The Musketeers

Marcus Walks Alone

As Marcus stepped out of the cabin into the warm embrace of the afternoon sun, a mix of confusion and curiosity swirled within him. He always prided himself on his confidence and his success with girls, and Oliver had been a significant part of building his mystique and showing him the way.

With Oliver there was an ease about everything. Without effort everything always went his way. He learned a lot from his friend over the years, but more than that, being with Oliver put him in the limelight. Oliver, always the center of attention with Marcus right beside him.

They had been friends for a long time, and Marcus felt a deep admiration for Oliver. His reputation as a lady killer was larger than life and there was never any ambiguity about his sexual orientation. There were scores of conquests, never a commitment and always with what he considered the fairer sex.

Yet, the scene he just witnessed between Oliver and Carter left him questioning. The images of Oliver's hand traveling from Carter's arm to his shoulder and on to his chest, along with the whispered compliments were all stuck in his mind. Did he have any doubt about what he saw? The undeniable tension or chemistry, or whatever it was couldn't be explained as anything but Oliver's brand of foreplay.

It all came right out of Oliver's considerable playbook. The classic set up before closing the deal. He had seen it done before many times, with surgical precision, but never with a guy. But more than that, this was with Carter!

Marcus had only seen a build up like this from Oliver end one way. Once Oliver had a girl on the line like that, she was his. It should be impossible for him to think of Oliver getting physical with Carter, but it was all he could imagine now. He wasn't sure what else to make of it, but he was relieved to have gotten away to find something, anything, to distract him.

But Marcus walked alone, unable to stop worrying about Carter. Deep down, he couldn't shake the nagging suspicion something dark was behind Oliver's desires. The way he pursued conquest went beyond what any normal person would, there was a darkness in his eyes, a hunger Marcus couldn't relate to.

But Oliver had his way of normalizing it all. He made it seem like the natural way of things which drew Marcus to him. He watched Oliver manipulate hearts and leave girls broken in his wake, all in the pursuit of his own satisfaction. Marcus had followed Oliver's lead and done the same himself and now found himself conflicted.

He hesitated to acknowledge the truth, afraid of what it might mean for their friendship and the world they had built. His mind drifted back to the day they branded themselves as the Musketeers and set their sites on Summer Haven.

Had he made a terrible mistake?