35

Three days have passed since the interview, and I check the clock with a frown. It's approaching noon, and Theo is still lying in bed, wrapped in the blankets and pretending to sleep.

Despite my warning to keep his distance from the whole thing, I could hear the faint murmur of the clip playing on his phone the next morning. Thankfully, the comment section was largely supportive, but as expected, plenty of trolls were out there looking to make someone miserable.

The problem is who they've made miserable.

I've never gone so long without seeing his smile.

Never felt the heaviness of his sadness.

Frustration and anger claw at me, because I don't know how to make it better; don't know how to erase what's been done to him. No matter how much I plead with him to go back to the police or talk to someone, he simply shakes his head and retreats deeper into his blanket fortress.

The ache in my chest is unbearable, and I feel so goddamned helpless.

Monica's efforts with the station owner paid off. Bradley was forced to apologize on-air and announce his intention to contribute a portion of his salary to a local charity that supports domestic violence victims. After, he was all smiles, moving on to his next interview.

He wiped his hands of it, pretended it never happened, while Theo's insecurities have finally taken their toll on him.

I rap my knuckles on the bedroom door and poke my head in, Theo's blue eyes missing their spark as they find mine. "Can I come in?"

"Of course, silly, it's your house," he says, but even his teasing falls flat.

I climb into bed and lay on my side, brushing my fingers through the hair that drapes onto his forehead. "Why don't you grab a shower? It'll make you feel better."

"Are you saying I stink?" His lip tries to pull up in a smile but instead turns into a pitiful, sad thing that breaks my heart.

"I'm just saying that the cookies might have gone stale." This time, his smile is genuine, even if it is small.

"Are you implying you won't eat my cookies because you're afraid of a little bite back?"

"Was that a dare?" I ask, rolling him on to his back and straddling his hips. Teeth bared, I lower my face to his belly, and he yaps a surprised laugh, flailing underneath me.

"Me like hard cookies!" I growl in a ridiculous voice.

"You sound like a pervert!" he screams, swatting at me.

"Nom, nom… can I put my hand into your cookie jar, pretty boy?" My mouth lands on his stomach and I playfully bite down as he laughs harder. I suck the soft skin between my lips until I've left a faint red mark on his belly.

"It's like Sasquatch and Cookie Monster had a baby! The terror… the shock! The… money we could make on that porno!"

I wiggle my brows, flashing him a toothy snarl. "Say Uncle or I'm going to keep eating you until there's nothing left to fight me."

"Are you just looking for an excuse to resort to accidental cannibalism?" I drop again and bite him on his ribs, leaving a second hickey as he tries to kick me off him. "You can't eat me! I'm too sweet!"

"Not the best argument," I say, keeping up with my weird, gruff voice that's muffled against his skin. "I love to snack on sweet boys."

"Bitter, I mean! I turned bitter!" He shouts another laugh as I leave the third mark on him. I let him toss me off and flop into the sheets dramatically beside him.

I bask in his smile as he leans over me. "Damn you! I was on the verge of mastering my brooding skills in here."

"You can still brood… you can be sad, and angry, and frustrated. You are allowed to feel all the emotions. Just don't do it alone, okay? Let me be here for you."

Tears fill his eyes as he nods, and he lets out a strangled laugh. "Fuck, I'm so tired of crying. I thought for sure I'd be a wrinkled up, dried out flower by now."

I pull him onto my chest and drop a kiss on his hair. "I'd water you."

"Ooooh," he crows, as I blink at the top of his head, "is that a cum joke?"

I heave a loud sigh as he giggles. "Or maybe I'd smash you between the pages of a book and let you dry out."

"Kinky."

"Yep. Then I could still stare at you forever, but you couldn't talk back."

"You love my smart mouth."

Another kiss on his head has his cheeks lifting in a smile against me. "I do."

