I need to stop crushing on the hot new guy. Asking him to move in with me is the last thing I should do.

Ian: My main goal for sophomore year is to survive with my bruised heart intact. That looks a lot like avoiding anything that could hurt me, at least until Callum Cross shows up. He's so quiet, it's like he doesn't want people to notice him, but Callum is too tall, too built, and too damn good-looking to hide from anyone, especially me. Sure, all signs point to Callum being straight, but nobody's had his back before, and there's nothing stopping us from being friends. What makes things complicated is that Callum is exactly my type, and when he ends up crashing on my couch, there's no escaping how much I'd rather have him in bed.

Callum: A thousand miles isn't enough distance between here and home, not with nineteen years of baggage. I'm trying to keep my head down and stay out of the way where I belong, but Ian doesn't get the memo. I'm a shell of who I want to be, but that attractive, out-of-my-league baseball player talks to me like we're friends, and then . . . we actually are. Ian noticed me, but I can't let him notice how I feel—someone like him could never like me back. The only problem? He takes me in with open arms when I'm at my lowest. I know I'm not supposed to crave him, but he cares for me like nobody ever has. Ian gives me so much, and all I want is for him to take something back.

Free Base is a friends-to-lovers, hurt/comfort MM romance.

Contains mature themes.