Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Franky loved Halloween night. He loved being able to hand out candies to the trick-or-treaters and wander the streets and not worry about people saying anything about how he looked. Or even thinking he looked out of place or strange. He fit right in on Halloween.
The doorbell rang again, triggering sounds of ghosts and screams, and he flung open the door.
“Who dares darken my door this night?” He used his best monster voice.
There were a couple of screams amongst the half dozen kids at the door but mostly giggles and smiles, and as one, they all held up their treat collectors and shouted, “Trick or treat!”
“Hrmmm.” He pretended to contemplate which one he was going to go for, and then he nodded his head. “Treat!”
Smiling, he put two full-sized candy bars into each receptacle. “Great costumes, guys. Happy Halloween.”
“Happy Halloween!”
“Thank you, mister.”
“Did you see that? Two whole bars!”
“Told you it was worth coming up to the haunted house.”
The kids ran down the walkway like the hounds of hell were after them, but they were happy with their haul and themselves for bravely facing Franky and Drac’s old house.
Franky shook his head as he closed the door, but he didn’t mind.
The house was old and unique on the street, and it very much earned its role as haunted.
In fact, he and Drac cultivated the look.
The outside appeared quite dilapidated, but once you went in, they’d kept the place in its original splendor.
Its appearance kept people at bay. Except for real estate agents.
For some reason, the old place seemed to draw in the most annoyingly persistent of that breed, wanting to sell the place for them. Why would they want to sell their home?
The last guy had been so annoying, coming back a half dozen times to try to convince them, that Franky had almost let Drac feast on him. Almost. If he came back again, Franky was strongly inclined to let Drac have at him, and that wasn’t a sentiment he ever spent a lot of time on.
The doorbell moaned and groaned a few more times, and Franky admired costumes and handed out chocolate bars, admiring the moon that hung fat and bright in the sky overhead. It really added to the ambiance.
By nine, things had slowed considerably, the doorbell only going off a couple times in the last hour.
It rang again at just a few minutes past nine, and Franky got up from his seat in the parlor where he’d been watching the flames dancing in the fireplace.
“Why don’t you just turn out the lights already?” Drac asked. “Surely after nine is too late for legitimate trick-or-treaters to be up wandering the streets.”
Franky rolled his eyes. “If they ring the bell and say trick or treat, then I give them treats.” Surely Drac knew this by now, it was their who knew how many Halloweens together.
Drac just snorted indelicately at him, and Franky made his way to the front door. It was getting cold, and he was glad they’d decided to get the fire going. Maybe he’d even have some hot cider after this lot of kids—surely Drac was right that there wouldn’t be that many more.
He flung open the door, ready to admire costumes and hand out treats, but it wasn’t trick-or-treaters at the door at all.
It was Vince.
He blinked a few times before saying the first thing that came to mind.
“You’re not wearing a costume.” Vince was also a little old for trick or treating, but as long as the person at the door wore a costume, Franky would give them candy, no matter their age.
He didn’t candy-shame anyone. There were a few older kids who knew this and had been coming to their door since they were little.
He always gave them extra candy, for nostalgia’s sake.
Vince gave him a smile. “No, I’m not. I’m not here to trick or treat.”
“Oh? You’re not here to try to buy the house, are you?” He really hoped Vince didn’t moonlight as a real estate agent. That would be very disappointing because he liked the guy.
“What? No.”
“Oh good. We’re not fond of real estate agents here.”
Vince laughed a little, the sound slightly nervous, and rocked back on his heels, his smile seeming to fade a little. That made Franky frown. Why was Vince here?
“I came to see you, actually.”
“Oh.” He blinked a few times, Vince’s answer unexpected.
Had he forgotten something at the diner?
That had been a few days ago, though, surely Vince would have come sooner if that was the case.
In fact, Vince could have called him, and he’d have gone down and retrieved it.
Whatever it might be. “Did I forget something at the diner?” He couldn’t imagine what it was—he wasn’t missing whatever it was if he had.
“No.”
“Oh,” Franky said again. “Why did you come to see me?”
“I…” Vince looked like he was about to turn around and leave, but then he took a deep breath. “Can I come in?”
“Uh… sure.” Franky stepped back and held the door open wider.
Vince came in, his hands shoved into his pockets, and looked around as Franky shut the door again. Vince was a good-looking guy, and Franky admired him for a moment. It was too bad Vince hadn’t swiped right on the app.
“Wow, this place is amazing. You’d never know from the outside.”