We sit in silence for a few minutes, the only sound being the gentle rustling of leaves outside, until Theo lifts his face and rests his chin on my sternum. It's sharp, but I'm not about to tell him and risk him moving. "I'm sorry I'm being so awful," he says with an apologetic frown.

"You think this is awful?" I tug him closer, dropping a kiss on his lips.

"My breath stinks," he whispers.

"So does the rest of you, but that's not stopping me. You aren't awful, Theo. Not anywhere close. You're kind, and brave, and beautiful, and too pure for this fucking world. You are so many things, but you are not awful. Never that."

"I just want this to be over… in the past."

"It will be," I promise.

He grunts as he snuggles closer to me, a concerned edge to his voice as he says, "That sounds ominous."

"Have the speedboat ready with a suitcase full of your life savings to help me flee the country."

"After the boat rental, that would leave us with approximately three hundred twenty-two dollars."

"Perfect," I whisper.

"Oh, and forty-seven cents."

"Even better. I can almost use a pay phone with that."

"There it is… I knew I smelled the arthritis cream. Only an old man would reference a pay phone."

"Yeah, well, this old man will fuck you into the weekend if you aren't careful."

He twists and glances at me. "It's already the weekend."

"I never said it was going to be impressive," I explain with a serious face, and he laughs so hard his body shakes on top of mine. "Want to watch a movie?" He doesn't answer, just reaches for the remote and drags the blankets around our bodies, wrapping us up in our own little bubble.

The rest of the world can fuck right off.

"What are these… bright lights? And these strange beings?" Theo whips his head around dramatically as we walk.

"That's called sunshine, and those are humans," I point out helpfully.

"Very odd."

"The oddest," I agree, as I slide my fingers through his.

"Here's the plan—" I start, when Theo squeals and charges forward, approaching a lady with a black lab who is sitting like a good boy as she digs through a stall.

"Can I pet him?" Theo asks, dancing on his feet, and she laughs at him with a grin and nods. He's immediately on his knees, digging his nails into the dog's fur and pulling their faces together as he baby talks. I grin, shaking my head as he stays glued there until the lady has to move on.

"Anyways," I say with a wide grin, "what I was saying is that we'll cruise the farmer's market while you decide what you want to make us for dinner tonight, and we will pick up whatever ingredients we need."

"Wait," he says, tugging me to a halt. "Your grand idea of a date is to force me to cook for you?" My smile spreads all the way across my cheeks, and Theo grimaces and pushes his palm against my face. "Ew, weird. Don't smile that big. It's creepy."

I burst out laughing as he drops his hand and grins at me. "Should I go back to scowling?"

"Nah," he whispers, pushing up on his toes and kissing me. "I love you exactly like this."

My forehead furrows. "So, you don't love me when I'm scowling."

"Oh, for fuck's sake…"

"Dante?" I freeze as the voice hits us from behind. "Holy shit, it is you, isn't it?" Battling the urge to flee, I push through and hold my head high as I spin around, locking eyes with a person I haven't seen in almost six years.

"Trent, what a joy." My tone stays calm and composed, no sign of emotion, but Theo tenses beside me.

His lips tug back in a sneer as his eyes slide up and down my body, making me feel slimy and greasy in their wake. It's repulsive as he licks his lips and says, "You're looking good, baby… looking really fucking good."

"Wish I could say the same," I say, popping my brow and flicking my eyes over his frame with a sneer. "I'd have to say, you looked better last time I saw you." Which was on the ground, bloody and crying.

Theo slides his hand into mine and positions himself directly by my side, and Trent's eyes dart to our entwined hands. "Oh, my gosh," Theo says, full of a fake bubbliness that makes me suspicious and, quite frankly, a little terrified. "You must be Trent. I have heard so many things about you."

"Uh, thanks…"

"Oh, sweetie, no," he says with a condescending chuckle so regal he could be royalty. A pompous prince. "They're all fucking terrible things. Don't thank me, really. It would be… well, it would be embarrassing for you, honestly."

