Ty’s foot nudged his under the water. “Alcohol hits the bloodstream faster when you’re in the hot tub. Medical fact.”
Ollie could have made a joke about that—Ty had finished his drink; did that mean he was white-girl wasted?—but he was thinking about the press of Ty’s foot against his, both purposeful and casual. Reassuring.I’m here. You’re a weirdo, but I like you.It was so close to what he wanted.
Are you angling for another pep talk?He replayed the words in his mind and let himself feel his own answer.No, but a hug might be nice.
Which was—not new, exactly. They touched each other all the time now. And peopleneededtouch; Ollie knew that. Even in the military, where machismo dominated, people touched: back slaps, high fives, hugs. Friendly touches.
He and Ty were friends. Hell, Ollie didn’t think he’d ever had a closer friend. It didn’t mean anything.
Ty’s foot bumped against his more forcefully. “Earth to Ollie. Come in, Ollie.”
He startled out of his musings to find Ty watching him with that patient, perpetually amused half-smile. “Shut up,” Ollie said automatically.
Ty raised his hands. “I didn’t say anything. Although if you space on me again, I might cut you off. Clearly you can’t handle hot tub beer.”
Ew.“First of all, ‘hot tub beer’ sounds like something frat boys would brew in unsanitary equipment—”
Ty cackled.
“—and second—” Ollie raised his right leg out of the water. “I forgot. Your footsie game reminded me.”
“Footsie—” Ty protested, flushing. But he must’ve understood what Ollie was getting at, because he caught his calf. “What exactly am I looking for, here?”
Ty had big hands, which Ollie had noticed before, but noticing felt different when one of those hands was supporting his leg behind the knee, thumb on the outside, fingers brushing sensitive skin.
Ollie made himself take a steadying breath. “Front of my shinbone.” He reached down and felt for the mark. It was a little too dim outside to go by sight alone, and Ollie had enough hair on his legs to make the taskdifficult. Finally he felt the slight divot. “Fell out of an inner tube in the Grand River camping with my parents. I would’ve been about eight? Flipped over in the rapids and smashed my leg on a rock.”
His heart stuttered in his chest when Ty leaned down to try to get a better look. His face was so close to Ollie’s skin now his warm breath was tickling the hair on Ollie’s calf. Maybe the beerhadgone to Ollie’s head, because for a moment, he could’ve sworn Ty was going to dip his head and kiss it better.
And Ollie? Ollie wanted him to.
Finally the pieces connected. This was not the most intense friendship of Ollie’s life. Or itwas, but it didn’t end there, not on Ollie’s part. This was the clicking tracks at the top of a roller coaster. It was the lurch of the helicopter as the landing skids left the ground. It was the exhilaration of staring down a fast-flowing river.
This was the last chance to bail out before the inner tube capsized and sent him tumbling down the rapids—maybe by himself, but maybe, if he was lucky, with the dork holding Ollie’s leg like he was Cinderella’s prince fitting a slipper.
Ollie didn’t bail out.
“Well, look at that,” Ty said after what felt like an eternity. He glanced up at Ollie with that gentle smirk, and he rubbed his thumb over Ollie’s scar just briefly before he let go. “Turns out you’re a real boy after all.”
Ollie clamped down on a sharp breath. He’d never thought twice about it before—Ty had always been affectionate, and he’d always ribbed, and he frequently made Ollie feel like the most important person in the room.
Somehow it hadn’t occurred to him until now that this might be Ty flirting with him.
Ollie allowed himself a smirk of his own as he planted his feet firmly on the ground. “Did you think I was just Ken?”
Ty’s laughter rang through the night. “You’re a ten anywhere, Ollie Kent.”
Sitting across from him, Ollie felt like one. But as the night settled back into comfortable, companionable quiet, he wondered,What now?
It was the beginning of May. In a couple weeks, school would be done for the year and Ty would return to Chicago to go back to his life. And Ollie would be here with Theo.
He might not be speaking to his parents at the moment, but he didn’t think it would be fair to uproot his kid again so soon. Theo was just starting to make friends. He even liked school. His math teacher had emailed Ollie this week to say how far he’d come in the past two weeks. Ollie had already promised to sign him up for softball camp this summer.
Ollie didn’t know where that left him and Ty, but if he’d learned anything from his mistakes, it was this—he wasn’t going to let life make the decision for him this time.
Chapter 12
IF THEREwas one thing Ty had learned about teachers, it was that they would sell a kidney to get out of lunch duty.
