Page 30 of This Time Around
“What actions?”
“Well, you deactivated all your social media accounts because you were afraid that someone at your college would see our photos and figure out that I was your boyfriend. That made it impossible for me to feel connected to you every day, and I felt cut out of your life. You didn’t just delete your social media presence, you deleted my existence,” I explained.
“Yeah, I can see why you felt that way.” Andy leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “I promise you that wasn’t my intent though.”
“Hindsight and all that,” I told him. “And—”
“There’s more?”
“Isn’t there always more with me?” I asked Andy.
“Very true. Please continue.”
“Do you remember that meet and greet for the baseball team, their families, and the coaches?”
“Of course,” Andy replied. “You rode down with my family. It was the last time I saw you for twelve years. I had hoped to sneak off for some alone time, but we never got the chance.”
“I’d found a secluded, vacant spot far enough away from the banquet hall where we could’ve snuck away to talk,” I said, earning a smirk. “I mean it, Andy. I just wanted to be alone in the same room with you. Of course, I would’ve loved the opportunity to kiss you, but I was willing to just hear your voice and look into your eyes.”
“So what happened?” he asked.
“I returned to the gathering and went looking for you,” I told him. “And I found you.”
Andy’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Your tone suggests that you caught me doing something wrong.”
“It wasn’t so much what you did but what you didn’t do.”
“You’re talking in riddles, Milo.”
“You were surrounded by your baseball bros having a conversation about me.” I knew Andy remembered it when he briefly closed his eyes. He wanted to know why I sent that text ending our relationship in the back of his parents’ car on the way home, and I would tell him. “They were too busy making fun of the fairy that came with your family to notice I was standing nearby.”
“God, Milo. I’m sorry.”
“Them disliking me because I was obviously gay, wasn’t the worst part.”
“It wasn’t?” Andy asked.
“Not by a long shot.” I stepped away from Andy needing space. “One of the knuckle draggers asked who I was, and you told them I was Faith’s best friend. Even though it was true, and I knew the score, it hurt that you wouldn’t even claim my friendship. That’s when I knew we were truly doomed to fail. I could’ve let it play out, or I could end things with you and find someone who was proud of me.”
“I was such a dick,” Andy admitted.
“Then Maegan got sick, and my whole world shifted. I didn’t have time to wallow in misery over our breakup.”
“Then Tucker stepped in to save the day. Now he’s a firefighter. Always has to be a hero,” Andy said. “Tucker the Heroic Fucker.”
I snorted. “Tucker does like to save people, even if it’s from themselves. I’m sure he’ll find the right guy for him. I’m not it.”
“Fuck no, you’re not.” Andy closed the gap I’d put between us. “Tonight was a great start toward building that trust again. I amverysorry for hurting you, and not being a friend when Maegan was diagnosed with cancer. I should’ve put my pride aside and reached out to you. Time and patience,” Andy said, repeating my words back to me.
“That’s what it will take for us to fully trust one another again. If that’s what we truly want. I mean, now that you scratched your itch—”
Andy captured my lips in a long, hungry kiss. “I’ll never get enough of you, Milo.”
“Why don’t you take off your clothes and stay awhile,” I suggested, running my hand beneath his shirt to feel his heart pounding in his chest. So much for wanting time alone to process.
“I really want to stay with you.”
“But, and I mean the word with one T.”