Another Lifetime
an excerpt

“Sometimes I just get the feeling that Ethan doesn’t really love me,” Leopold “Leo” Scott said to his long time friend and confidant Kyle Omara. They were sitting in the local coffee shop in their average town, Leo sipping on a strawberry ice cream drink, Kyle with his usual espresso.

Leo’s doubts about his boyfriend’s fidelity had been gnawing at him, so much so that he needed to get out and talk about them to someone. That someone had always been Kyle. Ever since they’d come out to each other two years ago, just before entering their eighth grade school year, they’d been nearly inseparable.

“Why would you say that? I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Kyle said. In reality, Kyle only said that because he was trying to make Leo feel better. He’d had doubt’s about Ethan as well, but always refrained from saying so. He hated to see Leo hurt, and he sure as hell didn’t want to be the one causing it.

“Sure, he looks at me like I’m a delicious steak and he’s been on an island starving to death,” Leo said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “But that’s when he’s horny. Any other time it’s like I’m an annoyance to him.”

Kyle gave Leo a look of sympathy, but what he wanted more than anything else in the world was to reach across the table and hug him. What Leo didn’t know, was that Kyle had been madly in love with him for years. Ever since they first met.

When Kyle had finally worked up the nerve to come out to Leo, he had a fairly good idea that he would take it well. He was still more nervous than he’d ever been in his entire life, but he was fairly confident that Leo would still be his friend. But when Leo said he was too, Kyle’s heart nearly stopped. He was just about to confess that he was in love with Leo, when Leo inadvertently crushed his dreams.

Leo told him that he had a huge crush on Ethan Hartman, a sophomore, and already a hugely muscular football jock. Something Kyle, most definitely was not. At five foot four inches, and a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet, Kyle was anything but the man of Leo’s dreams.

Seeing the funny look in Kyle’s eye, Leo said, “What? Is there something you aren't telling me?”

Kyle swallowed hard involuntarily. Leo noticed it immediately, and intensified his stare.

“N-no,” Kyle stuttered in response. If anything was a dead give away that Kyle was lying, it would be his stuttering.

“Come on Kyle, you’re a horrible liar and you know it,” he said. “Out with it.”

Kyle was nearly in a panic now. What should he say? He couldn’t very well just come out and tell him he’d been thinking about how sexy Leo looked in the soft lighting of the little coffee shop.

“I…I just was thinking a lot of the same things,” Kyle said. It was true, but not the whole truth. “I’d noticed Ethan acting strange too, but didn’t want to hurt you. I know how much he means to you.”

Leo’s eyes misted over, the cool blue turning to a muted gray.

“Yeah, I love him a lot,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “He’s my first, and if I’m lucky, he’ll be my only love.”

“I’ll ask him about it tonight,” Leo said with a new resolve in his voice. “I’m sure it’s just stress from the upcoming game.”

Kyle was doubtful. After all, Kyle had noticed these signs in Ethan from day one. Kyle knew Leo was fooling himself, but knew better than to say so. When Leo put his mind to something, everything caught in his path had better watch out. But sometimes, his naive nature got the best of him.

A sudden look of pain shot across Leo’s features. He wrapped his arms around his stomach.

“Are you alright?” Kyle asked, alarmed.

“I think so, my stomach just started hurting all of a sudden.”

“You need me to take you home?” Kyle asked.

“No, I think I’m gonna be okay,” Leo answered. “It’s passed.”

Kyle nodded his assent, but looked at Leo warily. “Maybe you need some real food, not just some crappy ice cream thing,” Kyle said with a smirk.

“But I’m working so hard to keep my girlish figure!” Leo exclaimed.

Leo was taller than Kyle, being nearly six foot. But he had the same slender build that Kyle did, at times making him look girlish. If he had long hair, he could easily have been mistaken for a girl. Even his facial features were soft, not at all masculine.

Leo grimaced again, but it passed quickly and he attempted to cover it up by questioning Kyle.

“So, got anyone on the radar, Mr Abstinence Virgin-pants?” he asked.

“Well…there’s a few guys I think are cute, but not much more than that,” Kyle said, surprising himself that he didn’t stutter his way through it.

“Come on, you’ve got to have a crush on someone!” Leo said melodramatically. “It’s not healthy not to!”

“W-well…there’s this one guy…” Kyle started, and Leo leaned forward eagerly, as if expecting to be let in on all the gory details. “But it wouldn’t work out.”

Leo looked like he was about to object, so Kyle said, “You know how it goes,” and gave him a wink.

“Oh,” Leo said, with a grin. “Doesn’t it suck when that happens? Straight boys definitely shouldn’t be allowed to be cute.”

Leo paused for a minute, and said, “He is straight, right?”

Kyle blushed, and muttered, “He’s something…”

“Aww, well he’s an idiot for not falling head over heals for you,” Leo said matter-of-factly.

Kyle gave a half hearted smile that Leo wrote off as him being depressed about being in love with a straight guy. He was half right.

Another look of pain crossed Leo’s face, and finally, he said, “I think I’m going to take you up on that offer.”

“You ready to go home?” Kyle asked, but knew the answer.

“Just drop me off at Ethan’s.”