Ty cleared his throat. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Ollie replied, smiling automatically. “You hungry?”
Ty raised his eyebrows, grinning. “Just ate.”
Ollie turned back to the frying pan. “Guess I walked into that one. But seriously, you want a grilled cheese?”
“The answer to that question is always yes.” He slid into a seat at the breakfast bar.
Ollie could’ve guessed. Ty was a good cook; you didn’t bother getting good at something like that unless you liked to eat. He nudged the first sandwich over with the spatula and wiggled a second one in beside it.
“So.” Ollie looked over his shoulder in time to see Ty hook his ankles around the legs of the breakfast bar stool. His loose athletic shorts left a lot of leg on display. Ollie was probably in danger of burning the grilled cheese; it had been a while since his libido had anything to do.
But both of them liked their grilled cheese almost black, so it would work out okay.
Ty smiled when he caught Ollie looking.
“So,” Ollie echoed. “Talking?”
Ty’s lips twitched. “Talking.” He ran a hand back through his shower-damp hair and laughed softly. “Uh, where do we even start?”
Ollie blinked. “We already did the difficult part, didn’t we?” He prodded the first sandwich, which was still tragically golden, and then let the corner of the bread flop back down to cook properly. “What else is there?”
Ty cleared his throat. “I mean, I’m supposed to go back to work in Chicago the week after next.”
Right, Ollie knew that. “Are you not ready?” It struck him that Ty hadn’t exactly done a lot of… processing. Everyone grieved differently, but he wasn’t sure Ty had done any of it at all, apart from make decisions based on what would have pissed his dad off the most. Sure, they hadn’t gotten along, but some kind of catharsis was still in the cards, right?
Ty’s brow creased. “I meant we’re not exactly going to be in the same place, so….”
“Huh.”
“What?”
Ollie shook his head. “No, you’re right. I just never thought about that part of it.” Off Ty’s incredulous look, he hastened to add, “Every relationship I’ve ever had, I was in the military at the time. Long-distance has kind of been the default.”
“Oh.”
Ollie waited a moment for it to sink in, but Ty’s frown didn’t soften, so he prompted, “Ty?” But before he could ask what was up, the answer occurred to him. “I’m still going to miss you.”
Ty made a wry face. “Sap.”
Ollie wasn’t that either, or at least he hadn’t ever been before. Something told him he’d have to get better at saying things out loud if he wanted to keep Ty out of the panic spiral he seemed determined to fall into. “What’s your schedule usually like? Do you do three twelves, or…?”
“Two twelve-hour days, then two twelve-hour nights, then four days off. I should actually be able to be here almost half the time, with travel.” He shook his head ruefully. “I guess I can afford that kind of thing now. Although I hate to think what it’s going to do to my carbon footprint.”
You could just quit your job, Ollie almost said. It wasn’t like Ty needed the money. But he didn’t think it would be fair to say it. Besides, Ty obviously thrived as a paramedic. He loved his coworkers. Ollie had a job, but Ty had a calling. “Maybe you can plant a forest or something.”
Ty brightened at the idea. “Now we’re talking.”
Belatedly, Ollie remembered the grilled cheeses, which were now delightfully carbonated. He flipped them over. “That’s the distance down.” Though Ollie realized now he’d have to look into camps for Theo for the summer, with school ending. Why hadn’t he thought about that sooner? Too distracted, probably. “What else is on the list?”
“Elephant in the room. Or elephant in his room, I guess.”
“Theo? I mean I know he’s loud going up and down the stairs,” Ollie joked, “but name-calling seems a bit extreme.”
“Ha ha.” Ty made a face, but he was fronting. He’d pulled his shoulders in and hunched down, as though he were more likely to get what he wanted if he made himself small. “He’s your kid. I don’t want to overstep, but I’ve been his caregiver. Now I’m also your boyfriend, but I’m not his parent.”
“Okay, I admit that’s a—”Minefield, Ollie wanted to say, but his mouth clacked shut and he shivered, then shook it off. “—a challenge. But Theo likes you, and he’s a good kid. And it’s notlike anything’s really going to change. You always defer to me when I’m around, and when I’m not, you’re in charge. Not because you’re my boyfriend, but because you’re his… unpaid babysitter.”
