Something Like Oxygen - (Texas Tea Chronicles: Tommy + Riley)

**2026 PRIDE AWARDS SHORTLIST**

Tommy's older, jaded, and sure he's too broken to love.
Riley's younger, gentle, and still believes in forever.

-

Tommy Carter learned early that desire could drown you. That wanting the wrong thing could get you hurt... or worse. So he buried it. Became a cop. Got engaged to a woman. Lived the life expected of him, even as the weight of silence filled his lungs.

Then he met Riley Monroe, a sweet, soft-spoken physical therapy student-- and everything Tommy shouldn't be thinking about late at night. Tommy, closeted and aching, knows he should keep his distance. Riley is sunshine in human form, with a shy smile and eyes that see right through him.

He's never been with a man. Never let himself want one this badly.
But Riley's kindness cracks something open in him. Makes him feel like maybe, just maybe... it's not too late to want more.

The age gap should be a warning.
The timing couldn't be worse.
But Riley is something like oxygen... and for the first time in years, Tommy wants to breathe.

TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains homophobic language, traumatic childhood scenarios, and mature sexual content.