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Depth Perception | Rowena Sudbury

2

M

ICAH

Jenson stood along the wall, nursing a drink at the

gang’s Halloween party. He smiled whenever someone looked
at him, but otherwise did not join in any of the myriad
conversations that swirled around him. The objective was to
be seen, show that he wasn’t pining away at home, but to
leave as soon as it was decently possible. He tried his
hardest to ignore the glances cast his way, the whispering
behind raised hands.

Everyone

knew

that

Shane

O’Reilly

had

unceremoniously dumped Micah on the very day they were
to have moved in together. Micah had only confided the truth
to his closest friends, but apparently Shane had told anyone
who asked, and the news had spread like wildfire. As Micah
stood nursing his drink he knew that the gossip mill was in
full swing, but he stood stoically, doing his best to remain
oblivious to it.

With a sigh, Micah took another sip of his gin and tonic.

He had to make his escape before Shane arrived, because he
knew Shane was invited. Sure, he was over it, he told himself
that every single day, but the pain had not fully subsided.
The ice cubes clinked against the side of the glass and
smacked against his upper lip, burning him with the cold.

In the aftermath of their breakup, Micah had found that

he really didn’t have a lot of friends. He and Shane ran in the
same circle, and everyone knew Shane’s reputation. Getting

Depth Perception | Rowena Sudbury

3

involved with him was like playing with fire. Some could
stand the heat, but Micah’s sensitive soul could not.
Although they would never say it to his face, Micah
suspected many at the party would tell him, “I told you so.”

The drink gone, he felt he could successfully depart

without being noticed. He set the glass down on a table and
turned to leave. A confrontation in front of all of these people
would not go well, that much Micah knew.

Too late: the boisterous greetings signaled that Shane

had arrived.

Micah clenched his hands into fists, his nails cutting

deeply into his palms, and he stared. Shane looked good.
Grey shirt, muted blue necktie, black wool trousers, his hair
tousled and wild. He had the same easy smile he’d always
had, the same infectious laugh. When he turned to accept a
drink, the light bathed his face, appearing to light him from
the inside. People flocked to Shane like moths to a flame.

A lump formed in Micah’s throat. As unobtrusively as he

could, he sunk down into a hard chair, scooting into the
shadows, hoping to avoid notice. All the ugly thoughts roiled
around inside him, and he gave in to the pain. Even though
he told himself he was over it, the reality was that he wasn’t.
Memories assailed when he least expected it.

“And I‟m getting a puppy!” Micah‟s face shone with

happiness.

“Where are you going to keep a puppy?” Shane asked,

his face set in a scowl.

“Here, silly,” Micah said, spinning through the empty

Depth Perception | Rowena Sudbury

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living room of the apartment. “There‟s plenty of place for a
puppy to run in here.”

“We‟re not getting a dog, Micah,” Shane said softly. He

shoved his hands deep into his pockets and walked to the
window, gazing down at the street below.

“Oh come on,” Micah enthused. He sidled up behind

Shane and twined his arms around Shane‟s waist. “They
allow pets, and I‟ve always wanted one, and there‟s plenty of
room, and I‟ll take care of him….”

Shane turned and pressed himself tightly against Micah‟s

body, pinning his arms to his sides. “Read my lips, Micah: no
dog.”

Micah tipped his head back and looked at Shane. With

an impish grin, he whispered, “I can think of things I‟d rather
do with your lips than read them.”

Shane arched a brow. “Oh really?”

Micah smiled warmly and moved closer. He wormed his

arms free from Shane‟s and wrapped them around him.
“Really.” Keeping his eyes locked on Shane, he moved
forward, touching their mouths together.

“Mmm,” Shane murmured.

Although the apartment was essentially empty, Shane

maneuvered them to the bedroom, where a small daybed
remained from the previous occupant. Micah tumbled back
against it, a dreamy half-smile on his face.

Standing over him, Shane‟s fierce expression softened

slightly, and he smiled. He sank down to his knees and

Depth Perception | Rowena Sudbury

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whispered, “Take off your clothes, baby, and let me make you
forget all about having a dog.”

As Micah complied, he realized that Shane had done it

again, had shaken him off the scent of something he really
wanted. Shane‟s vivid blue eyes danced as Micah shed the
last of his clothing. Goosebumps raised along Micah‟s flesh,
and he scooted back to watch as Shane gracefully shed his
own clothing.

“Sexy baby,” Shane whispered as he reached down and

caressed Micah‟s knee, then urged it up, spreading him wide.

Micah‟s eyes slipped closed under the intensity of

Shane‟s gaze. His body responded eagerly to the familiar
touch, the long accustomed dance between them. Shane‟s
gentle fingers and soft lips were always a contradiction to the
fierceness of their joining. Once Micah mewled in acquiescence
Shane pulled back, his cock hard and insistent, ready. The
sound of their bodies slamming together, the multitude of
colors that flashed across closed eyelids, the cacophony of
noise as climax neared and then was met. The cool breeze
through the open window after, sloughing across sweat-
dampened skin.

“Mmm…Shane,” Micah whispered against his solid chest,

lips teasing at a hard nipple. “So good….”

Shane grunted and traced a lazy pattern on Micah‟s

back.

The shadows lengthened in the small room, and at last

Shane slipped from Micah‟s side and moved to sit on the edge
of the narrow bed. He bent forward, groping for his boxers.

