Wayne stared some more, then barked out a laugh, his hand to his mouth. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” Then he laughed some more, pure relief, if I had to guess.
I couldn’t help it. I laughed too. I mean, it was kinda funny.
Now.
It wasn’t funny last night.
He nodded. “Oh, well, that explains the . . .”
“Komodo dragons and starfish.” I nodded too. “Yep. So for a few horrifying seconds there, he thought I had the ability to reproduce with myself.”
He laughed again. “Shoot, I’m sorry.”
I waved his apology off. “It’s fine. We cleared the air. On that matter anyway.” I sighed then. “But I did touch his arm, just like this.” I showed him how I’d done it. Hell, I’d touched his arm a few seconds ago. “And that upset him. That was before the asexual conversation though, and I thought we got past that.”
“Yeah, he doesn’t deal with touch very well.”
“I learned that, yeah.”
He let out a sigh. “Look, Winter, I’m going to be very frank with you and I don’t know how you feel about him, but he likes you. As in, helikesyou. So if you’re not on the same page as that, or don’t think you ever could be, we’ll need to be clear about what we tell him. I don’t expect you to answer right away. I mean, you’ve just met him, just moved here, been super busy getting the store ready.” He looked around. “Looks great, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
“I guess I wanted to come see you and, one, ask about what happened last night, and two, just see... well, I didn’t know what else, to be honest. I just wanted to let you know where he’s at. He’s not like most other guys, so even as his friend, I wanted to catch you up, I guess. He might take some patience, that’s all.”
“I do like him,” I said, then scrubbed a hand over my face, feeling the heat in my cheeks. “I do like him. He’s smart and funny, and he quoted one of my favorite books to me the very first time we’d met. I mean,” I shrugged. “Kinda sealed the deal right from the get-go.”
He smiled, a real smile if the creases at the corners of his eyes were anything to go by. “He is smart and funny,” he repeated. “Not many people take the time to get to know him, so thank you for saying that.”
“Well, they’re missing out on knowing a great guy.” I shrugged. “But I have to say, Iambusy. Grand opening is tomorrow, and I’m hoping December will be a super busy time for me. Plus, I now have two kittens...” That reminded me. “Oh, I texted Deacon earlier and asked about introducing solids because I think Bright is ready. Not sure about Merry, but Bright, definitely. And?—”
“I know you texted him,” he said. “He was smiling at his phone for a good hour. I’m running out of stock and inventory tasks at work to keep him distracted. Keep him busy and he’s a workhorse, but let him get all up in his head, and it can spiral pretty quickly.”
I chuckled at that and put my hand up. “Also guilty.” Then I looked around for my phone. “Aunt Ro took my phone away from me before I could send him another text, because apparently ten in a row was too many, and I don’t know where she put it.”
“Well, if you wanted to come around this afternoon, tothe clinic, I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you,” Wayne said. “I mean, you have both kittens with you, yes?”
I nodded to the youth center across the way. “I believe the town’s teenagers are spoiling them rotten as we speak.”
He smiled as he nodded, then he chewed on his bottom lip, nervous for what he was clearly about to say.
Oh god.
“I should let you get back to it,” he said. “And they’re probably wondering where I am. I was only going to the post office.”
Well, that wasn’t bad . . .
“Look,” he said quietly, grimacing. “Please don’t think too much about me coming to see you. I don’t want you to feel pressured at all, because there is no pressure. None whatsoever. And I’m not being a weird parent, honestly. I just... I just didn’t want you to think any less of Deacon after he left last night; I thought I might have to explain the situation, so I’m glad you understand.” He shrugged. “I just want him to be happy.”
Gawd.
“If only all gay kids had a dad like you,” I said. I certainly didn’t. Not a mother, either. But I did have Ro.
Maybe it was the lighting, I wasn’t sure, but his eyes seemed a little glassy. “Thank you,” he said. Then he let out a breath and headed for the door. “Thanks again, and good luck with the grand opening tomorrow. We’ll be down in the afternoon.” Then he stopped and held my gaze. “If you’re going to the Christmas tree lighting tomorrow night, we’ll see you there.”
I nodded. “I’d like to. Gunter mentioned it. I hear it’s quite the event.”
He smiled as he looked up the street. “It’s a great little town. I hope you like it here.”
