Oliver
My parents let me down. They should have loved me. Put me first. Protected me. But they didn’t, so I protect myself by shutting people out, never letting them see the real me. They see what I want them to. The cold asshole who is there for a good time. All smiles and charm hiding an aching heart.

When a phone call brings up feelings I thought I’d buried, old habits have me seeking a friend from my past. But when the door to his flat swings open, it’s a stranger that answers. A stranger with dimples, a bright smile, and blue eyes that truly see me. He quickly becomes my friend, my safe space, and the one man I want to let in, no matter how much it scares me. In the moments we spend together, where I open up like I never have before, where his touches linger and the silence is comforting, we fall in love.

It’s real, and it’s perfect, and it’s the happiest I’ve ever been.

But I should have known it wouldn’t last.

Darius
He needs a friend. I see it in his sad eyes the moment I open the door. I know who he is before he says his name, and though befriending him is betrayal; I want to be the person he leans on. So I show him he can trust me. That he means something to me.

Oliver gives me the affection, love, and attention I felt was missing from life with a father who gave me a wealth of material possessions but little of his time, and in return, I love Oliver the way he deserves - with my whole heart. We’re made for each other. A perfect fit.

But when a secret is revealed, I have to make a choice with consequences that sting either way: love or family. Whether the choice I make is the right one or not, it’s the one I have to live with.