Page 25 of Under Water
Rune sniffs and swipes the back of his hand under his nose, then clears up some of the tears with his fingers before looking at me. Maybe it’s fucked-up, but his eyes look really pretty when he cries.
I don’t tell him that though.
“Are you and Ozzie—”
“No.”
“Because you’re straight,” he says.
I take a breath. “I don’t…know what I am. I’ve only ever been with women, but if I had a type in men, I don’t think Ozzie would be it.”
His brow furrows. “Why not? He’s sweet and fucking hot, and he’d probably be up for literally anything at least once.”
It hits me all at once, and before I can hold my tongue, I say, “Oh shit, you like him.”
Rune’s cheeks go rich and ruddy. “Ah. No. No…I don’t, um…”
“I’m not going to stand in your way,” I say, trying to ignore the ugly, thick feeling rising in the back of my throat.
Do not picture it, I order my brain. Do not. Don’t you fucking dare—
I blink, and I see Rune backing Ozzie up against the wall and kissing the fuck out of him, and I want to throw up. I want to throw Ozzie across the room, and he so does not deserve that, and oh my god, I have to stop.
“Easton,” Rune says, sniffing.
I look at him because he almost never says my name.
“I don’t like Ozzie, okay? He’s the nicest guy I know, but he’s also not my type. And even if he was, I would not burden him with someone like me. He should meet a nice guy. Someone who appreciates the effort he puts into taking care of people.”
Yeah. He should.
Anyone but Rune.
Which is objectively weird for me to think, but whatever.
“You owe him an apology. You know that, right?”
He nods, looking miserable. “It’s been a bad week, and I just came in to do my time card, then I saw you two, and I thought—” He stops.
“You thought we were together?”
“You were being sweet with him.”
Rolling my shoulders back, I fluff some of my curls. “I’m a sweet guy, what can I say?”
“Fuck off,” he says, but he’s fighting back a smile. Scrubbing hands down his face again, he lets out a heavy breath. “I’ll apologize. My head’s all over the place, but I have no business taking it out on the rookies.”
Or anyone else here, I think, but I’m going to be charitable, and instead, I shift closer to him and take a tiny bit of enjoyment out of his scowl. He doesn’t tell me to fuck off again though, so that’s progress.
Instead, he turns his attention back to the ducks. “Those are the ducks you sent pics of for Elio?”
“Mm. The babies are in their nest right now, but they’ve been teaching them how to swim all week.”
He lets out the slowest puff of air. “I should…do that.”
“Teach ducks to swim?”
He gives me a flat, irritated look. “Elio.”
