Theo’s gaze drifted toward the window. “Not then. I told them when I reached twenty-one. They were polite about it, and distant.” He swallowed. “A combination they’ve perfected.”
I felt a flicker of anger on his behalf. “Their loss.”
Theo met my eyes, something unspoken in the look. “That’s generous.”
“But true.”
The silence that followed felt weighted, somehow fragile. I wanted to reach across to him, to close the gap somehow, but I stayed where I was.
Instead, I asked the question that had been sitting in my chest since I’d moved in.
“Have you ever been in love?”
Theo’s hand froze halfway to his coffee mug. “Why do you ask?”
I tried for lightness. “Let’s call it research. Maybe I’m writing a thesis on emotionally unavailable men.”
Theo’s laugh was quiet but genuine. “Then yes, once.” He hesitated before adding, “His name was Luka.”
I waited.
Theo set the mug down, turning it slowly between his fingers. “We met in a college choir. He was all charm and chaos. The kind of person who walks into a room and bends gravity.”
I tilted my head. “And you orbited?”
He shrugged. “For a while.” Theo’s voice was even, but underneath it, I sensed the rhythm of old hurt. “He liked passion, as long as it belonged entirely to him. When it didn’t, he withdrew it like punishment.”
The muscles in my jaw tightened. “That’s awful.”
“It was… educational. It taught me control is safer than emotion.”
“Except control’s lonely.”
Theo looked at me then,reallylooked, and for a heartbeat I felt so fuckingseen,in a way that robbed me of air. “It can be,” he said quietly. “But it’s predictable. Predictable is easier to survive.”
My throat ached. “You don’t have to survive me.”
Theo’s eyes widened slightly, and I realised what I’d said. Heat rushed to my face.
“I mean—” I stumbled for humour, desperate to lighten the air. “—unless you count my cooking, whichhasbeen known to end lives.”
Theo’s mouth curved. “Good to know. I’ll consider myself forewarned.”
The tension eased, and I breathed a little easier.
Think before you speak next time.
Living with Theo was like walking through a minefield. One false step, and I could end up revealing way too much.
Theo
I let the silence settle between us. The air felt different now, less charged, more searching.
Then I remembered the music from the previous night.
I pointed to his phone on the coffee table. “Pick something from your playlist?” I grimaced. “Just don’t make it heavy. I couldn’t cope with that first thing in the morning.”
Cameron went over and grabbed his phone. He scrolled, the corner of his mouth lifting when he found something. A moment later the same dreamy synth from the night before filled the room again. Cameron sat on the couch, listening. He didn’t look at me. “First thing that came up.” Then his gaze met mine. “You said nothing heavy.” His eyes twinkled. He picked up his sketchbook, and I burned with curiosity.