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Troy’s hand stopped on the door, resting there as he tried to think what to say. Instead of saying anything, he kept silent and gave Oscar a warm smile. It hadn’t answered Troy’s original question, but that was Oscar for you. Few people could get him to talk about himself, and those that could walked away feeling like they’d tried to pull a tooth from a tiger.

But it was something.

TROY

He’d been having a pretty good night. Typically, he took Friday nights off, as Dean didn’t go out often, enjoying his free evenings on Saturday or Sunday. It let Troy have a bit of fun unwinding after a long week, trolling the bars and seeing if someone was cute enough to warrant sharing his bed or theirs. After the very long week he’d had, he definitely needed to unwind.

His night hadn’t been nearly as eventful as some, but he was okay with that. In truth, he wasn’t sure he felt the urge to take anyone home or go home with anyone, for that matter. Troy knew himself well enough to know that when it came down to it, he would happily jump at the opportunity to forget about his world and all its troubles with a bit of fun.

Much to his annoyance, though, his mind couldn’t stay away from Oscar. They’d left everything in the past, and Troy knew there was probably no chance of anything being reignited, but his heart wasn’t quite convinced. With thoughts of the man he’d once been head over heels for still on his mind, Troy had managed to have a few drinks and get in a few dances, but shortly after midnight, he was ready to go home.

Troy stepped onto the sidewalk, squeezing between the crowd trying to get in. It wasn’t what he’d call cold, but thetemperature was noticeably lower than in the densely packed club. Troy took a deep breath, shoved his hands in his pockets, and made his way down the street.

He’d just managed to turn the corner when a rough hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

Troy stiffened at the familiar voice.

He tried to pull away from the grip. “Erik, what the hell are you doing?”

Erik’s grip tightened on his shoulder. “You’ve been avoiding me. How the hell else am I going to get you to talk to me?”

Troy frowned. “What? Erik, of course I’ve been avoiding you. You’ve been clinging to me like some needy boyfriend. Jesus, I blocked you, so I didn’t have to open my phone and see thirty missed calls while I was at work.”

Erik’s dark hazel eyes narrowed. “You don’t get to just put me off like that, Troy.”

“The hell I don’t!”

“You owe me more than that.”

Troy finally succeeded in wrenching himself out of Erik’s grasp. “I don’t owe you shit, Erik. We had a great weekend, and I liked spending time with you, but that’s all it was, a weekend.”

“No it wasn’t, not to me.”

“Maybe not, but I told you it was nothing serious from the start, and you were fine with that. So leave me the hell alone and accept it!”

Erik took hold of Troy again, this time by the neck, and shoved him against the wall. Troy gasped as his head slammed against the brick, stars flashing in his eyes.

“You little slut,” Erik hissed.

“Fuck...you,” Troy grunted.

Christ, why did he have to pick big guys for his favored bed partners? Erik had almost half a foot on Troy and outweighedhim by at least fifty pounds. His strong fingers, calloused and rough from his work in an auto shop, were beginning to dig into Troy’s throat, cutting off his oxygen. It didn’t help that Erik pushed closer, making it almost to kissing distance as he pinned Troy to the wall.

“You don’t...get to do that to me,” Erik continued the smell of beer heavy on his breath.

Troy tried to lash out, but Erik was too close, and Troy had never learned more than the basic maneuvers when it came to a fight. The best he could do was struggle against the man’s body, his mind frantic as he tried to figure out what the hell he was going to do. This portion of the street was empty, away from the normal thoroughfare.

God, Erik could probably do whatever he wanted.

“Erik, let...go,” Troy wheezed.

The man was beyond logic and reason, his fingers tightening on Troy’s neck. Darkness began to creep in around the edges of his vision, and even as he was beginning to fade, Troy’s mind couldn’t help but evaluate what was happening in medical terms. If Erik continued, Troy was going to be another murder victim in the city. Cause of death? Asphyxiation.

A shadow fell over them, accompanied by a growl. It wasn’t enough to make Erik loosen his grip, but it was enough to make him step back to see what the interference was. Troy gritted his teeth and lashed out with what little strength he had left, driving his knee between Erik’s legs.

Erik gasped, then squeaked, and stepped back with a hissed, “You?—”