He hated the thought that Scott had been treated badly.
“It’s not. It’s not even abadthing. I’d rather sensitive than insensitive.”
“Me too,” Scott said, a tiny smile turning up the corner of his lips. “And I never really felt like my parents cared much until I did something they didn’t like, y’know?”
Charlie had no idea, but he understood that Scott was telling him something important.
“They both had demanding, important jobs, and they just never seemed to have time for me. I was kind of an underachiever compared to them, I guess. Not much to be proud of. Maybe I’m being hard on them. I dunno. But I guess… I always wanted brothers and sisters and cousins so I wouldn’t feel as alone. I wanted someone to be proud of me, or at least care if I did something. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I’m two mouthfuls into my first beer.”
“I’m honored that you’re comfortable around me.” Charlie shrugged, sipping his own beer. Scott was opening up to him, and he really did care what he had to say. “I want to be your friend.”
That was a scary thing to admit, but he’d done it now.
“I wanna be your friend, too,” Scott responded. “You seem really cool.”
Charlie laughed softly, his heart soaring. Scott thought he was cool. That was a good start.
“For the record, you seem cool, too.”
Maybe Charlie could afford to hope that Scott was interested in him after all.
Chapter Ten
When they got to the end of the night and everyone started leaving, Scott found himself wanting just a few more minutes with Charlie. He hadn’t laughed so much or felt so comfortable with another person in a long time, and he didn’t want to give that up.
He hadn’t wanted to give it up on Friday, either, but tonight he didn’thaveto.
“Hey, uh…” Scott paused as everyone headed off in whatever direction their homes were, waiting for Charlie to stop with him.
Charlie spun around, his eyes glittering in the darkness, grinning broadly. He’d been laughing and joking with his friends a moment ago, and he looked so happy.
It felt good to see him like that. Scott didn’t know him well yet, but he wanted Charlie to be happy. He was obviously a good man, and he deserved it.
“I was wondering…” Scott kicked a rock by his foot, not sure if he should assume that Charlie would want to spend any more time with him. “Do you wanna meet my dogs?”
Charlie’s whole face lit up. Scott breathed a sigh of relief. He shouldn’t have been worried.
“I’d love to.” Charlie took a step toward him. “Lead the way.”
Scott nodded eagerly, turning to head toward home, smiling to himself when Charlie fell into step beside him. “I’m still trying to convince you to adopt one. They’re good dogs.”
“I believe you,” Charlie said, walking a little closer to Scott. That was nice, since the air outside was cooler now, and Scott hadn’t brought a jacket with him.
Neither had Charlie—just the sweater he was wearing—so they could probably both use the extra warmth.
“Thanks for inviting me tonight,” Scott said. “It was good to meet people.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me. Believe me, I had a ton of fun.”
“So this is what you do, huh? For fun, I mean.”
Charlie shrugged. “There’s a lot to do for fun around here. We have a bowling alley. In the winter, the lake freezes solid and you can go ice skating. We go on picnics and at the height of summer we have movies in the park, plus a bunch of cool stuff around Halloween. It’s a small town, but there’s plenty to do.”
“You’ll have to show me,” Scott said. He could feel himself wanting to cling to Charlie. Spend as much time with him as Charlie would allow.
He’d never really had a friend like that before.
“That could be arranged. I’d actually love to show you everything.”