Trent's eyes narrow at the man who's a full foot shorter than him at my side, unsure how to handle him. Finally, his gaze returns to mine, deciding he's just going to ignore Theo. "This is what you've replaced me with? A femboy with a behavior problem?"

A smirk crosses my lips, giving his shitty attitude right back to him. "Replace you? That would suggest I missed you, and Trent… that couldn't be further from the truth."

"Don't deny that you miss me… what I would do to you," he purrs, stepping into my space as he grips my chin, and my body freezes at the scrape of his hands on my skin.

"What, make me vomit?" I ask, hating how weak my voice sounds as I jerk my chin away.

Theo squeezes my hand, grounding me, as he takes a step forward. "Aww, how cute. He actually told me all about this, so don't you worry your empty little head. I've got it taken care of." Trent's eyes fall back down to him as Theo gives him a grin full of malice. "Anytime he gets lost in the past, missing the throes of passion you so obviously gave him, we just go to the grocery store."

"The groc—"

"The bags of baby carrots are super cheap, you see. If we buy enough of them, we can usually find one small enough to pretend that it's that tiny prick in your pants you try to call a penis."

"You fucking little—"

"Do you refer to it as a penis? Or is it, like, a weenus? No, no, that's the skin on your elbow… Maybe a peacock?" He snorts at his own joke, and I find my lips pulling back in a grin, too, as he glances up at me, nudging me in the ribs. "Get it, baby? Pea… cock? God, I absolutely kill myself sometimes."

Trent glares at me with bared teeth as he growls, "You better put your little pet on his leash."

"Oooh, kinky!" Theo cries, curling into my side and glancing at me with gleeful eyes. "We haven't discussed petplay, but just know that I am one hundred percent on board to be your pup."

Trent snarls again, absolutely furious, and Theo stares at him with a very exaggerated shudder. "Is that what you look like during sex? What a nasty O face. My God, my dick turned inside out and retreated into my body. Just about-faced and inverted itself. Do I…" He gasps dramatically, putting his hand on his heart and staring up at me with wide eyes. "Do I need you to suck it out of me now?"

"Oh, I'll suck it out, baby, don't you worry," I tease, grinning at him.

When I glance back at my ex, Trent is seething with rage at our lack of reaction. "Someone needs to remind you of your place," he growls, jabbing a finger against my chest. "Down on your knees where you belong."

I grab his finger and yank it backwards, and he shouts as his back arches, dropping to his knees in front of me. His face twists with the same anger that used to render me useless, that made me tense and brace for the impact of his hands on my body, but not anymore. It's diminished—lost the power it once held.

A jarring realization hits me in that moment.

Trent hasn't changed.

But I sure have.

The smile on my face broadens as I bend down and put my lips against his ear. "Who's kneeling for who now?"

He howls as I twist his finger further, then release him and reach for Theo's hand. We're walking away when I hear the thump of footsteps coming after us, but Theo is faster. Remaining perfectly composed, he turns and executes a flawless strike to Trent's windpipe. The impact forces Trent to hunch over, his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath.

Theo's voice is calm, almost bored, as he says, "Going for our backs, seriously? You really get your rocks off on cheap shots, don't you?" He inches forward, bending closer and looking thoughtful as Trent continues to gasp. "Do you ever think how much happier the world would be if your mother had swallowed?"

My eyes are wide and mouth sagging as Theo turns to me with a casual shrug. "I would've gone for his nose, but that would require a stool." With that, we walk away together, hand in hand, while the small crowd that had gathered to watch us in the market simply stands there, staring.

"Now," Theo says, his voice rising above Trent's idle threats echoing behind us. "There are mushrooms over there that will be killer in a risotto. Sound good?"

I'm in a state of shock, eyes locked on him as I shake my head, unable to process what just happened. Meanwhile, Theo remains unfazed, offering me a sweet smile as if his actions were completely ordinary. "That sounds absolutely perfect," I finally say, and his smile becomes radiant as we walk away, leaving Trent behind, forgotten.