9
Mike looked up as Ezra walked back toward the table they’d claimed for themselves again, in approximately the same spot it’d been for the bachelor party. Not for the first time, Mike was struck by how well he’d nailed the devil-may-care look even in a three-piece suit that more or less matched the rest of the wedding party. It was the way his tie was a little loose, the top button of his shirt undone, waistcoat hanging open. Mike had never thought about how well Ezra might clean up, but as it turned out, he lookedreallygood in formalwear.
Sitting beside him, Mike had felt strangely underdressed, despite the fact thathistie was still done up, his shirt still buttoned. Ezra was… glamourous, for lack of a better word, in a way Mike could never hope to be.
Finn and Nolan had joined them to begin with, but they were dancing together now, leaving Mike all alone while he waited for Ezra to get back from the sanctuary’s main building. He hadn’t saidwhyhe was going, but he’d promised to be back as soon as he could, and squeezed Mike’s shoulder as he left, so Mike assumed he wasn’t just bailing.
The decorations in the shed had changed—there were more lights this time, and also, somehow, more mistletoe. Ezra’s doing, Mike figured. Hehadthreatened to do it, and Ezra didn’t make idle threats.
There was also heart-shaped glitter confetti scattered over the tables, and jars full of copper wire lights in the middle of each one. Just a few subtle changes to make it clear that this was a wedding.
Even Mike had to admit it was romantic.
The ceremony had been, too, complete with Spot as the ringbearer and Ezra and Finn fussing over Oscar and Ryan the whole time, all of them grinning broadly. It had been abeautifulwedding, and even Mike had teared up a little watching the two of them promise to love each other forever.
Oscar deserved to be happy, and it looked like that was exactly what he had. Mike couldn’t help envying him a little, but his happiness for his friend overrode the feeling. This had been a nice day, and he was glad now that he made the trip.
“Sorry that took so long,” Ezra said, holding his hand out toward Mike. “This is for you.”
Ezra set the pine cone Mike had been playing with at the bachelor party down in front of him. Well, maybe notthepine cone, but one of them, anyway.
Mike reached out to take it, rolling it around in his hand. This was thoughtful.
“And I didn’t get you anything,” he joked.
“You got me a drink earlier.” Ezra shrugged, sitting down beside him. “I just thought you might like it.”
“Oscar doesn’t mind that you stole it?” Mike raised an eyebrow.
“Iasked,” Ezra said. “He was planning on giving them away. I figured one wouldn’t make much difference. Treat it as a souvenir?”
“Planning on it,” Mike said, tossing it gently from hand to hand. He liked to have something to hold onto.
At least it’d remind him to keep in touch with Ezra when he left town again. Not that he thought he’d need the reminder, now that he’d seen what he’d been missing out on.
Having friends wasnice, and Mike wanted to keep the ones he had close. Figuratively if not literally.
The thought of having to leave after Christmas was already weighing on his mind. He’d forgotten how soothing the sanctuary was, how free it made him feel. It was the kind of place where anything seemed possible. They’d pulled off so many miracles here that he couldn’t even remember them all.
“Don’t look now, but Rachel’s looking over at us,” Ezra murmured, deliberately not looking in the direction of her table. Mike had taken note of where it was when they’d all settled down, and he’d been trying not to look over there, either. The last thing he wanted was to meet her eyes and then have to talk to her again.
Especially considering what had already happened with Ezra, all of which he’d been trying fairly hard not to think about.
“If you wanna use up that kiss you were saving for today, thereismistletoe everywhere,” Ezra said. “I didn’t even have to put it up myself.”
A lump formed in Mike’s throat. He’d been dreading Ezra reminding him of that.
Because the thing was, hedidwant to kiss Ezra. Or at least, he’d been thinking about doing it again since the first time, pretty much non-stop. He caught himself daydreaming in the car, while he was putting up the tree, at the grocery store…
He wasn’tpositivehe hadn’t dreamed about it.
It hadn’t been bad. That was why it was so scary.
Up until that moment, Mike hadn’t even considered the possibility that he mightenjoykissing another man. His brain had treated the whole idea like white noise, an empty space in his experience, but not one that really needed to befilled.
Except now he had filled it.
And uncomfortable as it was, he was curious. Curious about whether he was thinking about it because it’d beennew, or whether he maybe… possibly… wanted to do it again.
