Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer

known he was bisexual and leaned
    toward favoring men were his brother and any man he happened to be
    fucking. It was an intense relief to just say the words. Come out, as it
    were.
    Nick‟s hand stayed on Ty‟s shoulder, as if silently offering
    support. Ty glanced at him, meeting his eyes briefly and nodding in
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    thanks. How Nick knew it was difficult for him to do, Ty couldn‟t
    guess.
    The conversation soon turned back to darts, beer, and the pretty
    little waitress they were intent on someone banging before the night
    was over. But despite the easy acceptance of three of his oldest
    buddies, Ty couldn‟t shake the ache of betrayal he‟d felt when Owen
    had stormed out the door. It had hurt, as Ty had known it would. That
    pain and the unreasonable embarrassment were two reasons he‟d kept it
    under wraps for so long even after being discharged from the Corps.
    Digger and Kelly got up to go for one more round of darts, and
    Nick scooted his chair closer to Ty, leaning toward him to speak in low
    tones. “Tell me about Garrett,” he requested as he leaned his arms on
    the table.
    Ty shrugged uncomfortably. “You met him,” he responded
    defensively.
    “Yeah. And I gotta say, Ty, I thought you had better taste,” Nick
    whispered disapprovingly. “He better be a phenomenal lay.”
    Ty snorted and shook his head. Zane hadn‟t made much of an
    impression on these boys, mostly because he‟d been sedate and blind
    and having a spectacularly shitty week. But then, they hadn‟t been
    looking at him as a man, plain and simple. They had been judging him
    as someone who had to watch Ty‟s back. They were judging him from
    the eyes of Recon. Man versus Recon—the two were entirely different
    categories. Just because Ty trusted Zane implicitly didn‟t mean they did
    or ever would.
    “He‟s a good guy,” Ty found himself saying. “He‟s having a
    rough month.”
    “Yeah, the blind thing,” Nick said dubiously.
    Ty looked at him and tried to tell himself not to get defensive. He
    was not responsible for Zane‟s behavior, nor was he responsible for
    how other people thought of him.
    He found himself fiddling with the USMC signet ring on his
    finger.
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    “So let me get this straight. You told the guy you loved him, and
    he didn‟t say anything in response?” Nick asked, offended, as he saw
    that Ty was growing twitchy. “He just… blew it off?”
    “Pretty much,” Ty said under his breath. He took a gulp of his
    beer to cover his gut reaction to the memory. He couldn‟t help but
    blush and wince. He‟d made such a damn fool of himself. He‟d been
    sure Zane wasn‟t in love with him when he said it. He‟d been sure he
    wouldn‟t get a response in kind. At the time he‟d have preferred Zane
    laugh in his face than just let it slide. It wasn‟t until weeks later that Ty
    had realized that Zane was still just processing and analyzing, his brain
    churning to catch up with his heart and what his actions were already
    saying loud and clear.
    “So is he just fucking around with you?” Nick asked curiously.
    “In it ‟cause you‟re a well-practiced screw?”
    Ty glanced at him and shook his head. Zane had never made any
    secret of the fact that he was in it at least partially for the sex. At first
    they both had been. “Quit being nosy, O‟Flaherty,” he chastised, hating
    that the questions made him uncomfortable. He muttered under his
    breath. “Irish bastard.”
    “That‟s a yes,” Nick huffed as he sat back. “Is it monogamous on
    his part?”
    Ty licked his lips and glanced at Nick again, wondering just how
    much his friend really wanted to know. “Yeah. At least I hope it is,
    because we‟ve been going without condoms for months.”
    “Oh God, Ty,” Nick groaned as he ran his hand through his hair.
    Ty closed his eyes and let his head fall back with a sigh, but he
    couldn‟t help but smile. “I know.” It really was a departure from
    anything he‟d ever done, trusting someone so much. It was a step to a
    new person, a step Ty didn‟t mind taking. But sitting here with Nick, it
    brought into stark contrast the differences in the person he had been
    and the person he was now. Sometimes he missed the man he‟d been
    ten years ago. That Ty had been an utter badass. But that was about the
    only good thing that could be said for the man he‟d been then.
    “You‟re just hanging around, hoping he falls for you?”