Sloane wrapped an arm around Dean’s middle with a snort. “Tell that to this one, who I think terrifies more people on a daily basis than I do in a week.”
“I do not,” Dean protested.
Troy listened to them squabble back and forth, smiling as he felt Oscar’s fingers press against his. When Dean turned the conversation back to Oscar, asking what sort of ‘heavy muscle’ he’d had to employ, Troy made a show of listening. Troy already knew the story involving a ‘drunk in the middle of the day’ private, who apparently thought he could just walk into General Winter’s office and had to be dragged out by Oscar.
Instead, his attention was mostly on the feeling of Oscar holding his hand. Not quietly sneaking a kiss in the shadows of some alcove or even under the table where someone might have to guess at what they were doing. No, his boyfriend had purposefully taken hold of his hand and made sure to put the whole thing on display for anyone walking by. Troy didn’t even care if someone walking by took notice, it was the realization that Oscar had done it, and despite being nervous, seemed to be growing more comfortable with it.
Troy leaned in, speaking softly so only Oscar could hear him. “You okay?”
Oscar smiled. “I’m alright.”
“You spoke to Gabriel again?”
“I did. And my prediction that you’re going to be facing the third degree when the whole family shows up is almost guaranteed. I guess everyone wants to know about the guy who somehow managed to ‘tame me’ as Gabriel puts it.”
Troy laughed. “Aren’t I supposed to be the one who needed the taming?”
“Not according to my brother.”
Troy searched Oscar’s face, still finding that faint tension in the man’s brow. “You sure everything’s okay? Gabriel didn’t...say anything bad?”
Oscar shook his head. “Gabriel is...well, he’s Gabriel. Trust me, if my brother had a problem, he would have said so.”
“Like, the problem he had that you didn’t say anything before now?”
“A problem like that, yeah.”
Troy smiled hesitantly. “So, you’re happy?”
Oscar winked, squeezing Troy’s hand. “I’m...hell, I don’t know. I’m relieved that he knows. It’s like I’ve been carrying around this huge weight on my shoulders for who knows how the fuck long, and now it’s gone.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“I don’t know. I guess when you get used to the weight, it’s weird having it gone.”
Troy frowned, not quite sure if he liked the sound of that. He was, after all, glad that Oscar didn’t feel the pressure anymore, but if he somehow felt unfulfilled by its absence, what did that mean for them?
Oscar pulled Troy’s hand closer, yanking Troy’s attention from his head. “But it’s a weight that needs to go. Gabriel and I probably have a lot of catching up to do, and he’s probably going to call me an idiot a thousand more times, but...he’s my brother, my family, and he knows. And better yet, he’s happy for me...for us.”
Troy tried to find something to say to that, something which would match the magnitude of whatever relief and wonder was flooding through Oscar’s mind and heart. Yet, nothing came to him, and he found himself falling oddly silent, staring at their joined hands.
Oscar’s hand squeezed again, grabbing his attention. “Hey.”
Troy blinked, looking up as he realized he had once again zoned out. “Oh. Uh, what’s up?”
Oscar’s eyes once again went wary, and he nervously looked toward the back of the hall. “You like this song?”
Troy cocked his head, straining his ears to catch the music. It was some cheesy love ballad of some sort, one whose name escaped him. Troy wasn’t exactly what he would call romantic, and love music most certainly wasn’t his thing.
“It’s alright, why, do you like it?” Troy asked curiously.
Oscar cleared his throat. “Well, I was wondering if you’d want to dance...to it.”
A zing of excitement shot through him, and Troy had no problem answering with a hasty, “Hell, yes!”
Oscar chuckled, swallowing hard and pushing out of his chair. Troy was quick to follow suit, glancing back at the table where Dean quickly raised his hands to shake them as though he were holding pom-poms. Troy snorted, allowing himself to be dragged by Oscar as they continued to walk hand in hand toward the dance floor. The soft music was still playing by the time they reached the floor, and Troy turned to face Oscar as they stepped onto it. Immediately, he could see the worry and concern stitching themselves into Oscar’s brow, and Troy smiled in understanding.
