Chapter Four #3
“All right,” Seth declared as he flopped down onto the couch next to Thomas.
“I left you alone during dinner, but you still haven’t told me anything, and I’m both curious and worried.
You need to spill. What’s going on with you?
Who are you spending all your time with?
” Seth paused and frowned. “You know that if you’re in trouble, you just have to tell me, and I’ll do whatever I can to help, right?
I know things have been different since I have Ryan, but me having a boyfriend doesn’t mean I don’t care about you anymore or that I don’t have time for you. ”
Thomas snorted. “I never said anything about that, but come on. You’ve been spending most of your time with Ryan, and that’s fine. You should spend time with him. He’s your boyfriend. I’m not sure why he decided to do that to himself, but I’m sure he had his reasons.”
Seth playfully punched Thomas’s arm. “That’s not funny. He’s with me because he loves me.”
Thomas wanted to joke again, but he didn’t.
He knew that Seth had worried that he didn’t have enough to offer Ryan.
It was stupid, but Thomas understood where he was coming from.
They’d all gone through something like that before.
All of them had ended up on the street, for different reasons, but still.
They’d been homeless, hadn’t had anything to call their own, and had struggled.
Sometimes, it was hard to believe that part of their lives was over.
At least once a month, Thomas woke up in the middle of the night, relieved to be in a bed instead of sleeping under the stars.
He wasn’t sure how long it would take him to accept that this was his life from now on, but he suspected that Seth felt very much the same.
“I just wanted to be sure that you knew you could talk to me,” Seth murmured.
Thomas wanted to talk to Seth. He just didn’t want his brother to be proud of him, only to be disappointed if Thomas failed.
Thomas didn’t want to hope that he’d be able to get his GED, and while that wasn’t going to stop him from trying, he still felt that he needed to be cautious.
He had to give Seth something, though. He didn’t want his brother to worry. “I was just thinking about Finley.”
Seth waited for a second before cocking his head. “You’re going to have to be more specific because I have no idea who Finley is.”
“I told you about him. He’s that dog that was found with the kittens.”
“Oh, I remember. You said that the kittens had all found a home, right? But that Finley was wounded.”
“He was, but he’s better. He’s been better for a few weeks now. We should’ve taken him to the shelter, but no one wanted to do that, so he’s still with us. A woman came over today to possibly adopt him, but she changed her mind.”
“And you’re worried.”
“I am. Finley is a sweet boy. He shouldn’t have to live in a kennel. I don’t want him to, but he would be in the same position if he was in a shelter. At least we know him, you know?”
“So you want him out of his kennel.”
“And with someone who would love him and give him what he needs.”
Seth slowly nodded. “Could you be that someone?”
It wasn’t like Thomas hadn’t thought about it.
Some nights, it was all he could think about.
They couldn’t release Finley into the wild since he wasn’t a wild animal, and Thomas’s heart hurt at the thought of never seeing him again once he got adopted.
Could it be as simple as Seth made it sound, though?
“Could I? Because I don’t live alone.” Thomas paused, frowning.
“Unless you and Ryan have decided to move out. Or do you want me to move out?” It would make sense.
They’d just gotten together, and while Ryan had agreed to move in with Seth and Thomas, it would probably be best for the couple to live alone.
They didn’t need a third wheel. Thomas was doing his best to spend as little time as he could at home to give them space, but sometimes, it was inevitable that they crossed paths.
Adding a dog to the mix, especially one as big as Finley, would make that more complicated.
“No one is going anywhere,” Seth said firmly. “Ryan and I are happy to continue living with you.”
“Are you sure? Because I can find something else. I could talk to Chance and Theo.”
“I’m sure. We both are. You’re not going anywhere unless you want to leave.”
Thomas nodded. He didn’t want to, so he hoped that Seth wasn’t lying.
“And we’ll have to talk to Ryan, of course, but I don’t see why we shouldn’t get the dog. He’d be out of the cage, and with three of us here, there would always be someone to take care of him. He’ll be your dog, of course, but he’ll have a family.”
Just like Thomas.
Thomas had been a stray once, too. He’d been lucky to be adopted by Seth and the rest of their pack, and he could imagine how different his life would’ve been if he hadn’t been. He could give that to Finley, too. He could give him a family and a home, and he could take care of him.
And maybe, eventually, they could add Rowan to that family. It sounded like a dream, and there was no reason for Rowan to like Thomas as much as Thomas liked him, but it was nice to think about that possibility. It wasn’t like Thomas was hurting anyone by doing so.
He smiled at Seth. “I think I need to talk to Shane.”
* * * *
THOMAS HAD FINISHED work and gone home before Rowan today, so he and Rowan hadn’t worked together for the last few hours.
Rowan knew that eventually, Shane would decide his training was complete and that he’d spend less time with Thomas, but for now, they were inseparable, and Rowan wanted to keep things that way.
He didn’t have a lot to do this afternoon, though.
He’d finished cleaning the front room—unfortunately, the deer had bled on pretty much every surface—and was ready to leave, but not to go home.
No, he was meeting Thomas at the diner, and he was excited, probably more than he should be. He’d seen Thomas just a few hours ago.
And he couldn’t stop thinking about that.
They’d shared a moment, hadn’t they? Rowan had suspected that Thomas was interested in him, but he’d suspected that Thomas wouldn’t say anything about it.
Rowan wasn’t sure if it was because he was shy and inexperienced or because he was still wary of Rowan, at least in that aspect, but whatever the case, Rowan was determined.
He wasn’t going to push if Thomas didn’t want him, but if Thomas did want him, he didn’t see why they shouldn’t be together.
They worked well as a team, and Rowan really liked Thomas.
