I rolled my eyes, grateful for the humor. I didn’t want to answer Walker’s reasonable question because Ozzie would put the pieces together pretty quickly if I said something like age or education.
“I get it, Oz,” I said, tossing it back to avoid the subject. “I’d choose Walker over you, too.”
Ozzie opened his mouth and touched his hand to his heart in fake offense. “Excuse me? We’ve been friends since before the Lost Boys—how are you gonna do me dirty like that?”
“Have youseenyour boyfriend?” I asked, gesturing at Walker. I wasn’t interested, but he was a solid piece of pocket-sized hotness.
Ozzie tilted his head. “You make a good point.”
Walker had gone red all the way up to his roots. “You two need to stop embarrassin’ me.”
Ozzie laughed. “Never, love.” They leaned in for a sweet kiss, and it only hurt a little to watch.
Walker pulled away first, returning his focus to me. “I know you and I aren’t as close as you are with the rest of the Lost Boys, but you’re a good person to be around. And the work you’re doing with the kids who apprentice for you? Life-changing.”
I shrugged, poking at the eggs so the yolks ran over the tater tots. I wasn’t sure my apprentices would agree with Walk on that one. Save for Leo, I had them all doing the simple—usually nasty—stuff.
Walker shook his head. “As we speak, you are changing Leo’s life. And like Ozzie said, anyone who doesn’t want in on what you have to offer is a fucking idiot.”
The passion in his words made my chest hitch. I held on, though. Just barely. “Thanks, Walk. You’re a real one.”
He flushed again, and we resumed drinking. I shared my tater tots with them, and we agreed that the fried eggs were a good touch. Ozzie sent a text down to Tommy, who brought up a round of Joel’s cider, which was a lot stronger—and easier to drink—than I’d anticipated.
I appreciated that they hadn’t pried for a name, and Ozzie did a great job of steering the conversation to less painful topics. Like the fact that Sawyer and Hen were clearly an item and very good for each other.
“Don’t worry about driving, Maj,” Ozzie said, pushing another pint glass in my direction a while later. “We’ll get you home.”
I accepted the cider, sinking into a fuzzy stupor. My heart still ached, and it was gonna suck to get over Ren, but at least I had the kinds of friendships that made it possible.
CHAPTER 16
ren
“I was happy to see you on the schedule,” my therapist said, inviting me into her bright office, which was lined with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a grove of gnarled live oak trees whose winding branches created interesting shapes in and amongst the leaves.
She was set up in the same complex in Austin as Hikaru’s trauma therapist, so I’d offered to drive him to his appointment today. “My grandson goes to therapy in the building across the way. Figured I’d take advantage.”
“I’m glad you did. You’re looking good. How are you feeling?” she asked, sitting at her desk as I took the small sofa across from her.
“I’m not sure.”
That was a lie. It had been less than two weeks since I ended things with Major, and I felt like horse shit.
Her brows raised as she reached for her iPad and stylus to take notes. “Not sure in what way?”
“You remember that my husband was a teacher, right?”
“Yes.”
“And how his class sort of became a safe space for the queer kids at the school?”
“Yes. It was a lovely thing he did for them.”
I hesitated, not sure how much I wanted to get into this.
She looked up from the tablet. “Ren? Is there a reason why you brought that up?”
“For the past couple of months—until recently—I’d been sleeping with one of his former students,” I said, deciding to be direct. Fuck it, I was paying her, right?
