Page 57 of Silas's Sweetheart

Ziggy poured their drinks, feeling the weight of Frey’s stare before he asked, “You okay?”

Was he? No. Did he want to talk about it when Frey was so loved up? He wasn’t sure.

He added cream and sugar to Frey’s drink, leaving his black, then carried the mugs to Frey. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not,” Frey accused as he took the cup and reached out with his other hand to keep hold of Ziggy when he went to move away. “Whatsup? You were there for me. Can’t I offer the same to you when it’s obvious something is off?”

They had spent so much time together that Ziggy felt real conflict between being that easy to read and how happy he felt that Frey could see past his fake smile.

It was easy to give in when he really wanted to talk, so he sat next to Frey, who twisted on the seat, his knee knocking at Ziggy’s.

Unsure of himself, Ziggy kept his gaze on his cup, considering what to say, when mentioning Silas by name was out, with Frey now mated to Booker. He didn’t want to put his friend in a position where he might have to lie to his mate.

“Please, you can trust me.”

He heaved a sigh and took a sip of his black coffee to give himself more time.. “You know the alpha I was sort of seeing?”

Frey nodded, his brows drawing together. “Yeah. It was a casual thing ‘cause that was what you wanted?”

“No, not strictly true.” He ran a finger around the edge of his cup, gazing at it. His snake had known exactly what Ziggy wanted, despite his denial. “He didn’t want anything more than a casual thing between us. I was fine with that…”

“But,” Frey nudged as he paused, floundering to keep it vague enough not to arouse suspicion.

“Something changed between us.” Ziggy placed the cup down on the table in front of him and got up, walking to the window. His steps were jerky, having trouble holding it together after weeks of coming to terms with how he felt and what he had to give up on.

Frey came to him and gently stroked a hand down his arm. “In a good way?” He could hear the uncertainty.

Ziggy fired him a quick look over his shoulder before looking back out the window, hating how his defeated attitude washed away Frey’s happiness, causing his smile to dim.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“There isn’t much to say. I want more, he doesn’t. He’s made that perfectly clear. I need to move on.”

Yes, he could have continued having sex with Silas, but at what cost? Was moving on and using cake as a substitute for what he wanted with Silas really moving on?

It was all he had when the thought of being intimate with anyone other than Silas left him feeling like he would betray the other man. How fucked up was that? During his last heat, he’d gone through it alone, having decided Hidden Desires was out-of-bounds in case Silas had looked in the heat calendar and shown up. He’d never have been able to resist him, and a cleanbreak was for the best, no matter how upset his snake was by that.

Instead, he’d trapped himself inside his home and fucked himself senseless on several dildos stuck to the walls of his bathroom. If there’d been no satisfaction, then so be it. Protecting his heart was more important.

How can you protect something you’ve already given away?

Not listening,Ziggy fired back, without enthusiasm.

“Listen, I’m not gonna drag you down with my shit—”

“You can stop that nonsense right now,” Frey cut in. “You were there for me and I wanna be there for you. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Ziggy took a step back and turned to face Frey fully, unable to conceal his sadness. “I don’t want to talk about him. It hurts too much right now. So if it’s alright, let’s talk about you and Booker?” He winked and pretended Frey wasn’t wearing a look of worry. “I’d rather hear about your sexcapades with the hunky bear.”

“Is that why you didn’t answer my messages?” Bowie asked quietly from behind them.

Ziggy and Frey both spun to see Bowie standing in the open doorway.

Frey glanced from Bowie to Ziggy, giving him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry about that,” Frey murmured, returning his attention to Bowie.

Frey went to Bowie, blocking Ziggy’s view of Bowie’s expression for a moment.

“I got my heat and, well, it was unexpected,” Frey explained cheerfully.

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