He wished he knew what would’ve happened between them if Shane hadn’t interrupted, but maybe it was better that he had.
They were at work, and Rowan didn’t want to get in trouble, never mind getting Thomas in trouble. That would be even more unacceptable.
But they wouldn’t be in trouble if they kissed at the diner.
Rowan had no plan of doing that since they were meeting to study, but maybe later, when he walked Thomas to his car, he could test the waters.
At the very least, he could try to find out if Thomas would be willing to go on a date with him.
When he finally reached the diner, Thomas was already there. He had his pile of books and notebooks on the table next to him, but he hadn’t started studying yet. He was on his phone, furiously typing something, but he smiled as soon as he saw Rowan. “I have the best news,” he declared.
“You finally talked to your brother?” Thomas had been talking about telling his family, or at least the brother he lived with, about his GED.
Rowan wasn’t sure he would, and he understood the anxiety, but he doubted that Thomas’s family would have anything bad to say about what he was doing.
He understood why Thomas was hesitant, though, and it wasn’t his business, but it was clear that it was hurting Thomas.
Thomas grimaced. “No. I know that I should, but I’m not ready.”
Rowan slid onto the bench on the other side of the table. “At this pace, you won’t be ready until you actually get your GED.”
“That’s the plan, actually. If I wait until I know whether or not I’m getting it, I won’t disappoint them.”
“I don’t think they’d be disappointed in you even if you didn’t get your GED. They love you.”
“And I love them, and even more so now that Seth has agreed to adopt Finley.”
That wasn’t what Rowan had expected, although to be fair, he hadn’t really expected anything except Thomas telling his brother about the GED thing. “He’s going to adopt Finley?”
“Well, I am, but I live with Seth and Ryan, so they needed to be on board. I haven’t talked to Shane yet, but I texted him, and he confirmed we’ll talk tomorrow.”
“You know Shane won’t try to stop you. Hell, he’ll be happy to have found a nice family for Finley. Your brother’s okay with this, then?”
“He’s the one who suggested it. He found me moping on the couch, and since I couldn’t tell him that I was worried about my GED, I told him about Finley. He said it sounded like a good idea to adopt him.”
Rowan shook his head. “Only you would end up adopting a dog because you don’t want to tell your brother about your GED.”
“Well, no matter what I want or don’t want, it’s going to be to Finley’s benefit, so that’s great.”
“I agree that it is. He’s going to be very happy with you.”
Rowan reached for Thomas’s hand on the table and squeezed it. He should probably release it, but instead, he kept his hand there, letting Thomas decide what he wanted to do.
Thomas’s cheeks turned pink, but he seemed pleased. Rowan decided that was good enough for him.
“I really like you.”
Thomas blinked. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I know you’re busy right now with your GED and your family, but I thought that maybe once you’re done with all that, we could go on a date.”
“You want to take me on a date?”
“Yes, Thomas. When you’re ready.” And not one second sooner because Rowan wasn’t going to fuck it up. Thomas was important to him, and he didn’t want to scare him or freak him out. They would do it at Thomas’s pace.
It wasn’t like Rowan was in a rush. Everything in Mayport was new for him, so taking things slow would probably be more comfortable, anyway.
“I think I’d like that, later,” Thomas said. “But I don’t want to make you wait.”
“You’re not making me do anything. I’ll wait for you because I want to. I think you’re worth it.”
Thomas’s cheeks turned completely red. The flush went down to his neck, and probably his chest, too. Rowan wanted to find out, but he wouldn’t for a while, and that was okay.
“This just seems too good to be true, you know?” Thomas murmured.
“I get it. From what you told me, your life hasn’t been easy. You’re not used to having good things, but I want to be one of the good things in your life. I want things to be easy between us. I know they won’t always be, but we can take it as slowly as we can, right?”
Thomas nodded. “I think that would be for the best.”
“So we’ll focus on your GED, and we can talk about this again once you have it.”
Thomas’s lips curled into a smile. “You’re convinced I’ll get it.”
“Why shouldn’t you? You’ve been studying hard, and you’re smart.
You’ll do well. I’m sure you’ll get it on your first try.
” And when he did, he could stop freaking out about telling his family.
Rowan suspected that would help Thomas relax a lot.
He didn’t like hiding all of this from his siblings, but he felt like he had to.
Rowan understood why, but at the same time, he didn’t think it was necessary.
It was none of his business, though. If Thomas wanted to keep his secret, then he would, and Rowan would keep that secret.
Thomas knew his family better than Rowan since Rowan didn’t know them at all.
But he suspected that he would. He was in this for the long term, and he thought that Thomas was, too.
Of course, that might not mean anything because both of them were young, but Rowan didn’t want to start thinking like that.
What would be the point? He wanted to believe that he and Thomas would be together forever, and hopefully, they would be happy, which in the end, was all that mattered.
His happiness was the main reason he’d left his pack. He’d known he could never be happy there, and now that he’d met Thomas, he was glad he’d followed his heart. He’d made the right decision, even though he’d been terrified. He was sure that he was making the right decision now, too.
He reached for the pile of books with his free hand and took the first one. “All right. Let’s get to work.”
Thomas pouted but let go of Rowan’s other hand. “I’m almost a hundred percent sure that my brain is going to explode one of these days. It’s going to start leaking out of my ears and nose, and you’ll feel sorry for forcing me to study so much.”
“Do I have to remind you that you were the one who asked me for help?”
“I know.” Thomas sighed and picked up a pen. “This is no fun.”
“It’s not supposed to be fun. You’ll be glad you took this seriously once it’s over. It won’t be long now.” And once it was over, they’d finally be able to explore what was growing between them.
Rowan couldn’t wait.