19
“So what were you not gonna ask me until I was in a good mood?” Finn mumbled around a mouthful of toaster waffle, which was Nolan’s attempt at making breakfast for him.
Honestly, it was pretty good. He’d fried some bacon and gotten the waffles just perfect, and even if ithadn’tbeen a nice breakfast, it was the thought that counted. Nolan was taking thisboyfriendthing seriously already, and it’d only been nine hours.
Nolan made an unhappy sound across the table, chewing on the corner of his bacon. “It’s Gavin,” he said.
“What about him?”
“He’s turning twenty-nine this week and I guess he never grew out of birthday parties. It’s just… snacks and drinks at his house, and I know you don’t like him, but… I was hoping you’d come with me?”
“Does he still not believe that I’m into you?” Finn asked, raising an eyebrow. He got that some people were stubborn, but he and Nolan had been circling each other for a while now. He had to have gotten the hint that it was for real.
Hell, for Finn, he’d kind ofhopedit’d be for real even while they were faking it. He’d definitely put on a good show.
“He believes it, I think. He seems a little pissed that this whole thing kinda backfired spectacularly. I’m asking for me. I don’t wanna go alone. But it’s also okay ifyoudon’t wanna come.”
“Hey, this is what boyfriends are for,” Finn said, looking up at Nolan. “I wanna support you. And if there’stwoof us he can only be half an asshole to either one, right?”
“Right,” Nolan agreed, looking down at his waffles with a tiny, beautiful smile. Finn wanted to make him smile like that all the time. “Thank you.”
“Starting to think you’ve never really had anyone to look out for you,” Finn said. “I mean it when I say I wanna be that person. I like you.”
“I still don’t understand why,” Nolan said.
“You risked your life to rescue an otter you’d never met before.” Finn shrugged. “I mean… there are other reasons, and I’m not gonna pretend it’s not because you’re cute, but… before that, you werejustcute. After that, you were… I dunno. I felt like yougotit. Like you could get me.”
Like you wouldn’t think what I do is stupid, Finn didn’t say.
Nolan would understand what he meant. Maybe one day, Finn would be ready to talk about how much it meant to him that Nolan took him seriously. That Nolan thought what he’d chosen to do with his life wasgood, and worthwhile, and not a waste of his time or talents.
“Okay,” Nolan said, his chair creaking as he shifted his weight.
“But also, there are alotof reasons to like you. There’s nothingwrongwith you. I know… I know you haven’t always heard that.”
Nolan nodded, and then looked up at Finn with so much uncertainty in his eyes that Finn wanted to get up and hug him right then and there. “It’s just…” he began, “it’s so hard to believe that when I’ve never really heard it before. All anyone ever wants to do is change me.”
“I don’t,” Finn said sincerely. “I like you just the way you are.”
Nolan laughed, but it wasn’t cruel or dismissive. Just a little shy.
“How do you not have people hanging off you?”
Finn shrugged. “The way it usually goes is they’re excited when they meet me and then they realize that my job isn’t a cute hobby and I’m not gonna turn around and open a private practice in the next few years. That I’ll always drive an aging station wagon and I’ll always be broke and it’s really not like marrying a doctor who loves dogs.”
“I only really care about theloves dogspart. Or squirrels. Which is way cooler. I get to meet all kinds of exotic animals.”
Finn smiled over at him. He wasn’t sure Nolan really understood how much that meant.
Or how easy it would have been to fall in love with a man who supported him without a second thought.
“So is this party on a Friday again?” Finn asked, already mentally shuffling his week around to make sure he’d have time for Nolan.
“Saturday,” Nolan corrected around a mouthful of waffle. “But you could still stay the night after, if you wanted.”
“I was thinking beforeandafter. I can pack a bag. If, uh… you wanna put up with me for that long at once.”
“I do,” Nolan said, blushing. “It just seemed like a lot to ask.”
