I May be Cold, but You are Hot

Chapter Twenty Five: I Have You

           

Grant's POV

          "What the hell was that, Spark?" I take a deep breath and start pacing around the kitchen, unsure of what else I can do. 

          "I don't know. . . It just sort of slipped out. I-I'm sorry," she says, looking like she's in shock.

          "It's all fun and games until someone brings up a dead ex-boyfriend, huh Sparks? How would you like it if I brought up John around a person you were dating? Or maybe Seline? Do you remember them?" I sound like a lunatic, but I don't even care. What she did was uncalled for.

          "You didn't have to go that far," she whispers in a defeated voice. She sits up straight. "It's time for me to leave." She grabs the keys and walks out without saying anything else.

          How do I explain this to Colt? I don't know what else to do besides tell him the truth, except about how long ago we dated. He'll have to think it was within the past few years when it was actually about twenty years ago.

          I approach the bathroom door and softly knock. "Hey, Colt? Are you okay?"

          "I'm fine," he responds quietly. He opens the door and gives me a questioning look.

          "Let's go sit down, and I'll explain everything," I tell him reassuringly. I put my arm around him, and he puts his head on my shoulder. We walk like this to the couch, but separate when we sit.

          "I'll explain first, then you can ask me anything about it. I promise I won't lie to you, Colt," I look him in the eyes, and he shifts uncomfortably.

          "Jack and I dated for a while, and he was a great guy. Always shy and tentative about everything. One time, we were hanging out, just the three of us, and I slapped him on the ass. He turned red and started sputtering. Sarah thought it was hilarious, and so did I. Eventually, Jack laughed about it.

"After we'd dated for about a year, he was drafted into the military. Of course, no one knew about us, so they didn't kick him out for being gay or anything. He listed me as a close friend, or maybe even a relative I don't know, so that I would know what he was doing. One day, I got a letter," my voice cracked, so I paused for a second to recollect myself. "The letter said that he was killed in an accident. I grieved for months afterward. I drank, which led to getting into trouble, but that changed after Sarah convinced me I needed to move on." Reliving these moments hurt. I said I grieved for months but it was years. Sparky thought I'd gone missing at one point.

"I'm sorry, Grant. I had no idea." He wiped a tear from my eye, and I gave him a weak smile.

"It's okay," I sigh. I took his hand in mine. "I have you now, and that's all that matters."

He smiled at me kindly and gave me a kiss on my forehead. "Come on, let's finish eating breakfast."

I let out a sigh of relief and followed him intothe kitchen.