Free Foxe Hunt by Haley Walsh Page A

those today.”
    “Sooo. How was that date? Jamie didn’t call me so I assumed the worst.”
    “I didn’t call Jamie.” Skyler wandered into the living room and sat on the sofa. Philip made himself at home, poured some wine, and joined him.
    “So what’s up, Sky?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel about the whole dating thing. I don’t know how I should feel.”
    “Was the date that bad?”
    “Bad? No. It was that good!” He snatched up his wine glass and knocked it back.
    Philip frowned and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Wait a minute. The date was good… and that’s bad?”
    “No. Yes. Well, not really. I mean, the guy’s a spectacular lover.
    He is the poster child for stamina. We were at it half the night and a good portion of the next day. So that was great.”
    “Uh huh. I’m failing to see—”
    “But what does it all mean? Where does it all go? Is it just a reflection of a heterosexual lifestyle? Am I trying to emulate something I’m not?”
    “Whoa, whoa there, dude. Just hold on. You’re getting way ahead of yourself. Let me see if I can put this in some sort of perspective. You had a spectacular first date with a guy you’ve been crushing on, he brings you flowers—”
    “He bought me dinner.”
    62 Haley Walsh
    “He bought you— Ah shit, Skyler. You’re just being an idiot.”
    He glared at Philip and threw himself into the sofa cushion.
    “Gee, thanks, Philip!”
    “No, I really mean it. This man is perfect and you are fucking it up because you are afraid of commitment. It’s a classic case, really.”
    “I’m not afraid of commitment,” he muttered, still crunched up tightly against the sofa, arms clenched over his chest.
    “Yes, you are. Of all the members of the S.F.C., you and I were the closest to becoming boyfriends. Am I right?”
    Skyler cocked his head and glanced at Philip. He was still quite attractive even with his bland brown hair and honey-colored eyes.
    “Yes.”
    “And why didn’t we?”
    He shrugged, feeling a bit cornered.
    “We liked each other, we have the same taste in things— except for your unnatural obsession with Motown music, which I will never understand—and we were pretty darned good in bed, as I recall.”
    Skyler nodded, loosening his arms a little.
    “So why didn’t we?”
    He stared hard at his friend, trying to recall what did happen to their love affair two years ago. They’d fucked almost nonstop for a week. The following week Skyler began stopping by The Bean. The week after that they started to do other things and never slept together again. They’d never had what one would consider a date. Not like he and Keith had done Saturday night.
    “I honestly don’t know, Philip,” he said seriously.
    “You wouldn’t commit!” he said, finger pointing at Skyler’s chest. “It was one or the other with you. I wanted to stay all night, you wanted to kick me out. You wanted to come to The Bean and hang out but then you wouldn’t come home with me.
    It seemed like as soon as you got to know someone or was on Foxe hunt 63
    the cusp of knowing them, you’d back away. Not that I mind just being your friend. I love you, dude, you know that. But it could have been more. You just wouldn’t let it. Are you going to do the same thing with Keith?”
    It was as if Philip was someone he’d never met before. He stared at his friend anew. No one had ever put it to him like that.
    Maybe Sidney tried but it never sunk in as it was doing now.
    “Jesus,” he whispered. “Is that what I did? Really?”
    Philip bobbed his head and drank his wine. He scooted toward Skyler and more gently, he asked, “How do you really feel about Keith?”
    He dredged up a deep sigh and did his best to contemplate Keith Fletcher objectively. “He’s…gorgeous.”
    “Yeah, I got that part. But what do you feel about him?”
    “Well…I like him. I do. He makes me feel…special. I feel more differently about him than I have for other tricks. I