“It’s okay, Oscar, you don’t have to,” Troy assured him.
“Shut up, or I’ll lose my nerve,” Oscar muttered, reaching out to hook his hand around Troy’s waist.
Dutifully shutting his mouth, Troy sidled up closer to Oscar and took his position against him. The two of them moved slowly at first, as Troy had never danced with Oscar before and was trying to learn the rhythm of his steps. But much like it had taken them no time to discover each other’s rhythms in and out of the bedroom, so too did Troy find himself keeping up with Oscar at just the right pace.
They moved slowly, and Troy couldn’t help but sweep the room with his eyes as they danced. Not a single person was paying much attention to them, at least none that he could see. In fact, the only person who was watching him intently was Oscar.
“Thank you,” Oscar said softly.
Troy looked up, surprised. “For what?”
God, he should have been the one thanking Oscar.
“For giving me another chance, for not letting me give up that easily,” Oscar said.
Troy’s smile was soft. “Of course. There’s no way I could let go of you, not without a fight. I love you, Oscar.”
“And I love you,” Oscar whispered.
Troy’s heart sped up as Oscar leaned forward and kissed him. It was soft, gentle, and didn’t linger for too long, but it was done right there in front of everyone. Troy’s heart swelled to what felt like an impossible size as he returned the kiss, overwhelmed by the gesture. The kiss told him that everything was truly going to be okay, that they didn’t have to hide, or fear being found out.
They could simply be themselves.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Oscar leaned forward to make sure he was reading the text on the screen in front of him right. Grunting, he moved the cursor across the screen and double-checked the rest of the schedule. There was no way in hell he was going to manage not only half a dozen meetings but overseeing two training exercises as well. He wasn’t quite sure how the hell that had happened.
Sighing, he looked over the rest of the schedule to see if there were any spaces where he could mix things around a bit. Being in charge of Operations had started to feel a lot like trying to hold water in his hand. Every damn time he thought he had a handle on things, something else slipped through his grip.
Yet the more he looked over the names and dates in front of him, the more everything began to blur together. He glanced at the clock, groaning when he saw he should have been out of the office over an hour ago. To add to everything, the light on his office phone was blinking, signaling that Christian was trying to get hold of him.
Grunting, he hit the button and the speaker as well. “Please tell me you are not about to add something to my list of things to do.”
Christian’s chuckle came clearly through the speaker. “Sorry to say, but your eight o’clock is here.”
Oscar frowned. “I don’t have an appointment at eight.”
“Seems you do now.”
Oscar repressed the urge to groan aloud. Christian was generally good about not making his calls on speaker, so Oscar would have been safe to express his disdain. But he’d learned a long time ago to be careful, there could always be that one time where Christian forgot, and it would be just Oscar’s luck that General Winter would hear him groan in annoyance.
“Alright, send them in, I guess. D
o me a favor while you’re at it, Monday is looking like absolute chaos, and I don’t think anyone could humanly keep to that schedule. Could you look it over for me and fix it with your magic?” Oscar asked, a little pleading in his voice.
“I think I can do that.”
“And get your ass out of here once you’ve done that, there’s no need for you to be stuck here on Friday night too. Go see your sister.”
“Will do, have a good night, sir.”
Oscar planted what he hoped was a pleasant expression on his face as the door to the office swung open. It immediately dropped into a look of confusion as the man who came through the door was, in fact, not an impromptu visiting team leader or even a general, but Troy.
Troy winked. “Well, aren’t you looking nice and unhappy tonight?”
“What are you doing here?” Oscar asked.
“Coming to visit you, of course,” Troy said, sitting on the edge of the desk.
