Page 78 of Angel

Plus…Ollie wasn’t the only one of them who enjoyed watching men in uniform.

Cassie had expressed recently in confidence that she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to have sex again. Cassie’s experience as a child-bride had been horrifying. Bree could understand her friend’s concerns. While she knew she was not ready now to have sex again, Bree knew that she wanted to try. Someday. It would or could never been something on a whim for her. She needed to know that she trusted the man she was with completely. There was even a good chance that she would wait to have sex until she was married. Not due to a religious rule, but because she wanted that level of commitment from her partner.

Bree knew that Cassie felt differently. There was nothing wrong with Cassie’s feelings. They were her own and she was entitled to them. However, Bree was worried that Cassie was not moving forward. It was like she was as stuck emotionally as she was physically in that house. Bree didn’t know how to help her friend and planned to talk to Juliana about it during her next session. Bree was trying her hardest every day to make sure that she was defined not as a victim but a survivor.

Even if it was just one small thing to assure herself that her life was worth fighting for.

Getting to stare at boys’ butts in their athletic uniforms was just the icing on the cake as far as she was concerned.

Ollie let out a groan. He was wearing bright yellow shorts, a white shirt, suspenders, and a yellow Newsboy hat. He had a rainbow hand folding fan he was sweeping lazily back and forth in front of his face as he stared at the players on the field. Even without the numbers on their jerseys, Bree could have picked out Aaron. He was one of the largest players. He could take off his pads and gear, and that statement would still be true.

“But why doesn’t he want to date me?” Ollie whined to Bree, and not for the first time that day.

Bree looked over at her flashy friend. She was happy Ollie was coming out of his shell. When she’d first met him, he’d been a skinny kid with bruises and brown eyes full of fear. He was starting to find his personality. She loved hanging out with him. But his obsession with Aaron was starting to get on her nerves. “Ollie, you know why. He wants to make sure that everything goes through with the custody order before he commits to a relationship.”

Ollie put up his free hand, opening and closing his fingers to mimic a mouth talking. Bree threw an eraser at him, which he giggled at. “I just hate that I don’t have a claim to him. What if some other boy with a hot bubble butt comes up to him and he likes him more than me?”

Bree leaned her arms against the table. “Then you deal, Ollie. Even if he does ask you out, there’s no guarantee that that won’t happen one day.” Ollie’s eyes went wide with horror. “Who says you won’t meet some other strapping football player who will sweep you off your feet and carry you off into the sunset on a unicorn?”

Ollie giggled at the image but shook his head at her question. “Not possible. I want him, Bree.” The longing in his voice was palpable.

“Then you gotta be patient, babes.” She reached across the table to grab her eraser from where it landed after hitting Ollie’s chest. “If it makes you feel any better, though, I think the two of you are perfect for each other.”

“You don’t think…” Ollie’s voice trailed off as he pursed his lips to the side. He folded his fan and placed it on his lap.

“I think a lot of things,” Bree told him. “What are you specifically wondering I’m thinking about though?”

“I’m just… Aaron only came out about six months ago. He’s never dated a guy and he’s never even kissed one.”

“Have you?” she asked with real curiosity.

Ollie scowled at her. “No, but that’s besides the point.” He knew enough about her history to know better than to ask her that question. “My point is that I’m the first openly gay guy he’s met and I just happen to be part of his dad’s club too. I mean, what if what he’s feeling for me is just convenience?”

To be honest, Bree had wondered the same thing, but then had called the thought silly. “You didn’t see your faces.” Ollie slowly looked up at her. “The day you met, when you tripped and fell on him? The two of you… If Scotty hadn’t interrupted you, there’s no doubt in my mind the spark between you would have lit the clubhouse on fire.”

Ollie’s cheeks flamed. “Really?”

Bree nodded. “I think it would have been the same result, regardless of the clubhouse. If the two of you had met in the halls of school instead of at the clubhouse, someone would have had to have pulled the fire alarm to break the two of you apart.”

The smile on Ollie’s face was adorable. “Thanks, Bree.”

“Plus,” she added pointedly, “you’re the only twink I know who can pull off yellow like that.”

Ollie simply beamed at her. On the field, Aaron tripped and fumbled the ball. Bree had to fight not to roll her eyes.

After practice, the three of them started down the sidewalk towards Main Street. They had just turned the corner off of school property when Ollie started complaining about the long walk and how sweaty he was going to be by the time they got to the diner.

Aaron’s offer to give him a piggyback ride was cut short by the sharp squeal of tires. A large red SUV drove up onto the sidewalk directly in front of them. Bree didn’t know the model, but she’d seen the Jeep logo as it passed right by her.

With the reflexes of an athlete, Aaron pulled Bree and Ollie up short, preventing them from getting hit by the large car.

Before any of the teens could say or do anything, two men exited the SUV. It struck Bree as very odd that they were wearing beige sweaters over collared shirts, khaki pants, and dress shoes. Like they were on their way to a church service.

Both men grabbed for Aaron.

Aaron tried to push them off of him, but one stabbed him with a needle in his neck. Immediately following the plunger going down, Bree saw Aaron’s struggles start to wane.

“Run!” she shouted at Ollie. They were close enough to the school where Ollie could get Uncle Pirate, but she was not going to leave her brother to fend for himself.

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