“Hey,” Gavin said, much more seriously. “Are we good?”
Thad tipped his head back and looked up at Gavin. “Yeah, we’re good. I think—I think we’re better than we have been in years.”
“Me too. And I’m glad.” Gavin squeezed his shoulder. “Are you going in now or are you staying out here?”
Thad swallowed, not quite ready to face everyone yet. “Staying out here for a minute.”
“Do you want me to send Graham out here?”
“If he wants,” Thad said hoarsely, suddenly struck by the fear Graham wouldn’t. Maybe this situation tonight was too much for him.
Gavin’s hand lingered on his shoulder, and he squeezed again. “He will. If he cares about you half as much as you care about him, he’s dying to come out here and make sure you’re okay.”
“I hope so.” Thad let out a shuddering breath.
To his surprise, Gavin leaned down and pressed a kiss to his hair. “Hey, have a little faith, T. You’re someone worth fighting for.”
Thad’s eyes watered and he briefly considered the idea of actually shoving Gavin into a bush.
But, instead, he let him walk away, whispering, “Thanks,” before the door swung open and a babble of voices inside filled the quiet air.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“Hey,” Graham said.
Thad jerked, clearly startled. He’d been sitting by the fire, staring blankly into it and apparently, he hadn’t realized Graham had slipped out the door as Gavin went inside.
“You okay with some company?” Graham asked.
Thad nodded, glancing over. “As long as it’s you.”
“It’s me,” Graham said. He took a seat on the edge of the concrete fire pit, the wide ledge allowing him to warm his back without fear of going up in flames.
He passed something over to Thad who took it and stared at it blankly. “I thought maybe you could use them,” he said.
Thad glanced up from the crumpled pack of cigarettes Graham had dug out of Thad’s camera bag. “Youhatewhen I smoke.”
“Sure,” Graham said with a shrug. “But I thought you might need them tonight.”
For a long moment, Thad stared at them before he lobbed them toward the fire.
Graham opened his mouth to say he didn’t think it was a great idea with that type of fire, but they skidded across the concrete and stopped before they reached the flames.
“Well, that was less dramatic than I intended,” Thad said in a wry tone. “But you get the idea.”
“Yeah,” Graham said. “But I meant it. If you need?—”
“I just needyou,” Thad whispered.
Graham leaned in, taking Thad’s hands. They were cold and he rubbed them softly. “You have me.”
“Do I?” The look in Thad’s eyes was so fearful it made Graham ache.
“Yeah. Yeah, you do.” Graham pressed their foreheads together. “If you want me.”
“I want you. I’ve wanted you for so long. I don’t know the moment when things changed for me. When I stopped thinking about you as only a friend and started to think of you in other ways, but … it feels like there was no other way this could go.”
Graham smiled. “Like we were meant to be?”
