Chapter Twelve
Rusty’s ears perked up as he heard footsteps on the stairs. He turned to the doorway as they approached, knowing it had to be Blake.
No one else had woken up yet.
“Perfect timing,” he said as Blake rounded the corner, dishing out scrambled eggs from the pan he’d been cooking them in. “I thought I owed you breakfast.”
“You didn’t have to cook for me,” Blake said, though he didn’t even hesitate to sit down at the table and look over at Rusty expectantly.
“It’s not much. I hope you like your eggs scrambled,” he said.
“Scrambled works,” Blake responded. He’d changed back into sweatpants and a t-shirt, which was a shame. Rusty had been enjoying the towel.
He grabbed both plates and headed over to the table, setting one down in front of Blake and sitting down across from him with his own plate.
Blake took up his knife and fork without a moment’s hesitation, piling eggs onto his toast and cutting off a corner to start eating. He must’ve been hungry.
They hadn’t really eaten much last night. Rusty had meant to grab them takeout or make them cheese toasties when they came in, but he’d been as upset as Blake was about how their night had gone.
This was his apology, and judging by the soft, happy sounds Blake was making, he assumed it was acceptable.
“Are there chives in this?” Blake asked.
“There are,” Rusty confirmed.
“Huh. Weird, but good.”
“Weird?” Rusty raised an eyebrow. “Chives are the thing you have with eggs. Every café in the world puts them in.”
“Maybe in Australia,” Blake said.
“I… don’t think this is an Australian thing. I think it’s a whole world versus you personally thing.”
“Well, I like it.” Blake shrugged. “I don’t really eat out much. I feel like an idiot eating alone.”
“I’ve always got someone to bribe with the promise of free brunch,” Rusty said. “This is the best company I’ve had in a while, though. I actuallylikeyou.”
“I like you, too,” Blake said. “And, uh. I wanted to thank you, for trusting me enough to tell me about your parents. I kinda got the impression you didn’t get along, but… I dunno. It means something that you’d trust me with that.”
Rusty looked down at his plate. Hedidtrust Blake. Blake had always felt like he was on Rusty’s side, just because, and not hanging around to see what he could get from him.
People like that were few and far between in Rusty’s life.
“Well, if you like it when I whinge about my life, I can keep whinging,” Rusty said.
“You can, if you need to,” Blake responded, cutting another piece of toast eagerly. “I’ll listen.”
Rusty had no doubt that he would, but Blake didn’t deserve to hear him complaining. He deserved someone who’d take care of him.
Rusty wasn’t sure he could be that man for anyone. He’d heard he was useless enough times now that he believed it.
But he would have liked to be, one day, for someone like Blake.
“You’ve already listened. Means a lot,” Rusty said sincerely. They’d had a rocky night last night, but he was starting to feel like they were getting past it.
“Then it’s my turn to tell you something,” Blake began, keeping his eyes firmly on his eggs.
His cheeks were already going red. Rusty loved that he blushed at everything. It made him easy to read.
