STARTER FOR: @elistne LOCATION: The Alley Jazz Club. SETTING: Evening.
The sky was dark and warm, the kind that made Oliver a little brooding. Times were strange, to say the least. Oliver and Eli were just hoisting themselves out of a pool of confusion within their marriage. You couldn’t blame them. What does a couple do when another man kisses your husband? There was no guideline to this. No lifestyle book on the planet. So, they do what they can to take it with grace, all while attempting to spend time together to ease the ache from what happened.
“I can’t believe they still have that,” Oliver says, leaning into Eli, one hand moving outward to point to the picture of them located on the wall. It’s from years ago, from a time where they insisted they were just friends. They had the other copy on their fridge back at home, where it’s always been. Blue eyes avert to look at his husband then, scanning the side of his face. Oliver plants a kiss to his bearded jaw, the hairs there feeling like static. Lately, Oliver couldn’t quite read Eli, which was prominently daunting. Usually, they were always on the same page, able to communicate with only a glance or a nod. He hopes he’s not thinking about their conversation in the hotel. The one where Oliver admitted to wanting attention. The thought makes his skin crawl and his palms moist. “Hey, what’s my favorite color?” The psychologist asks suddenly, spinning the subject elsewhere. Nothing like a game of 20 questions between lovers.