David clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Then let’s see where this goes.”
Maurice nodded, feeling steadier. “Breakfast in Utah first.”
David grinned. “And then San Francisco.”
Maurice walked him to the door. As David stepped into the hallway, calmness settled inside him and followed him.
And for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t afraid to admit what he wanted with Finn. Now he hoped Finn wanted the same.
Maurice spotted Finn the moment he stepped into the Diner Car—bright-eyed, hair a little messy from the wind between cars, looking like the kind of trouble Maurice didn’t mind walking straight into. Finn waved him over, and Maurice’s breath snagged for a second. He still wasn’t used to it.
They slid into the booth across from each other. Maurice ordered a pot of coffee for the table, mostly because he neededsomething to do with his hands before he reached and touched Finn again.
“I’m so excited to get off this train with you,” Finn said. His foot brushed Maurice’s under the table, probably by accident, but Maurice didn’t move his away.
“Me too,” Maurice said. “I need to walk outside.” He reached across the table and placed his hand over Finn’s. Just that small contact settled something in him. Finn always did that—quiet him down without even trying.
Finn looked at their hands, then up at him. “I’m a little worried.”
Maurice’s thumb brushed Finn’s knuckles. “About what?”
“What happens when we’re supposed to go to activities?”
Maurice took a breath. He wanted to say,I don’t care about the activities; I care about you,but he didn’t want to push. “I’d like us to go as a couple,” he said instead. “But if you want to go alone and meet others, then we’ll do that. I don’t want to cause you any unhappiness.”
Finn blinked at him as if Maurice had said something ridiculous. “I don’t want to be with others. Don’t you get that? Or is it you—”
Maurice cut him off. “It’s not me.” He squeezed Finn’s hand. “I’m here with you.”
The server dropped off the pot of coffee, and Maurice poured for both of them. Finn wrapped his hands around the mug as if he needed the warmth.
After a moment, Finn asked, “So… what do you like to do? When you’re not being all mysterious and perfect.”
Maurice laughed. “Perfect? That’s new.”
Finn shrugged. “I call it like I see it.”
Maurice leaned back, thinking. “I enjoy being outside. Riding horses. Camping. Anything that gets me away from a desk.”
Finn’s head snapped up. “You ride horses?”
“On some of the Marine bases, they had horses nearby.”
Finn grinned, wide and boyish. “I ride too. Not professionally or anything, but I love it. And camping? I haven’t gone in forever.”
“You camp?”
“Yeah. My parents used to send me to camp. I miss it.”
Maurice couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “We should go.”
Finn blinked. “Go… camping?”
“Yeah. After San Francisco.” Maurice tried to sound casual, but his heart was beating harder than it should’ve. “I have land back home. Trails. A lake. Horses. It’s quiet. Peaceful.”
Finn stared at him like he was trying to decide if Maurice was real. “You’re inviting me to your home?”
Maurice nodded. “I am.”
