Blaze of Glory by C.J. Strange

Author:C.J. Strange [Strange, C.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Heartcandies Publishing
Published: 2019-02-16T06:00:00+00:00

14 Penny's Triangle

The news both shocks me, and doesn’t.

Was I expecting those words to come tumbling out of his mouth? No.

But did the weight they carry surprise me when they did…?

“Oliver,” I say, slowly and carefully, “that’s all right.”

“It is?”

I can’t help but laugh, and thankfully he doesn’t seem to take offense to me finding humor in the situation. “Of course it is. You can love multiple people at once, you know.”

“I know that,” he retorts, and I worry I’ve hit a nerve. “I’m not worried specifically because I’m in love with another person.”

My brain finally catches up with him, and my mouth drops open, my hand rushing up to cover it.

It’s because of who that person is.

“Oh my god.” My lips are muffled against my fingers, blurring the words into one another, but the man’s name is audible nonetheless. “Alfie.”

I seek out Oliver’s hand with my own, but it writhes out of reach.

“He can’t know.” Oliver’s voice has taken on a timbre that is more firm, more stern, more threatening than I’ve ever heard it before. He sounds as if he’s on the edge of tears. “Ever.”

My hands twist together awkwardly in my lap. “Oliver, he’s not that—”

“EVER.”

“All right, all right.” As much as it hurts to let it go, even temporarily, I decide to honor his wishes. It’s the least I can do, given how much he just trusted me with. “We aren’t telling him, or anyone else, for now. Not until further notice from you. I promise.”

“Okay. I trust you.”

For some reason, that smarts. My heart squeezes as I look over at him, bruised and beautiful in the chair beside my own, aglow with harsh, artificial light.

“You do? Still?”

He nods, and something in his lack of hesitation only hugs my heart tighter.

“You don’t give your trust to someone hoping they won’t break it,” he says quietly. “You give it to them expecting they will. Whether or not you trust someone isn’t based on how likely they are to break it, but whether they’re worth the pain.”

I stare at him. I can’t help it.

“That’s insanely deep, Oliver. And you think the idea of you and Alfie being close is such a far-fetched one.”

“The idea of us having legitimate closeness isn’t what’s in question. The idea of Alfie being gay is.”

“Why the heck couldn’t Alfie be gay? Or at least bi?”

I can’t help but wonder whether it’s sick to think he almost looks cute with a black eye. Not that domestic abuse is sexy, but the idea of Oliver getting scrappy certainly is.

“Do you even hear yourself asking that question?” he chokes out, oblivious to where my mind is venturing. “On what planet or other plane of existence could you ever picture Alfie being sexually intimate with another man?”

I affix him with my ‘realest’, as Chuck would say, of looks. “Oliver,” I say cooly. “I’ve known Alfie longer than anyone else in this brigade. Hear me when I tell you it’s not the capacity he lacks, but the ability to be comfortable with it.

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