“With your cheekbones? For sure.”
“I think it takes a bit more than that, but I appreciate your support.”
“I’m sorry that we’ve gotten in your way,” a young man says as he comes over. “Our director has a thing for finding just the right location.”
“That’s okay,” Owen says. “Are you his assistant?”
The young man, who Will can’t help but notice is beautiful, stands a bit straighter. “I’m acting in the movie, actually. My first big role. Well, I’m not the lead or anything, but it’s a strong supporting role.”
“Oh, wow! You must be so excited.”
The young man beams. “Yeah, it’s awesome.”
“I’m Owen. This is Will. I was planning on showing him some classics, actually. We have a lot of ground to cover.”
“Nice. Which genre?”
Will can’t help but tense at the question. Owen clears his throat. “Gay cinema.”
“Gay… oh.” The young man watches them closely, then he runs a hand through his curly hair. “I can recommend some movies if you’d like.”
Owen smiles. “Shoot.”
“The Boys in the Bandis great.Maurice. Longtime Companion. Querelle… hmm, there are others I saw, but I don’t think they have them on VCR, and they won’t be shown anywhere here.” He gives a few more titles before stopping to take a breath. “Sorry, that was a lot.”
“No, those are great,” Owen says, seeming in awe. “I’ve seen some of them, but I also have a lot of ground to cover. What’s the name of your movie?”
“High-Life, but it might change. I’m Jonah, by the way. Jonah Carter.”
“We’ll remember your name,” Owen says. “Looking forward to seeing you in blockbusters.”
Jonah smiles through his blush. “That’s the plan. Be seeing you.” He turns to leave, then stops and quietly says, “You’re a very cute couple.”
As he leaves, Will lets the wordcoupleplay in his head. He likes the sound and feel of it, but it also scares him, because he knows the ramifications it can lead to. But hasn’t he been braver today than he has been in years? He feels there’s a bit more bravery left in him. “Are we a couple?”
Owen turns his head to face him. “Well, in my head we are, but my head doesn’t always get things right. I’d be happy to make it official, at least between us.” He takes a breath. “Will Thomas, would you be my sweetheart?”
Will huffs a laugh. “You mean your boyfriend.”
“Who is also my sweetheart. And my muse.”
It’s almost funny to Will, who is used to living with doubts and hesitations, that something so monumental can be so easy to answer. “I’d be happy to.”
He gathers the courage to do something he’s never done before in public, not even with Joel. He leans forward and kisses Owen. In front of strangers. For the whole world to see.
He no longer gives a damn.
Chapter 17
Owen
“Is this for the new book club?” people ask as he works on his new posters.
“It is. I should be ready to put them all over town in a couple of days.” For a while there, he thought of keeping the next event more low-key since so many people made jokes about his over-the-top advertisement campaign, but he loves making these posters, and they do add a bit of color to this rather plain town.
This new batch of posters shows the interior of the library, filled with books and smiling people as they read around the long table or in the comfortable armchairs. He’s done three posters so far, and each has the same repeating element—Will. He’s wearing different shirts in each one to make it less obvious, but it’s still very much him.
Toward the end of his shift, Shelby arrives at the library. Holding the book she came to replace, she marches to the counter. Owen smiles, but the look onher face sobers him. “Hey, Shelby.”
