English professor Brian Daly is finally able to live openly with the love of his life, local weatherman Jay Tanner. Jay has ended his sham marriage and come out of the closet, and he and Brian now share a condo in the city. But there’s trouble in paradise. Brian’s best friend Olivia can’t seem to get along with Jay. The two bicker whenever they’re together. In addition to trying to broker peace between his friends, Brian is busy fending off Sean, an infatuated student who wants Brian to be his first lover. When Brian spurns his advances, he threatens to accuse the professor of sexual harassment if the two don’t sleep together. Just when things seem like they can’t get any worse, Brian discovers Jay has been cheating on him with a woman. And not just any woman -- Olivia, who is now pregnant with Jay’s child. Brian’s world crumbles as his relationship with Jay falls apart and his friendship with Olivia is destroyed. While he works to try and put his life back together, Brian is relentlessly pursued by Sean. But this time Brian doesn’t turn him away, and the two begin a relationship that helps Brian get over some of the heartache he’s suffered. After a while, Brian also reunites with Olivia, and becomes a kind of surrogate father to her newborn daughter. The baby helps him hold onto Jay in some small way. Even though he and Jay are no longer a couple, Brian still longs for his former partner. But when Jay reappears in Brian’s life, Brian discovers he isn’t quite ready to forgive and forget. While he still loves Jay, will he ever be able to trust the man again?

Collusion

Olivia and I didn??t have a long sexual relationship. It only lasted about five or six months and ended when I told her I was seeing Jay again. She was furious with me for sleeping with him behind her back, especially since we??d agreed to be honest with each other if one of us wanted to see other people. But for weeks I just couldn??t bring myself to tell her he and I were together again, partly because I knew she hated Jay, but mainly because I was ashamed to admit I was still in love with the man who??d treated me so poorly in the past. Just thinking about the way Jay dumped me to marry Meghan in an effort to hide his closeted homosexuality brought a wave of emotions I thought I??d managed to suppress. Being dumped by him was devastating but, even after that slap in the face, I still loved him.


Chapter 42