Free Cliff's Edge by LAURA HARNER

Ty noticed the breathy quality of his voice. Surely that was just because of the odd misconception Ty had. Wasn’t it?
    Ty shrugged his big shoulders. “I don’t know…maybe. I’d say you spend an unusual amount of time preoccupied with thoughts of him, for someone you claim is just a friend. Even a best friend. You were certainly pretty close to a panic by the time you tracked Cliff here. And you’d been CONUS—what? All of twenty-four hours?”
    Ryan caught himself about to nod, then shook his head instead. “I don’t see myself that way…”
    “That way? What way is that? Some preconceived notion of how a gay man is supposed to act? Let me tell you what I saw last night. I saw two men who obviously care a great deal about each other. The two of you were joined at the hip, clearly happy to be reunited after your tour of duty. Neither of you hesitated to touch the other on the arm, the back, the thigh…and your gaze was glued to his backside whenever he walked across the room. You brought each other food and drinks without needing to ask what the other wanted—hell, you finished each other’s sentences half the time and had the silent conversation thingy going on with your eyes. You two acted like more of a couple than many of the couples in the room.”
    “We’ve been told that before,” Ryan admitted.
    Ty laughed. “No doubt. The thing is, you’re more free with the touching than he is. Cliff is…careful. I imagine he’s gotten used to remaining hands off—a lot of gay men in the military are that way. It keeps things a lot less complicated when you don’t send mixed signals. Hell, you’d probably have to make a pretty big first move—like maybe a two-by-four over the head—just to convince him you’re serious.”
    “But I don’t—” He rubbed his chin, trying to figure where the hell he’d been going with that thought. Listening to Ty’s rapid delivery observations and taking it all in was like trying to swallow water from a fire hose. He was spilling a lot more than he could absorb at this moment.
    “It’s something to think about,” Ty said with a shrug. “I guess I’d tell you not to take too long, though. You need to let the Navy know what you’re going to do—and Cliff needs to move forward with the rest of his life. With or without you.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean…and where is Cliff this morning, anyway?”
    Shaking his head, Ty clicked his tongue against his teeth. “Don’t you tell each other anything? What the hell did you do last night after the Super Bowl?”
    With a casual shrug of his shoulder, Ryan leaned back and curved his mouth up on one side. There was no way he’d tell Ty what he and Cliff had done last night. He still hadn’t decided how he felt about it, and now, given Ty’s assertion that he and Cliff had feelings beyond friendship…
    “Didn’t do a thing except crash. I was pretty wiped after the travel and the margaritas. Why?”
    “Oh man…you might be trained to withstand hours of enemy interrogation, but you’re shitty at evading someone who has a pretty good idea of the truth.”
    Frowning, Ryan raised his cup and sipped his coffee. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Listen, I’ve got to get back. Where did you say Cliff was working today?”
    Laughter spilled out and Ty had a hard time getting his words out between chuckles. “Cliff went back to San Diego—”
    Ryan straightened and set his cup on the counter with a thunk. “What the—”
    “Chill. He had to meet the detective on the shooting case this morning and tomorrow he’s finishing his retirement paperwork. He’ll be back by dinnertime tomorrow night. It’s a funny thing, but Cliff had almost the same reaction as you when I asked him what you two did last night.” Ty walked to the refrigerator and removed packets of lunchmeat and a couple of storage containers and tossed them onto the counter then retrieved a cardboard box from the walk-in pantry. He