Oscar glanced at the door, making sure it was closed. He had long since adjusted to people knowing that he and Troy were together, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be seen doing anything he shouldn’t while on the clock. When the coast was clear, he reached up and pulled Troy down for a soft kiss.
“Aren’t you supposed to be pulling a double shift tonight?” Oscar asked with a smile.
Troy hummed happily. “Guess who read the schedule wrong and doesn’t have to work a double, but just has to come in early tomorrow?”
“I’m going to take a stab and say you,” Oscar said.
“Damn right.”
“And you decided to rub it in by coming by here.”
“Mmm, Christian told me that both you and General Winter don’t have a reason to be here after he leaves. So I’m guessing you should probably be sure to listen to the man who does your schedules and guards your door,” Troy told him.
Oscar frowned. “Why is it, everywhere I go since I got here, I find myself bullied by people a foot shorter than me?”
“I’m hardly a foot shorter than you.”
“Eh, close enough.”
Troy snorted, swatting Oscar. “Don’t you start.”
“Or what?”
“Or I might have to bend over this desk and see if I can’t get a rise out of you like the last time I came to visit you here.”
Oscar’s stomach tightened at the reminder, and he didn’t care if Troy could see the flicker of interest in Oscar’s eyes either. As much as Oscar was generally careful to make sure they weren’t seen kissing or anything else when Oscar was on the clock, that didn’t mean he was completely immune to Troy’s specific charms. If there was anyone who could successfully drive Oscar past his limits and into something else entirely, it was Troy.
And that threat was starting to sound a little too tempting.
Oscar grunted, pushing out of his seat. “Alright, you both win, I’ll go home.”
“Yeah?” Troy asked with a wide grin.
“Everything was starting to look the same to me anyway, which is never a good sign. So I’m going to take you home, make you some dinner, and somewhere in there, you’re going to end up sweaty and naked,” Oscar promised.
“I do love it when you plan our Friday nights with such skill and expertise. It’s almost like you’re in charge of Operations or something,” Troy said as he hopped off the desk to follow after Oscar.
Oscar snorted, walking out of the office and waving to Christian as they passed. “Imagine that.”
To Troy’s credit, he did wait to go in for another kiss until after the elevator doors had closed. Oscar knew there was a camera in the elevator, but he wasn’t too worried about someone peeping on them while he pulled Troy in closer. It wasn’t like the lazy bastards in security actually paid attention unless there was a problem.
“Have I ever told you I love you?” Troy asked softly.
Oh yes, he most certainly had. Oscar’s chest tightened at the gentle look of warmth in Troy’s eyes as he gazed up at him. The same warmth Oscar found in Troy’s eyes when they woke up on lazy mornings, or when Troy was watching Oscar cook, clean, or do everyday things and didn’t think Oscar could see him. It was the same emotion that reminded Oscar he’d made the right choice by sticking with Troy no matter how much he’d wanted to run, and always made him feel whole.
Oscar smiled. “You have, but don’t stop.”
Troy grinned. “I can do that.”
And with that, Oscar kissed him again, sinking into the warmth, and vowing he would never let it go.
Author Notes
Dear reader,
Thank you for reading ‘Here We Go Again’. I’m covering all my favorite tropes in this series of standalone books about the men of Fort Dale. Following Friends to Lovers and Enemies to Lovers, this is a Second Chances story.
If you love a bit of banter, then delve into the rest of this hot Military series. This is the fourth book in the ‘Men of Fort Dale’ series. All the stories are standalone, and if you haven’t read them yet, here’s the link to the second book, I’m Straight, Right, and the third book, Trust Me I Hate You.
You can get a free copy of the first story by signing up for my newsletter. Click here. Why sign up? You'll receive my book ‘Just a Little Bi’ for free, it’s the story of John and Lance, who take a chance on love. If you can’t tell by the title, this is a first-time gay short story. It’s a sensual and steamy romance featuring romantic encounters between a hot, military man in uniform and his new-found friend.
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Yours
Romeo
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Here We Go Again Page 16