Page 52 of Men of Fort Dale: The Complete Series

Oscar watched Troy prep the needle and thread. “What?”

“Why were you there?”

Oscar averted his eyes, clearing his throat. “I was...where?”

“At the club?” Troy asked.

Oscar nodded. “I can’t really drink with the meds, but sometimes I like to go out, see the sights, see people. Sucks being stared at all the time, but it beats hiding away in my apartment all day and night.”

Troy’s curiosity curdled as he felt sympathy for Oscar and anger at those who stared. It was the twenty-first century, for fuck’s sake. Why did people still feel the need to stare at injured or disabled people like it was a modern-day freakshow?

“People should keep their eyes to themselves,” Troy grunted.

“Don’t get in a tizzy over it,” Oscar chided.

“I’m not in a tizzy, and don’t change the subject.”

Oscar shrugged, still not looking him in the eye. “I saw you there. Thought about a dozen different things I could say to you, but instead, I just sat there, like an idiot, and didn’t say anything.”

“So, you were watching me?” Troy asked in amusement.

Oscar looked up, frowning. “Not in a creepy way!”

Troy laughed, patting Oscar’s chest consolingly. “Alright, alright, just in an awkward way.”

Oscar swatted at his hand. “Quit it, you ass. I saw the guy following you around. Kept his eyes on you, but he didn’t look like someone who wanted to fuck you.”

“You would know,” Troy muttered.

“And,” Oscar continued with a glare, “he kept out of your sight. When you bounced out of the club, he kept his eye on you and followed.”

“I didn’t bounce,” Troy huffed.

Oscar winced at the first jab in his brow. “Call it what you want. The guy was following you. No one doing that is up to any good, so I followed.”

Troy squinted, keeping his movements quick and precise. “And here comes my knight in shining armor.”

“Yeah, your one-armed knight who only won because you kneed the man in the balls, and he wasn’t ready for me,” Oscar scoffed.

Troy frowned at the bitterness in Oscar’s voice. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“That thing where you just...dismiss something nice I said. I wouldn’t have been able to knee Erik if you hadn’t surprised him, and even if I could, I wouldn’t have been able to fight him off.

He had me at a disadvantage, and I never got the combat training you did.

You saved my ass tonight, Oscar, and don’t you dare try to pass that off like it’s nothing. ”

Oscar lapsed into silence, either out of anger or because he was mulling over Troy’s words. They remained silent as Troy finished the last stitches, checking over his work before turning to clean up.

“Who was he?” Oscar asked.

Troy closed his eyes. “Someone I had a weekend fling with.”

“A fling?”

“Would you prefer I say that I fucked him?”

“The whole weekend?”

Troy turned to face him. “Yes, the whole weekend. We met at the club, and I had the weekend off. I went back to his place that night and stayed till Sunday afternoon.”

“Recently?”

Troy ground his teeth. “Like a month ago. Why, what the fuck does it matter?”

“Do you do that often?”

Troy slammed the box of supplies shut. “Jesus, Oscar, why the fuck does it matter?”

“Because it matters.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

Oscar narrowed his eyes. “You’ve been sleeping around again.”

“Oh, fuck me,” Troy growled, yanking the box of supplies off the tray.

“You have.”

“I’m not doing this, Oscar. I won’t stand here and deal with an interrogation about what I do in my private life, okay? If you wanted to have a say in what I do or don’t do on my own time, maybe you shouldn’t have ended it and walked out my door.”

Oscar’s eyes widened, his lips thinning. “That’s not what this is about.”

“Then what’s it about?”

“You aren’t being safe.”

Troy snorted. “Like hell I’m not. I work in the medical field, Oscar. You think I don’t know in excruciating detail what happens to people who aren’t safe? I mean, c’mon, everything stays wrapped up, and I get myself tested regularly.”

Oscar ground his teeth. “That’s not what I meant. Look at what happened tonight! You could have fucking died if I hadn’t been there to step in, Troy.”

“I can’t predict when someone is going to lose their shit, Oscar. I’ve been doing this for long enough to have good instincts, but there will always be someone who doesn’t trip the radar. That’s the risk you take,” Troy said, waving a dismissive hand at him.

Oscar stood up, towering over Troy. “And that’s it? You just put your life at risk for a bit of sex?”

“You’re going to stand there, covered in scars, missing half your arm, and lecture me about risking my life?” Troy asked incredulously.

“It’s not the same thing! Not even close.”

“Just because I’m not huddled behind a dune somewhere risking my life against an armed enemy doesn’t mean it’s not my life to live however I want, just like it’s yours to live how you want.

I don’t have to answer to you, Oscar. That stopped a long time ago.

So, it’s the same damn thing, even if you don’t want to admit it. ”

Oscar let out another growl, reaching to take hold of Troy before he could leave the room. Troy went rigid, staring at him, his heart hammering in his chest.

“You could have died, Troy. Do you understand that?”

Troy began to pull away. “I do, and I’m thankful that you saved my ass. And in the future, I’ll be more cautious. Happy?”

“No.”

And before he knew what was happening, Oscar kissed him.