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“Look, Percy, I—” Percy opened his mouth to say something, but Albie raised his hand to stop him. “Please, let me say this.” He tried to swallow but his mouth was too dry, so he licked his lips again. “You don’t need to worry about your job here. You’ve more than proved yourself. I wouldn’t turn you out over anything you’ve told me in confidence.”
Percy’s big eyes were so full of fear. His breaths were short and sharp.
“What you told me this morning in confidence,” Albie murmured, “stays with me.” He took a deep breath. “And I would hope that if I told you the same, you’d keep it to yourself.”
Percy’s eyes darted between Albie’s, confused, searching for understanding. “Wh-what?”
Albie almost felt sick with nerves, and he wondered if his heart could physically stop from having a conversation such as this.
“Is this how you felt this morning?” Albie asked, putting his hand to his forehead, trying to breathe. “Because, oh boy.”
“Are you ill?” Percy asked, concerned. Confused.
Albie barked out a laugh. “Uh, not really. I’ve never had anyone on this farm my own age, much less a man...” He wasn’t sure how he managed to speak. “A man such as yourself.”
Percy gasped, his voice barely a breath. “Such as...? What do you mean, such as myself?”
“Beautiful,” Albie whispered, his head swimming. “You’re beautiful. And inclined to choose the bed of a man over that of a woman.”
Percy’s nostrils flared and he paled. His chest was heaving, irregular breaths, panicked.
It was a reaction Albie could relate to. This was the most intimate of secrets, and not one he thought he could ever share.
Until Percy.
Until Percy told him he’d choose Albie’s bed over that of a woman’s.
Albie had barely been able to think of anything else.
He put his hand over Percy’s heart, his skin warm. “Breathe,” he whispered, and Percy took a deep breath in, his cheeks flushed red. “Is that what you meant when you said that?” Albie asked quietly. “I’ve never met anyone who is inclined such as me, so forgive me if I...”
If I what?
Overstep?
Too late for that.
Percy blinked rapidly, still breathing hard. “I’m not... I’m not sure what... Albie, I...”
He looked stricken and torn, but then his eyes filled with tears and his chin wobbled. And he nodded.
And Albie did the only thing that felt right.
He pulled him into his arms and held him tight.
Percy was rigid, scared, until Albie rubbed his back. Then Percy relaxed into him, the tension melting away with each breath he took.
As if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“I tried not to be,” Percy mumbled into Albie’s chest.
“As did I,” Albie agreed gently. “I spent days off in the mountains on my own trying to make sense of it. I knew deep in my bones that my heart never wanted a woman.”
Percy pulled back then, looking up at Albie. He had tears running down his cheeks, his blue eyes disbelieving. “Is what you’re saying true?”
Albie nodded.
Percy began to cry again. “I never thought I’d ever meet someone like me. I never thought I’d ever tell anyone. No one can know, Albie. It’d be the end of me?—”
