Kissing Men (BoyxBoy | Mature)

Chapter Forty-Six

I held his hand in both of mine in my lap, stroking my thumbs over his skin slowly. When I looked up again, Ollie was watching me curiously., thoughtfully. I frowned slightly and he looked away, joining in with Jay's and Finn's conversation. I did the same, turning to our partners. Wait, partners? No, just no.

"Are you sure?" Finn asked curiously, a cute tilt to his head. 

Jay shrugged. "Don't see what harm it could do."

"Me and Nick-- I, uh, mean Nick and I," Ollie said, quickly correcting himself with a short glance from Finn. His obedience made me smile a little. "Me and Nick will be there so you shouldn't worry about him."

I frowned, wondering who they were talking about but not having the courage to ask.

"Have you spoken to him since yesterday?" Jay asked. 

Ollie shook his head. "No. He's not been answering his phone. He could be dead for all we knew, if Nick hadn't gone round and broken the door down to make sure he was okay."

Were they talking about Jay's friend? The one who'd just gone off on one, shouting and dragging up all sorts of shit he had no right to stir. I bristled in anger just thinking about him, and Jay's dad. Ollie glanced at me briefly. 

"Well, Corey was always a fighter," Finn murmured, picking up his glass. 

I looked up and saw the waiter's retreating back. My glass of cool orange juice was sat on the table, looking amazing. I wiped away the nervous sweat on my palms before I picked it up, sipping from it. My eyelids fluttering shut. It was so good. Cold and sweet, but still with a bit of that citrus kick. 

When I opened my eyes again, Jay was looking at me with a smile. I blushed and he put his hand on my thigh, squeezing and leaving it there. I put my hand over his and our fingers laced together, fitting perfectly. 

He sighed a little and turned back to his conversation. "Always. I just... What do I do?"

"Well..." Finn started thoughtfully. "You could cut him loose. But I know you don't want to do that."

"Finny, he's my friend. I couldn't do that to him..."

"Not after everything he's done?" Ollie interjected quickly. He shrunk back into his seat as Finn's slight glare turned on him. 

"Oliver, if you continue to misbehave like this, you will be sleeping in your cage tonight," Finn said, not bothering to quieten his voice, speaking at normal volume. Apparently this was as much about humiliation as it was the threat of punishment. 

Ollie kept his head low, his eyes on the table as a show of respect. "Yes, Master," he said softly. He didn't beg for forgiveness like I think I would, he just accepted the threat and remained quiet after that, listening but not participating. 

"Anyway," Finn said, turning back to us, "the whore has a point. He's done so much that he wouldn't if he were a friend, and you just keep forgiving him. Why?"

Ollie didn't even flinch when he was called a whore, even though he was sat right with us. My heart went out to him, but I saw from the look on his face that he wasn't sad. He'd just accepted this. He loved the man sitting beside him, and knew that he loved him too, despite the names and the threats. Besides, Finn wouldn't have done all that if they hadn't agreed on it before. Right? I would have to ask Jay. 

Jay sighed and ran the hand that wasn't on my thigh through his hair. "I don't know. I just... I justify all the things he does; he was angry, he was upset, he didn't mean it, it was an accident..."

"But you know it's not." There was no question in Finn's voice. He was telling him, not asking.

"I know... I can't do anything though. He's my friend, he's always been there for me, I--"