Page 22 of Axes and Ohs

Ames fucking Axford just stole my boyfriend.

Ames’s mom looks poleaxed, but she’s smiling through it, trying to smooth things over while congratulating both “couples.” All I can see is Ames’s arm around Erick’s waist. All I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears.

And I want to do something very fucking impulsive indeed.

Possibly something that will end with my knuckles bruised and Ames on the floor.

“Congratulations, Robbie and Lissa,” Ames says brightly. “Come to the kitchen with me, pookie.” He grabs Erick’s hand. “Let’s… get our Valentine’s Day on!”

Robbie looks like he wants to follow them, but Lissa catches his arm. Ames’s mom is making just settle down motions with her hands while everyone looks to her for answers.

But I’m on my feet and following before Erick’s even through the swinging door, not caring when the kitchen staff stops cooking to stare at us. When Ames leads Erick through the kitchen to his office on the far side, I’m right on their heels, slamming the door behind us.

“What the fuck was that?” I demand, my voice rough with anger and hurt.

Erick immediately steps away from Ames and comes to me, hands reaching for my face.

“Baby, it’s okay,” he says softly, and the endearment cuts through the worst of my temper.

But not all of it. Not by a long shot.

“It’s not,” I say, pulling him close. “He just claimed you were his, Erick. That you two were together. And I⁠—”

Erick kisses me, cutting off my words, and for a second, the world narrows to just him. Just us. When we break apart, I see love and reassurance in his eyes.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he whispers against my lips with another quick kiss.

Behind us, Ames makes a choked sound of surprise. “Hold up. You two are… are a you two?”

I turn my head to look at him while keeping both hands on Erick. “You have a problem with that, Axford?”

Ames holds up his hands. “Of course not. I just… I thought you were straight, Carlos. I figured the thing between you guys last October on the patio was just a one-shot deal. I didn’t actually believe…” He runs both hands through his hair. “Fuck. I wasn’t thinking at all, okay? I saw Robbie and Lissa, and I… I panicked.”

I frown at him. Angry as I am, the man sounds utterly devastated. Like the heartbroken look on his face earlier was only the tip of the iceberg.

“You had to know this was coming, though. Robbie and Lissa have been dating for a while,” I say cautiously.

“Since April twenty-seventh of last year.” Ames sinks into the chair behind his desk and stares at the wall like he can see through it. “He told me, back in October, that she was eager to get married. And I thought… fuck, he’s going to ask her at Christmas, right? But then Christmas came and went, and I thought I’d dodged a bullet. I thought maybe he’d started to rethink, to have doubts…” He inhales a shuddering breath. “Fuck.”

“Does Robbie know?” Erick asks quietly. “That you have feelings for him?”

Ames shakes his head, and I can’t tell which question he’s answering or if he even remembers we’re in the room. His eyes are still locked on the empty wall like he’s not seeing it but replaying some private nightmare.

“Rob’s my best friend. I want him to be happy. I want him to have… whatever he wants. Whoever he wants. And he really is straight.” He blinks away from the wall and locks eyes with me, his lips tipping up in an impersonation of a smile. “Unlike some people, eh?”

I take a deep breath. “I’m bi. And Erick and I are…” I take Erick’s hand. “We’re…”

“Together. Boyfriends.” Erick shoots me a look. “Right?”

My heart’s beating a mile a minute at this easy acknowledgment of what I thought I’d have to make a big production out of asking. “That’s right,” I agree. “We haven’t told many people because I didn’t want to light a huge gossip fire, but it’s been going on for a minute.”

Erick’s bright smile both kills me and brings me back to life. “Since October, more or less, when⁠—”

“When I caught you making out on my back patio?” Ames can’t quite manage his usual sarcasm. He sounds empty and defeated. “Then I’m even more sorry for dragging you into my… whatever the fuck that was.” He waves a hand toward the dining room.

“What were you trying to do?” Erick asks with a lot more patience than I feel. “I went along with it because I figured I owed you one for turning a blind eye back in October, but what was your plan here?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know, man. I guess I hoped I could convince you to act like my long-distance boyfriend, just until I could get my head on straight about Robbie and Lissa getting married? I don’t want Robbie to suspect that I’m not thrilled for him. Because I should be, damn it. But I knew if I had to stand there and congratulate them tonight, I wouldn’t be able to fake it, and Robbie would see—” He breaks off with another shake of his head. “It was stupid, I know that. I just don’t want to lose him as a friend. I don’t know what my life would be like without Rob in it.”