Page 36 of Up In Flames
Briggs scoffed because he knew bullshit when he smelled it. “You’re a terrible fucking liar, Dorsey.”
I begged to differ. I was a great liar. My whole life felt like a lie. It had never bothered me…
until now.
Until Oren.
CHAPTER 17
Oren
It wasn’t like Will to give me the silent treatment. But he’d gone quiet after I texted him that I’d told Hal about my sudden sexual awakening. I’d also told my therapist, but that didn’t count. I was supposed to tell her everything important.
Clearly, I’d fucked up somehow because it had been two days, and Will was barely talking to me. I hated to think of what happened between us as a mistake, but there was suddenly a hole in my life where Will used to be.
It was the weekend, and I was lying near my phone like a love-sick teenager, waiting for it to ring.
Disgusted with myself, I called Liam. No matter how busy he was, he always had time for me.
“What’s up, asshole?” Liam answered, his usual cheerful voice a balm to my broken heart.
“Nothing much. Just thought I’d check in. See how you’re doing.”
A strange silence filled the void between us. “What’s wrong?”
Wiping a hand down my face, I groaned. “Sometimes I fucking hate you.”
“You don’t, or you wouldn’t have called. Now spill.”
“Are you sure you have time for my bullshit?”
“I always have time for your bullshit. What kind of bullshit is it this time? More guilt? Because you’re supposed to be in therapy for that.”
“I am. I used to go a couple times a month for your information. Now it’s just once a month, and she thinks soon I’ll graduate to emergency sessions only. Not that I plan on having any of those.”
“No one plans on having an emergency. If they were scheduled, they’d be less…emergent? Urgent? Whatever. You’re getting me off topic.”
Liam waited for me to take a few deep breaths and gather my thoughts. Why had I called him again?
“I think therapy has me too used to spilling my guts to people,” I said morosely, remembering that the one person I most wanted to talk to wasn’t speaking to me for some reason.
“That’s not a bad thing, Oren. You just think it is because you’re too used to being the buttoned-up soon-to-be-lawyer.”
“Yes. Well, now I’m the unbuttoned, messy as hell, practicing lawyer.”
“What’s got you unbuttoned?”
“It’s notwhat. It’swho.”
“Oh?” I heard the sudden interest in Liam’s voice. He thought everyone should be as happily married as him and his shiny new wife. I didn’t want a shiny new wife, but I wouldn’t mind a hot firefighter with a killer smile.
“I think I’ve been ghosted, though.”
“You think you’ve been ghosted?”
“I think I messed up. We were friends, and I made a move, and then things happened, and things were good, but now they’re not.”
“Oren, I love you, but if you don’t stop being vague, I can’t help you.”
