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“Not...everything,” Troy said slowly.

He stood in silence as he looked Oscar over, waiting to see what he would say. He’d come dressed in blue jeans and a red shirt that went well with his tanned skin. There were still dark circles under his eyes, but Oscar didn’t look worn out. His eyes were bright and riveted on Troy’s face.

“You look good,” Oscar finally said.

Troy looked down at his baggy basketball shorts and the tank top he’d thrown on, so he was wearing something around the house. “I look like I just rolled out of bed.”

“And?”

And he didn’t have anything to say to that, actually.

“Alright, you win this round,” Troy admitted, backing toward the kitchen.

He stepped around the small dining room table, still stacked with the night before’s laundry, and into the small kitchen. “You want something to drink?”

“No, I’m okay,” Oscar called back.

Troy shrugged as he snatched a bottle of water from the fridge. “Suit yourself.”

Stepping back into the dining room, he stopped when he realized Oscar was still standing where Troy had left him. The bigger man was staring into the living room, cocking his head to get the right angle. There wasn’t a whole lot to see. Troy hadn’t finished unpacking most of the decor he owned.

“It’s a little bare, I know,” Troy admitted.

Oscar looked at him, smirking. “Looks kind of like my place.”

“Says the man who’s only been here a couple of weeks,” Troy said with a wince.

“Ever planning on decorating?”

“One day,” Troy said slowly.

They stared at one another as Troy’s nerves began jumping. He knew there was only one reason Oscar would have come to his apartment unannounced. Troy was wary of whatever Oscar had to say, but he didn’t want to sit around, waiting for the inevitable.

Oscar looked down. “So, on to why I’m here.”

Troy snorted. “It’s like you read my mind.”

Oscar glanced toward the living room. “Can we sit down?”

With a sense of foreboding, Troy nodded, stepping into the living room and sitting on the couch. He looked up, watching Oscar’s eyes shift between the chair and the couch, indecision on his face. Without realizing it, he’d put Oscar in the position of having to decide where to sit, forced to choose between sitting close to Troy or separate.

With a sigh, Oscar dropped himself onto the couch beside him. “So...I’ve been thinking.”

Which would have normally been the time for Troy to throw out some witty quip or a sarcastic comment. The problem was he felt his tongue lying uselessly against the bottom of his mouth as he waited. He’d kept himself so busy over the past couple of days Troy hadn’t allowed himself to think about the inevitable conversation with Oscar. Now he was face to face with him, Troy didn’t know what to say and could only sit and stare.

Oscar’s mouth worked before finally looking up. “I’ll be blunt. Being with you was the best time of my life and the scariest, which is saying something. I can’t...I can’t live like you do, out and open. I mean God, Troy, do you have any idea...I mean, if Gabe...I can’t lose him, Troy.”

Troy closed his eyes, bracing for the inevitable even as his heart went out to Oscar. As much as he railed against Oscar’s choice to stay in the closet, he did understand the fear. Oscar had so few people in his life, and his brother was the most important. Troy didn’t know enough about Gabriel to say how the man would take it, but to lose his bond with his brother would utterly destroy Oscar.

Oscar reached out, carefully taking Troy’s hand as though he might not be allowed to. “But you were right. I wouldn’t have kissed you if it didn’t mean something, and hell, between seeing you almost get choked by that asshole and that guy?—”

Troy frowned, unconsciously curling his fingers around Oscar’s. “You saw us? Like...saw me and that guy?”

Oscar raised a brow, smirking. “I saw enough. Why do you think I was so pissed?”

“Because you were jealous?”

“And you didn’t even know the guy’s name?”