Free Food for the Soul by Ceri Grenelle Page B

Flynn answered.
    “You’ve done this before.” It was less a question, as Flynn seemed to be the most confident out of all of them that what they were doing was right.
    “I have been secure in my bisexuality for a long time. Since I was a teen. I’ve had threesomes but never one in a sustained relationship. This would be new for me, but I’m not gonna lie and say I never thought about it before.”
    “Bisexual…” Theo muttered, rubbing his eyes. “I’ve never wanted a man like this before.”
    “You’ve been attracted to men in the past?” Harper asked, her curiosity piqued once more.
    “Yes,” he said on a sigh, as though he were expelling a long-held secret. “But never anything absolute. I’ve always been with women. I’ve been content being with only women.”
    “Until me,” Flynn said with a smug grin.
    “Yeah.” Theo didn’t hedge or prevaricate, and Harper loved that honesty.
    “What are you thinking?” Flynn asked, catching Harper’s eye.
    “That I’m pretty lucky.” She leaned on Theo’s arm and reached across the table to once again take Flynn’s hand. This time, their fingers intertwined.
    “How can you be that optimistic, considering everything that’s happened?” Theo asked.
    “When you’ve lived as I have, what happened this week will eventually become a small bit of nothing in the grand scheme of things. Now it hurts, and I feel like there might be a drought, but I’ll get more money, I’ll rebuild. It’s part of the cycle.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Life, death, and rebirth.”
    HARPER’S HAIR FELT soft yet wiry against Theo’s bare arm. He could feel her small breaths as she exhaled or spoke. They chatted for a while longer, picking at each other’s food. Harper in particular. Theo knew she had to be hungrier for more than she’d ordered, and he was concerned she wasn’t eating enough. Aside from the bruise on her face, she looked drawn and tired. She may have slept a lot in the hospital, but she wasn’t rested. He’d make sure she slept well in the comfort of his apartment that night.
    “Theo.”
    He looked up as Flynn spoke.
    “It’s your turn. We’ve each told a tale of woe. What’s yours?”
    “I don’t fit with this pack. I don’t have a tale of woe.”
    “Aside from your parents pressuring you to become a historian?”
    “Yes, aside from that horrific upbringing. No, jokes aside, they were good parents. They loved me and treated me right.”
    “Are they…”
    “They passed a few years ago. Died in a plane crash on their way to their second honeymoon.”
    “Oh, Theo. I’m sorry.” Harper nuzzled into his arm, and he lifted it to tug her in close. She rested her hand on his chest, and under the table, a foot came next to his and began to rub. It was too large to be Harper’s.
    “Would you tell us about them?” Flynn asked, his handsome face full of compassion.
    Theo had an urge to move over in the booth, allowing all three of them to cuddle together on one bench. He thought it might feel nice to have their heat surrounding him.
    Theo kissed Harper on her forehead and told them the story of how his parents met, how they raised him to work for everything he had. He was never privileged in the way people thought of it today. He was never given anything for nothing. There was always a test or a puzzle to solve in order to receive a reward.
    “They were harsh taskmasters. School and work, those were things they prized. We weren’t poor, but we sure as hell weren’t rich. When I finally worked my way through school and finished my degree, passed all the damn tests, I was able to give back. I bought them a house in a good area, got them out of this city. They were happy, and that’s all I needed.”
    “Any siblings?”
    “No, I’m an only child.”
    “All their hopes and dreams rested on you?” Flynn asked. “Sounds like a heavy burden to bear.”
    “It was a lot of work, but if they hadn’t pushed, I never would have become a doctor