Page 28 of Tropical Heat

“That discord, as you put it, is why our friendship works so well. Our differences keep us balanced.”

“My god, what am I getting into?”

As much as I wanted to take her in my arms and give her a proper kiss, I worried Dante might be watching through the front window. I opened the car door for her. “We will see you tonight, right?”

“Don’t worry, I will be here.” She took my hand. “I can't make promises, but I think it's at least worth the three of us talking about it.”

“That is all we are asking.”

When I went back inside, Dante had put a t-shirt on over his boxers, and was in the kitchen preparing to make breakfast. “Do you think she'll be back?” I asked.

“Definitely.” He licked a spot of maple syrup from his finger. “She likes the dog.”

“Funny,” I said. “Go sit on the couch. You're not supposed to do anything strenuous.”

“Making bacon and French toast is hardly strenuous.”

“It's not healthy either. I'll make you an egg white omelet and some wheat toast.”

“Yuck,” he groaned.

“Just shut up and eat it.” I tried not to let him see how upset I was. “You've got to stop living life on the edge. You could have died yesterday. I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you.”

“Sure you do. You’d have Morgan all to yourself.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“Forget I said anything.” He sighed and rubbed his temples. “I'm just feeling sorry for myself.”

“Why?”

“When it became obvious you weren’t interested in a romantic relationship with me; it hurt. Hurt like hell. I knew in my heart if you just gave us a chance, we could be happy together. But I respected you too much to pressure you into something you weren’t comfortable with. It hurt, but I got over it, eventually.”

I could see his eyes were leaking when he turned around. Angry at their betrayal, he wiped them roughly with the back of his hand. Such a raw display of emotion was rare for Dante, and knowing I was the cause of his pain hurt my heart.

“Then I met Morgan. We had a lot of fun together, but at some point, it stopped being just about sex. I started having genuine feelings for her. To find out the two of you are getting it on…it's a punch in the gut. Of course, she will pick you; you're the better man, and I'll be alone again.”

I did not consider myself the better anything, but at the very least, I could do the right thing. “I'll stop seeing her.”

“No, don't do that. She makes you happy and I’m just being a jealous bitch because Morgan gets to have you and I don't.”

“Well, in Morgan’s defense, she does have the right equipment.” I hoped humor would hide my growing discomfort, but I could see from the look in his eyes, I had hurt him. “I love you, Dante, and if I was into men, you would be the one I’d want to spend the rest of my life with. But unfortunately for both of us, I am not gay.”

“I don't know how you can be so smart about everything else, but so stupid about this.” There was no anger in his voice, only conviction. “With love, there are no boundaries. Gay, lesbian, straight, are just labels. I don't consider somebody's gender if I find them attractive or interesting. I think deep down everybody is bisexual. Some of us are just more honest about it than others.”

It was a line of logic I had heard many times before. But this time; maybe because of everything that had happened the last 24 hours, the words hit differently. It was time to be honest with myself. I leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

Sixteen

Dante

I had dreamed of such a moment for the past ten months. But when Zak’s lips unexpectedly found mine, I pulled back. “Are you sure this is what you really want?”

Cupping the back of my head, he gave me his mouth again. His lips were not as soft as Morgan's, but his tongue was more eager. When we finally came up for air, he ran his fingers over my cheeks. “Now I understand why women always complain about my scruff.”

“You get used to it," I said and pulled him in for another kiss. With our hardness pressed against one another, our movements became more passionate. Zak's hands found their way to my waistband.

I feared if things moved too quickly, he might later regret his impetuousness. Even so, it took a great deal of restraint to stop. “Doc said I was supposed to take it easy today. Not get too excited.”

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