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“Ah, well, thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you watching her for me,” Ash said, keeping his voice low as he leaned over and picked up his niece. She didn’t wake, though she cuddled up in his arms with a quiet sigh.

“You’re welcome. Anytime.” Robert looked like he maybe wanted to say more, but he just patted his legs and pushed himself to his feet, then glanced over Ash’s shoulder. “You locked up?”

“Yeah,” Cass replied. “Thanks for letting me borrow the truck.”

Robert didn’t answer; instead, he gave a small nod to Cass and then picked up Ollie from the couch and handed the stuffie to Ash. “She definitely loves that thing,” he said with a light laugh.

“She really does.”

“Alright. Good night.”

“Good night, Mr. Jacobs.”

“Good night, Dad.”

With another nod, Robert headed off toward the hallway and disappeared into the darkness. Behind Ash, Cass cleared his throat quietly.

“Good night to you and Bri, too.”

Ash turned to face him, his arms tightening around Bri, and all at once, everything hit him again—every emotion, every new sensation, every want and desire, every reservation and fear. All the guilt, too. It was an intense mix, and he couldn’t breathe for half a second as it overwhelmed him.

Cass stood there in the dim light, his dark-brown eyes soft and sweet and just . . . perfect. It was all so new, and yet, Ash felt like he’d known Cass forever. Like they’d been friends for much, much longer than just a year. Like he could trust him. Really, really trust him.

Which was probably why Ash had had that fleeting thought earlier about letting Cass take him to bed.

He’d never felt like this before. Not even close.

And so he needed to make sure they didn’t rush things. Because this felt good—like it really mattered—and he didn’t want anything to ruin that.

He quietly stepped up to Cass and gave him a light, soft kiss, and then he whispered, “Good night, Cass. See you in the morning.”

For whatever reason, that made Cass’s eyes light up in the most beautiful way.

“See you in the morning,” Cass echoed.

After one more kiss, which Ash hoped conveyed just how wonderful the night really had been to him, he gave Cass another smile, then tilted his head toward the hallway, turned, and headed in the direction of the guest bedroom.

Ash (Sunday, November 27, 2022 – 12:48 a.m.): No! xD

Ash (12:48 a.m.): No, I will NOT sing it for you now

Ash (12:49 a.m.): For starters, there is absolutely no world in which you NEED to hear me sing, especially a song I learned a decade ago in fifth grade. Second, you’re in the room down the hallway - I’m not coming down there, and I’m not going to sing right now in here while Bri is sleeping. Third, WE’RE supposed to be sleeping! Why are we still up?

Ash (12:51 a.m.): God, I’m going to regret this in the morning, aren’t I?

Voice message from Ash (12:53 a.m.)

Chapter Thirty-Six

Cass

The morning felt sleepy and slow. No one in the house woke up before seven thirty, not even Bri. In fact, Cass didn’t hear a single sound come from anywhere else in the house, other than his dad’s snoring, until nearly eight o’clock, when Bri’s muffled babbling and giggling carried to his room from down the hall.

He’d been awake for only a little while himself, sitting up in bed, researching on his phone . . .

Flights to Seattle over the holidays in December were prohibitively expensive, especially considering Cass didn’t really have any money since he couldn’t work. He also wasn’t sure when his dad was going to have time off, except on Christmas Day itself, and he wasn’t sure he’d want to spend the holiday away from his mom.

That realization had made him pause for too long, contemplating how exactly things were going to work. A long-distance relationship—that was what they were building here. But when Cass had proposed it, he hadn’t really considered what it actually meant.