The curtains were open. There was a standing lamp in one corner of the room and another small lamp on his desk. Across from where he sat were two chairs with a small table between them. And behind him…
“Holy fuck, Ollie.”
Matt walked over, slipping past his friend to study the wall behind him. It was full of picture after picture. Oliver and Chance. Oliver and Miles. Miles and Chance. Oliver, Miles, Chance, and himself—birthday parties and graduations. School plays and Ollie, Miles, and Chance’s trip to Europe in high school.
Their whole lives were on this wall, years and years of friendship and memories and good times.…And in the middle was a picture of Oliver and himself. Ollie had his arm around Matt, with a smile so fucking bright it shined like the sun.
And Matt was smiling just as happily.
He wanted that.
Missed that.
Needed to find a way to feel that happiness again because he’d lost it. He didn’t know how or why or hell, maybe he’d never really had it, but at different points in his life, he’d felt like he did. In this picture, Matt saw a tease of it and couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt it.
Pure, raw, real happiness.
“This is incredible,” he told Oliver, who stood up and moved to stand beside him.
“We’re lucky…the friendship the four of us have. Not everyone is blessed with that.”
No, no they weren’t. If it hadn’t been for Oliver, Matt wouldn’t have had it.
“I can’t look back at my life without remembering something that involves you, Chance, or Miles. I wouldn’t be the person I am without you guys.”
Oliver scoffed at that. “I highly doubt that. You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
“Somehow, I don’t think I’m the only one who does that.”
He glanced over to see Oliver cock a dark brow at him.
“It helps me write,” Ollie admitted as they stood there looking at the wall. Matt couldn’t take his eyes off the center picture of the two of them. “I draw a lot from real-life experiences or the people I know.…Or hell, maybe it’s just you guys that keep me grounded to reality, so I don’t lose myself in the worlds I create where I always get to decide what happens.”
“Oh, fuck. I should have been a writer,” Matt teased. Then he could write his own reality where he made a life doing what he loved.
Right now though, he just wanted this—what he saw on the wall. Wanted to laugh and talk and just fucking be without letting all the other shit drag him down. “Can we hang out tonight?” Matt asked. “I don’t care what we do, just something.”
“Oh,” Oliver replied softly from beside him. “I can’t. I have a date tonight.”
A burst of surprise went off inside Matt. He didn’t know why. It made sense that Oliver would be dating. Hell, it didn’t make sense that Matt had been in a long-term relationship and Oliver hadn’t. He should have a partner in his house with him, someone who loved the same way Ollie did.
“I would cancel but—”
“What? Shut up. Why should you cancel? I’m a big boy. I’ll be okay on my own.” He tried to ignore the twinge of disappointment that he couldn’t spend his first night back in Los Angeles with Oliver. But then, maybe Ollie had felt the same way when Matt canceled trips or came into town for a quick shoot and hadn’t had time to see his friends.
“I don’t have to leave for about an hour. Want to go into the kitchen with me? I’ll see what I can find for you to eat. You have to be hungry. You haven’t eaten all day.”
Matt shook his head. Oliver likely needed to get ready for his date. He didn’t want Oliver to feel as though he had to babysit him.
“No, I’m not hungry. I’ll grab something later. I should call Parker and take care of a few things.”
“Okay,” he replied.
Matt nudged him. “Have fun on your date. Get laid for me,” he teased and then made his way out of Oliver’s office, trying to ignore the growing disappointment taking root inside of him.
CHAPTER SIX
It had been hell leaving Matt at home.
Oliver could tell he’d been hurt but tried to cover it. He’d wanted to stay just because of that. It was important for him to try and make people feel better—Matt especially—but on the other hand, Miles was right. He needed to start thinking about himself as well, and there was no reason he should have to cancel his date because Matty came home at the last minute.
Even if his date did have the worst case of allergies Oliver had ever seen.
Eddie lived in Hollywood, so the drive wasn’t too long. This was the first time he’d been to Eddie’s apartment since they’d started dating. They usually met wherever they were going.