Oli returns to eating his lunch, but I ignore mine, lost in my thoughts. “I’m trying to help him, you know?” he says out of nowhere.
“How?”
“I’m monitoring the prosecutor’s office to see what new evidence they bring in. Their cybersecurity is much weaker than it should be, so getting into their computers wasn’t too hard.”
“Wow, you’re really dedicated.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, I can’t let my hero rot in jail. Even if he got the girl.” Before I can react, he quickly adds, “Sorry, I don’t mean it in a weird way. I’m actually seeing someone, and it’s been great. I don’t have regrets about what could have been between us. Not anymore.”
“Is it the same woman as before?” I ask with an endearing grin. I’m happy he’s found someone because it means we can be real friends now.
“Yup.”
“So it’s been a couple of months… Are you still unwilling to tell me more about her?”
“Yup.”
“Why?”
“I promise that as soon as we’re ready to make it official, I’ll tell you more.”
“Two months and it still isn’t official?”
“We were just having fun for a while. Alotof fun. And now we’re slowly venturing into getting more serious.”
“That sounds familiar …”
“I bet it does,” he impishly replies.
Oli’s blossoming romance brings me back to mine, to my early days with Lex, and to our feelings growing despite our common sense.
But there was never a choice to begin with, was there? It was like evidence, the irrepressible outcome of meeting Alexander Coleman and getting to know him. Had it been my choice, I wouldn’t have been attracted to him, fallen in love, started a relationship… I didn’t want any of that, even tried to fight it with all I had. But there was a path written for us somewhere in the stars, and as much as we tried to steer away from it, we couldn’t.
The situation we’re in is terrible, but I’d do it all over again. The communion of our souls, the harmony we found, the perfection of us together is one in a billion, and I’ll never, ever regret any of it. He’s my baby. My Lex.
“Are you okay?” Oli asks with worry in his voice.
“Yeah, why?”
“You’re…” He points to his cheek, waving his finger up and down, and it makes me realize a tear’s running down mine.
“Jesus fuck, I’m so done with crying all the time,” I groan, wiping it away.
“We think—the guys and I—that you’re being very courageous, Andy,” he kindly explains. “We know it can’t be easy, but you’re here, day after day, and we think you’re a badass for it.”
“Still, I hate that I’m crying so much. It’s like the whole thing made me hormonal or something.”
“You’re worried about the man you love. It’s okay.”
I nod, trying to convince myself he’s right. “Thank you, Oli. For this, for the talk, for the burger…”
“Which you’ve barely eaten.”
What is it with everyone trying to feed me today?“Yeah, I’m—not very hungry lately.”
“You need to take care of yourself, Hulkette.”
“I’m trying.”
