Page 12 of Broken Halos
That was much harder to admit, so I only shook my head slightly. “Why are you so adamant about this?”
“I feel responsible because I introduced you not knowing you’d freak out when you found out he was a pastor.”
“I didn’t freak out,” I protested, but it sounded weak.
“You bolted so fast sparks were coming from your stiletto boots.”
“You’re so dramatic,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“I learned from the best,” Milo countered, his eyes softening with fond memories. “I love you, Arch.”
“I love you too, Milo.”
“I also love Ollie, and I don’t want to see confusion or hurt in his eyes when you reject him.” Again, he left unsaid.
“I don’t think I can give Ollie what he wants from me.”
“Have you even asked what he wants from you? I mean beyond the obvious physical attraction.” I shook my head. “Then you’re making assumptions, and you know what happens when we do that.”
“We make asses of ourselves.”
“And maybe ruin something beautiful before it has a chance to start,” Milo said. He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “You deserve this, Arch. Take a chance.”
Milo returned to the team, leaving me standing there to contemplate what he’d said. He was right even if I didn’t want to hear it. I straightened my shoulders and approached the team again. They’d all gathered around Ollie to talk strategy rather than trash talk the team they were competing against that night. They all glanced up at me with varied expressions. I only had eyes for Ollie though.
“First round of sodas is on me. What are you fellas having?”
“WOW,OLLIE.I’VE NEVER SEENyou bowl like this,” Brent said not-so-subtly. “You almost scored as high as Milo. I wonder what the difference could be.”
I shrugged casually, feeling everyone’s eyes on me, especially the person I knew was responsible for the change. I’d felt Archie’s eyes on me every second of the game. I wanted to impress him and make him want me as much as I wanted him. I had channeled Milo’s attitude and confidence when I approached the lane each turn and had amazing results. We trounced our knuckle-dragging, Neanderthal opponents. “Just feeling it tonight.”
“Yeah, I bet,” Adam added then snickered, earning a jab from Tyler.
“So, who wants to get a bite to eat?” Andy asked. “I’m starved.”
“You’re always hungry,” Keeton said. “I don’t know where you put it.”
“He burns the calories off as quickly as he consumes them,” Milo casually said. “It’s always been that way. He was as skinny as a beanpole until his senior year of high school. He finally put on some weight and muscle.” Milo looked his boyfriend up and down wolfishly. “And just kept adding on the muscle.”
A few months ago, seeing the two men together and so in love would’ve hurt me so damn bad. I’d allowed myself to get too close to Andy and thought I was in love with him. It turned out I loved Andy but was only in love with the idea of him. I had felt an occasional spark of jealousy when he and Milo started seeing each other again. They had a long history, and it was obvious they belonged together. My jealousy had more to do with not finding that kind of love match for myself rather than pining after Andy. It took a while for me to come around to Milo, but he became one of my closest friends. He’d grown even more attentive and protective once Archie started acting weird around me. I didn’t like seeing the tension between the two friends, but I was grateful to have Milo as my champion.
“Yeah, I bet he burns off the calories,” Adam said, earning a slap in the back of the head from Tyler and an eye roll from Andy.
“What’s gotten into you?” Brent asked Adam. “You’re acting more juvenile than usual.”
“And you’re suddenly the voice of maturity and growth?” Adam asked Brent, scoffing at the notion. “I seem to recall—”
“Fellas,” Keeton said, interrupting them. “Can we not do this tonight? Let’s go grab burgers, fries, and shakes and enjoy our victory instead of bickering like a bunch of little school kids.”
We all stared at Keeton in stunned silence. He was usually the one instigating the trouble.
Brent was the first to recover and looped his arm around Keeton and pulled him into him. “You got it, kid.”
Keeton squirmed out of his grasp, red-faced but obviously not from anger. “I’m not a kid.” I almost expected him to say something like “and you should know,” but he didn’t.
Keeton and Brent returned their balls, shoes, and gloves to their custom bowling bags and the rest of us followed their leads. I was a little slower than the rest, knowing Archie most likely wasn’t joining us, and I wasn’t ready to say goodnight, or possibly goodbye, yet.
I felt him approach before I saw him or heard him speak. It showed how attuned I was to him. “Hey, Ollie,” he said softly, sounding almost unsure of himself. “What do you say about pizza instead of burgers? I know a hole in the wall kind of place that makes the best pizza outside of New York.”