Depth Perception | Rowena Sudbury

6

“So,” Micah said, making no move to get up, watching the

flexing muscles of Shane‟s back, “when do we move in?”

Shane looked back over his shoulder. “I move in on the

fifteenth.”

Micah‟s lips lifted in another half-smile. “You?”

Shane nodded. “Me.” He took a deep breath. “You won‟t

be living here, Micah.”

The gasp nearly choked him, and Micah was frozen at

first, then he slowly said, “Good one, Shane, you scared me.”

“I‟m serious, Micah,” Shane said with a shrug. He turned

and began sorting through the pile of clothes on the floor,
taking his jeans, socks, T-shirt. “This is goodbye.”

“No.” Micah‟s voice was small and pathetic. His mouth

was suddenly dry and he could feel his cheeks begin to
tremble.

Shane completed the task of dressing and then stood. He

turned to look down at Micah coldly. “Get up and get
dressed.”

“Shane,” Micah whispered softly. “Not like this….”

Hands on hips, Shane said, “Then how? I told you in the

beginning that this wouldn‟t last forever, that the day would
come when we‟d move on. This is that day.”

Micah covered his face with his hands, suddenly

vulnerable under the cold scrutiny.

“Did you want me to sugar coat it? „It‟s not you, Micah;

it‟s me‟,” Shane said in a mincing voice, “„I need space, I‟m all

Depth Perception | Rowena Sudbury

7

screwed up inside, I don‟t want to bring you down with me.‟
Fuck, Micah, I‟m not about that and you know it. It‟s over,
plain and simple. Now get up and get dressed, or you can
stay here and let the super find you this way, for all I care.”

Micah curled on his side, his face still covered with his

hands. “I thought,” he said softly, “that things would be
different. I thought maybe you cared for me.”

“You knew my reputation,” Shane said, stepping into his

shoes, bending to tie the laces. “This isn‟t the first time I‟ve
sent a lover packing.”

Micah remained miserably silent. It was true, he‟d known

the risk when the relationship started, but he hoped he had
the power to change Shane. He realized now that his depth
perception had been way off.

Shoes tied, Shane stood up. “You have good qualities,

Micah; you‟ll make some man a fine mate. You‟re good in the
sack, you can cook, and you know your place.”

For some reason, those words cut deeper than any other

Shane had spoken, and Micah began to cry quietly. “Just go,
Shane,” he said brokenly.

“Look, Micah,” Shane began.

“Leave me the fuck alone,” Micah said with

uncharacteristic fierceness.

Shane stared down at him for a moment, then said softly,

“Suit yourself.”

Turning, he walked from the room, the soft click of the

front door a nail in Micah‟s heart.

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8

The party was in full swing when Shane arrived. He

planned it that way, knowing that Micah would likely not be
there. Their friends had derisively insinuated that Micah was
a coward, and that he would be gone long before Shane
made his appearance.

Although the flippant words had angered him, he knew

they were true. Micah was many things, but brave wasn’t
one of them. Shane started on his second bourbon,
beginning to relax a bit, pleased to be among old friends. He
would never let on to any of them that Micah filled his
thoughts nearly every day. Hell, he realized that even if
Micah had been there, Shane wouldn’t let him know.

What did he want? Even Shane didn’t know the answer

for that. Sometimes you don’t know how much you’ll miss
something until it’s gone? Something like that anyway.

A movement, a shadow in the corner caught his eyes.

Slowly Shane turned, and the breath left him as surely as if
someone had punched him in the gut. Micah looked small
sitting by himself along the side of the room, but his eyes
were haunting. Shane couldn’t tell if he was hiding, sulking,
or if he was unaware that Shane was even there.

The words that had chased themselves around inside

his head came to the fore; he felt his hands begin to shake.
You fucked up, Shane, letting him go. You. Fucked. Up. There,
that was the truth.

Of their own accord, his feet found their way across the

room until he stood right in front of Micah. One word would

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be all it would take. One word from Micah, and Shane would
relent, open his arms and pull him back into his world.
Although he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, least of all himself,
he wanted the innocence that Micah had brought to their
relationship.

Not daring to swallow, let alone breathe, Shane watched

as Micah stood. Their eyes met, yet the expression on
Micah’s face never changed. Without a word, he stepped past
Shane and walked away across the room, not turning back,
not saying a word to anyone.

He disappeared through the front door, leaving a trail of

his cologne in his wake.

Highly aware that he was being watched; Shane took a

breath, curled his hand into a fist, and then turned with a
smirk and called for another drink. He masked his feelings
just like he always did and the party swirled around him
once again.

Depth Perception | Rowena Sudbury

10

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Rowena Sudbury lives in southern California with her
husband, son, and their wonderful rescue dog. Her love of
reading was born in the fifth grade, and she began writing
soon after that. Writing has always been her passion and
escape from the real world.

Rowena finds herself thinking through the minds of her
characters quite often, to the point that she always has to
carry a small journal with her so she can capture their
thoughts and weave them into stories when she gets home.

Visit Rowena’s blog at

http://rowenasudbury.livejournal.com/

and e-mail her at

rowenasudbury@ gmail.com

.

Depth Perception ©Copyright Rowena Sudbury, 2011

Published by
Dreamspinner Press
382 NE 191st Street #88329
Miami, FL 33179-3899 USA
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the
authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Art by Anne Cain [e-mail]
Cover Design by Mara McKennen

This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is
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Released in the United States of America
October 2011

eBook Edition