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The typing bubble appeared almost immediately.

Gavin

I stand corrected.

Those are exceptional cheeks.

Dom laughed out loud as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. There was nothing special about their conversation, but none of them were anymore. Sometimes they texted all day about absolutely nothing, and sometimes it was only once or twice, but it had gotten to the point where not texting felt weird.

His phone buzzed again.

Gavin

How are you holding up?

Dom looked around the quiet house and tried to ignore the way Gavin’s question made his stomach flutter. Lucia babbled happily to herself on the living room floor, the kitchen was clean, and he could hear the hum of the dishwasher from his seat on the couch. He was tired and his shoulder ached from throwing and carrying a baby almost constantly. He’d struck out twice during the game that afternoon, and he still had roughly forty loads of laundry to do. But still…

Dom

Honestly? Pretty good.

He hesitated before adding another message.

Dom

I don’t want to jinx it, but it feels like we’re finally figuring this all out.

A minute passed.

Gavin

You are.

You have been for a while.

Dom stared at the screen. Gavin’s words shouldn’t have meant anything, but they did. Some days, he still looked in the mirror and saw someone waiting for an adultier adult to show up and tell him he was doing everything wrong. Instead, he had Gavin quietly reminding him that he was doing okay.

Thursday arrived with something Dom hadn’t seen in weeks—a completely empty evening. He had practice in the morning, but there was no game, no travel, no scheduled appearances. There was nothing. He realized it while standing in front of the refrigerator after breakfast.

“Huh.”

Lucia babbled happily from her high chair, slapping the tray with her hands and kicking her feet.

“I know,” he agreed. “It’s weird.”

She rewarded him with a grin that revealed exactly zero teeth.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, then immediately put it back. No. Or maybe yes. He needed to think first. He still owed Gavin the dinner he’d invited him to. It wasn’t a date. Obviously. People invited friends over for dinner all the time, especially after promising to cook for them. A promise he’d given to Gavin weeks ago. His phone found its way back into his hand, and he opened their conversation, then closed it, then opened it again.

Want to come over for dinner tonight? That sounded too eager, and Dom quickly deleted it.

If you’re free tonight… Absolutely not. Deleted.

Any chance you want to cash in that dinner I owe you? Dom stared at it. It was better, more casual. His thumb hovered over the screen.

“What do you think?” he asked Lucia.

She sneezed.