be. I wanted to lock my desires away and place them back into the Pandora's box they had originally been kept in and keep it there for forever more, but I knew it was pointless now it had been opened.

It didn't matter what I felt, though. If my dad was here, he would have given me a clip around the ear and reminded me to never let anyone think I was a weak person. I'd always been told, 'Men are strong. You don't bow down and let a silly thing like feelings overwhelm you. You fight against it.' I wished he'd showed me a sense of emotion in my life when he was still around, rather than just the rough and tumble I remembered as a boy.

I couldn't help but go from wanting to wrap my arms around my body and rock myself on the hard wooden floor to provide comfort to the next moment, land a hard punch into the mirror I'd just wrapped up, hoping that my fist would penetrate through the bubble wrap if I gave it enough blows. 

The last item I'd deliberately left to box up was the very first item Gaz had gifted me when I'd found this apartment. He’d even decided its pride and place on where it should be placed. The signed red and white jersey that had hung up on the back of my door was a sacred piece. He had queued for hours through the night, just to get it for me. It was just one of the many things Gaz had done for me.

I'm such a damn fool, I screamed into the apartment, running my fingers through my black silken locks, pulling harshly on the ends. I needed the sharp pain that I was enforcing on my scalp to desperately flow and start to trickle through my veins. Why couldn't I have just taken a moment and thought about my actions first? I bit out angrily. I had always been a rule breaker but this time, I had taken it a step too far. I may have lost everything I'd ever cared about through my reckless attitude and damn urges. 

How could I have known that by making one stupid decision that night, everything would end up the way it was right now? I didn't, that's why I shouldn't have taken the risk. I did it because I thought I'd get away with it… that we thought we'd get away with it.

I was confused at how quickly my life had been thrown into a whirlwind of chaos. A short trip to Manhattan may no longer be on the cards and my home of Tennessee that I'd always known, was now just a passing memory because I couldn't control myself and my desire around Gaz. It had started out as just a bit of fun, but it had soon manifested into an uncontrollable want and pull that I was struggling to control, ever since I watched him make a move on someone else at an event. I was lucky it was Hardin–the guy who was now happily married to Anthony and who I would now be working for–but it could have ended so very differently that night with me losing Gaz. 

Well, like I had just done.

I mean, it wasn't as if I had planned it. It just sort of happened. I'd only asked Gaz to drop my wallet off for me at North Avenue Live during a wedding I'd been hired to work at for the evening. The event company was paying me top notch and even Christian, my boss, had managed to grab us a discount on accommodation. The distance and cost of needing to be away for a weekend on top didn't even matter in my mind. It was the perfect job to just escape from reality in my mind, even when I spotted who the client was. It had cast my memory back to when I’d first met Hardin and Anthony at that fancy award ceremony. 

I had just never expected that it would be Anthony consoling me in the back of his bar on his wedding day after I'd been caught–literally–with my pants around my ankles and Gaz's mouth wrapped around my dick. Christian had caused an uproar and screamed for my instant dismissal, but Anthony halted his demands.

That's how I came to be in this position with boxes littered all around me as I sat on the floor of my old apartment, jobless, heartbroken without him and leaving my life as I knew it. I was a damn idiot and I wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

Worst of all, I had ended up losing everyone I'd ever given two shits about. There was nothing left for me here, only heartache and pain. I never wanted any of this. 

Are you all ready and packed up? I glanced around the room and chuckled under my breath at the ironic question the removal driver had poised. Or shall we wait out in the truck for you to say that we can come in and start to load up?

I took a last look around the place that I had once called home. Gaz and I had spent many an hour here, chilling out and watching the game on the big screen together or partying the night away. It felt like I was losing a part of my soul by giving up this place, but it wasn't like he was making any effort to keep me here. He'd told me that the position at North Avenue Live was too good to refuse and he was right. The only thing was, I never expected the distance that we needed to repair our relationship would hurt so much.

I'd rather have Gaz in my life in some capacity, than not have him at all, even if it meant my own heart would remain broken for eternity. 

No need to wait out there. You can start to load up, I said to the removal guy as I passed him a set of keys. Anthony had forwarded them onto me the other week, along with details of my new accommodation address. I'll let you get a head start and ‘I’ll meet you at the other end, I instructed him. I nodded my head firmly as the realization of my situation hit me hard in the chest. I knew that I couldn't leave here without at least trying to talk to Gaz.

Right, if you're sure, lad, the guy said in a solemn tone, taking me in. We can get this sorted easily. He lifted his hand in the air