Page 42 of Poolside

Tommy sighed. “Personal life shit.”

She looked at him with a curious expression on her face. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Just then the office door opened, the door chime ringing loudly.

Tommy glanced back over his shoulder, surprised to see an attractive woman whom he didn’t recognize. She was dressed fashionably in a sweater with wide-legged trousers, and her black hair hung down around her shoulders. Her almond eyes were kind as she looked past Tommy.

“You forgot your lunch, babe,” she said fondly, and Tommy turned around to find Deb standing up and moving quickly toward the woman.

“You didn’t have to—” Deb began, but the woman waved her off.

“I know how much you love yakisoba,” the woman replied, and leaned in to press a chaste kiss to Deb’s lips.

Tommy looked down, wanting to give them a moment. Shit. He’d had no idea Deb was with someone. He busied his hands with his phone, scrolling through his email and trying not to listen to the sweet words the two women were sharing.

“Littleton.”

He looked up at Deb, who was watching him with a conflicted expression on her face. “This is Mei Lin.”

Tommy stood up and walked over to them, extending a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Tommy.”

They exchanged brief pleasantries, and it was obvious that Deb was uncomfortable with the entire exchange. Rather than relishing in his coworker’s discomfort, Tommy wished there was a way to reassure her, to put her at ease.

When Mei Lin left with a wave to Tommy and a lingering hug for Deb, Tommy returned to his desk. He could hear theclickof Deb’s shoes as she walked behind him and the creak of her chair as she sat down.

Silence stretched between them.

Finally, Tommy spoke. “She seems lovely,” he offered.

He heard a shaky exhale behind him. “She is.” Another beat of silence. “She’s my wife.”

“Awesome.” Tommy wasn’t sure what else to say, so he threw out the first thing that came to him. “I think I might be bisexual.”

The word felt good on his tongue, falling from him as easily as laughter. It felt monumental, like the sort of change that could rewrite a person, but, truthfully, Tommy still felt the same.

He was still Tommy Littleton who was divorced and worked hard. And he was still Tommy Littleton who wanted that fucking promotion almost as much as he wanted his best friend to give him a chance.

It was quiet for too long, and Tommy opened his mouth to say he was just kidding, but then Deb spoke.

“Okay,” she said, like he’d just informed her it was humid outside or the office AC was too cold.

“Okay,” he echoed, because that was what made sense.

CHAPTER12

BRACE FOR BISEXUAL VOMIT

CHUCK

Chuck was running late to the pool. For some reason he’d decided to try out a mustache, only to immediately regret it and shave it off.

He felt like a wrung out rag between the reduced meds throwing him off-kilter and Tommy’s rough morning voice on repeat in his head:I want you. I want you. I want you.

What was wrong with him?

It was bright enough outside that he could see Tommy leaning up against the gate, arms crossed over his chest and a gym bag slung over one shoulder.

Chuck took a moment after he parked, hands braced on the steering wheel as he tried to take deep breaths. It was going to be fine. He had let Tommy down gently, and even though he’d seen the flash of hurt in his friend’s eyes, Tommy had taken the rejection in stride. They hadn’t seen each other since the kiss, but their exchanged texts over the last few days hadn’t been awkward or strained.

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