Linc kissed him. “I’ve moved around a lot. What’s one more time?”
They didn’t talk much about Atlanta afterwards.
Later, when the apartment was dark and quiet and Avery’s head rested on Linc’s chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart, it didn’t seem like that big a deal. If he left, Linc would come with him. Maybe not right away, but they were too good together to let it go. They fit together, like bits of a flat-pack sofa.
All Avery had ever wanted was someone to want him—a pathetically small goal in the grand scheme of things. Now he’d found it in Linc, and Avery wanted something else: a future with him. In Seacroft, in Atlanta. This dim basement apartment or somewhere else.
They fit. Even with Avery’s babbling and migraines and his ability to create an accident out of the most mundane things, they fit.
* * *
The call came on Wednesday. Avery was staring at his computer, trying for the forty-eighth consecutive minute to figure out why the balance sheet from the equipment rental wouldn’t, in fact, balance.
“You busy?” Wanda’s cheeriness made him nervous.
Avery glanced at Uncle Theo’s office. The black-suited people were back. “Not really.”
“You got the job!”
He pushed away from his desk so fast, his wheeled chair careened and hit the wall. One of the black suits glanced over his shoulder, and Meredith snapped to her desk like she was on a bungee cord.
“You okay?”
He waved her off, hurrying for the exit. “That’s—that’s really great news.”
“So great. Heath loved you. He thinks you’ll be a great addition to the team, and I know you’ll be perfect when it comes to keeping our eye on the financial ball.”
The street the office faced was surprisingly busy, but everyone moved around him like he didn’t exist. “That’s, uh—that’s really nice of you to say.”
“So, we’re emailing you the offer as soon as I get off the phone. I know I don’t have to tell you to read it carefully and definitely let me know if you have any questions.”
“Does it—” Why were words so hard? This was good news. He should be telling her how excited he was and how much he was looking forward to it. “Do I still have to move to Atlanta?”
“Not for a few months.” She was talking like everything was already decided. “We know you’ll need time to find a place, sublet your apartment here. But we’d like you to go down and spend the first week there. Meet the team. You know how it goes.”
“I’ve only ever worked here.” He hadn’t meant to say that. The job sounded really cool. They were all about growth and being agile and quick to respond as the product evolved. Being part of something where change was a good thing would be so cool.
He’d only meant that no, he’d never actually met a team, unless you counted new clients, but they were temporary and often thrust a box of papers at him, gave him an empty desk or a spot at the table in the break room, and told him to shout if he needed anything. Would a team be the same? He envisioned a lot of hipsters in pastel button-downs and loafers. Would they see through him and know the farthest he’d ever been away from home was Bible camp in South Carolina?
“Yeah,” Wanda said, because she couldn’t hear the whirlpool of his mental spiral through the phone. “I’m gonna admit Heath wasn’t totally sold. I think he was worried about how you’ll adapt to something new. But I pointed out it said a lot about your dedication and your loyalty.”
He nearly threw up on his shoes, glancing at the frosted glass window in the door of the office:Donaldson & Associates, Chartered Accountants. If he left, there would be no associates. Only one accountant.
So much for dedication and loyalty.
He closed his eyes, focused on breathing and not sounding like he was going to melt down in the middle of the street. “So you’ll send me the email?”
“Yeah.” She paused. “You’re excited, right?”
His smile stretched tight to the point of pain. “Absolutely. I’ll just read over it and...um...But I need to get back to work.” Since he still worked there. For now.
His hands shook as he hung up. He stared at his phone, scrolling mindlessly through his social media apps right there on the sidewalk. And that was no help at all because all he got were strangers and celebrities and people he’d gone to college with but never spoken to again who told him to live his best life and also that family was everything.
How was he supposed to do both?
He was halfway to calling Linc and asking for advice when he remembered Linc was working today. He chewed on his lip. Almost lunchtime. Avery had a macaroni casserole in his freezer at home. He could drive over, grab it, and take it to the fire department. Linc would be there, and he would tell Avery what he was supposed to do.
But he’d already said he couldn’t be the reason Avery stayed or went.