“Thank you.” Franky smiled, wondering more than ever what Vince could be doing here. “So… you came to see me?”
Vince chuckled a little, the sound wry. “I did. I came to see you.”
“Okay.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake, Franky, invite the man into the parlor and offer him a drink,” Drac called from said parlor.
Franky shot a glare in Drac’s direction, but he did turn and invite Vince deeper into the house. “Would you like to come sit by the fire and have a warm drink? It’s a cold night.”
Vince’s smile grew wider. “I would, thank you.”
He led Vince to the parlor, Bob passing them as he came out.
“I’ll get you both some hot cider.”
“Thank you, Bob, that’s very kind.” Franky smiled at his friend and led Vince into the parlor. “You remember Drac?”
“I do. Hey. So you guys all live together?”
“We do. The big lug and I have been roommates forever.” Drac emphasized the word roommates, which Franky thought was rude. They’d already established he was undatable, right?
“And Bob’s a fairly new addition,” Drac added. “We needed someone who knew about wi-fi and streaming and all that.”
“Right.” Vince nodded politely.
Bob returned with two steaming cups, presumably of cider, and put it on the coffee table in front of the couch for them.
“There you go. I’ve got a hot date with a scary movie. If you need me, I’ll be in my room.” Bob waved and headed upstairs.
“Yes, and I’ve got a hot date.” Drac winked.
“You don’t have to go,” Franky told him, knowing damn well Drac didn’t go out until much closer to midnight.
Drac just laughed and headed out, leaving him and Vince alone.
“I’m sorry, they’re not usually so rude.”
“Actually, I think they were being very polite,” Vince countered.
“They were?” Now Franky was very confused.
Vince shook his head. “I came to see you, Franky.”
“That’s what you said, you just haven’t said why.”
“I guess subtle doesn’t work with you, eh?”
His confusion was not lessening. “Subtle?”
“Yeah.” Vince bumped their shoulders. “I like you.”
“I like you too, you’re very nice.”
“I like like you, Franky. You know?”
“You like like me?” Franky frowned. Then it hit him, what Vince meant. “Oh!” He smiled. “I like like you too, Vince.”
“Oh, thank god. I wasn’t sure if you just didn’t get it or if you were trying to be kind because you didn’t feel the same way.”
Franky laughed. “I’m not good at subtle, remember? If I didn’t like like you, I would have just said so. If I’d realized that’s why you were here…”
“Can we sit?” Vince asked.
“Yes.” That was a good start. And they had hot cider. He sat on the couch and Vince sat next to him—close even that Franky had left plenty of room on the other side of the couch. He smiled at Vince, and Vince smiled back.
“I had been hoping you’d come back to the diner,” Vince told him. “You said you were going to.”
“I do plan to, but we were busy decorating and preparing for tonight. We take Halloween very seriously.” At least he did. He had a feeling if he didn’t make sure everything got done, Drac and Bob wouldn’t bother.
“Yeah, I saw that. The place looks very spooky—I almost didn’t come up the walk.”
“Really?”
Vince chuckled and shook his head. “Okay, so I wouldn’t have let it stop me, but you have created the perfect creepy Halloween ambiance.”
“Thank you!” Franky beamed at him.
“Anyway,” Vince said after a few moments of silence.
“As you hadn’t come in to the diner, I figured I’d come to you.
I hope you don’t mind—I knew Bob’s full name from the credit card, so I googled him and found this address.
I was hoping he’d be able to let me know how to get in contact with you so I was pretty pleased when you answered the door. ”
“I’m glad you came.”
“You are, eh? You’re sure?”
“I’m very sure. I’d very much like to get to know you better.”
Vince relaxed, looking pleased. “I’d like that too, Franky. You seem like a great guy. I mean, you had a really rough afternoon there, and you didn’t take it out on me or the guys you were with. You really seemed to take it in stride.”
“I’ve had a long time to come to the realization that things are not always going to go your way and if you let it get you down, well.” He shrugged. “Life is better if you’re happy than if you’re sad and depressed.”
“That’s a great attitude.” Vince stared at him for a moment.
Franky stared back.
Then Vince pushed forward and brought their lips together. Oh. They were soft and warm, and he felt the kiss in the pit of his stomach. Franky raised a hand and cupped Vince’s head, deepening the kiss.
When their lips parted, Vince smiled at him. “Happy Halloween, Franky.”
“Happy Halloween, Vince.”
Then they kissed again, and this time when the doorbell rang, Franky ignored it.