Adrian squeezed his hand in return, and for now, that was enough.
“So... many, many boys, huh?” Logan simpered. “School friends, neighbor’s kids, army buddies, baristas, surfers...? I’m sure I’ve missed a few,” he flashed a teasing smirk at Adrian.
“Shut up,” Adrian muttered, his voice low and mortified as a deep flush climbed up his neck, blooming across his cheeks. He buried his face into the curve of Logan’s neck, trying to hide from the world—or at least from his mother’s wildly exaggerated matchmaking memoir.
“She thinks every guy who looks at me wants me,” he grunted against Logan’s skin. “And I told you how it usually goes. My height…” He exhaled slowly. “Let’s just say I’m fun to flirt with, but not the one they take seriously. No one wants todatethe short one.”
Logan’s arms tightened around him in reply. “You are perfect,” he said, kissing the top of Adrian’s head.
The drive back to Adrian’s house was quiet, filled only with the hum of the tires against the asphalt. Logan held Adrian’s hand the entire way, his fingers a steady anchor, a silent promise.
Adrian’s throat burned with the emotion choking him, the kind of ache that had no release, no words strong enough to carry its weight. So neither of them spoke. They just breathed together in the hush of the night.
At some point during the drive, Logan made a call to the rental agency, arranging for them to pick up the car. By the time they pulled into the driveway, a man was already waiting. The keys exchanged hands, and just like that, another chapter closed.
Inside Adrian’s bedroom, Logan moved with tender urgency. He drew Adrian into his embrace, pressing him close against his chest as if to shield him from the world’s harshest trials. In that silent shelter, he held him not just with arms, but with strength, offering solace and resilience to both, entwined in a moment of shared vulnerability. “I love you,” Logan murmured, his breath warm against Adrian’s temple. “And everything will be okay.”
Adrian didn’t believe it. Not really.
A deep, haunting fear lingered within him, echoing the reality that he may have just spent the night wrapped in the warmth and familiarity of his family for the last time.
But hearing Logansay itmade breathing just a little easier.
Then, there was a gentle knock on the door.
Logan kissed Adrian once, gently, before pulling away and heading toward the door.
Dean stood on the other side, his face calm but his eyes saying everything his voice hadn’t yet.
“I’ll take you guys to the airport,” he offered, his voice rough, thick.
Logan nodded. “Thanks.”
They gathered their bags, rolling their luggage into the trunk, and then Dean started the car. The engine purred to life, and they were off. One step closer to leaving, one step further from home.
Adrian sat in the back with Logan, their hands intertwined between them. And as the city blurred past, Adrian spoke. He told them about what had happened at dinner, about Alon, about his father.
But not about what he suspected. Not about Alon’s crush on Dean, or the way it had hit him with sudden clarity. No. That was something Alon had to figure out on his own.
Dean listened, eyes fixed on the road, the tension in his shoulders betraying how deeply he heard every word. His hands were tight on the wheel. He nodded occasionally, but said nothing. Logan, beside Adrian, stayed quiet too, tracing gentle circles on the back of Adrian’s hand, grounding him, reminding him that he didn’t have to carry everything alone.
By the time they reached the airport, something had shifted. Not just between them, within them.
Dean parked in silence, his grip on the wheel a little too firm, his jaw locked the way it always was when he was holding something in. He didn’t say goodbye. He just got out, grabbed a bag, and started walking.
He insisted on taking them all the way inside. Through security. To the gate. Until the very last possible moment, as if, by staying close enough, by refusing to let go, he could slow time down. Maybe even stop it.
Adrian let him.
Not because he needed help. But because Dean did.
And, if he was being honest, he needed it too.
But then, there was no time left.
They had to cross the gate alone.
And just as Adrian turned to step away, Dean grabbed him. His fingers curled tightly around Adrian’s arm, his grip firm, desperate.
