Bastian chuckled. “It took me some time to get used to it but I’m getting there.”
“Oh! I forgot that you haven’t been here long.”
“Just a few weeks,” Bastian said. He gestured to a cabin’s porch before leading Hudson over. There was a couple of wicker chairs with bright pillows that looked out onto the large lawn.
“What brought you here?” Hudson was dying to learn more about Bastian.
They sat and Hudson liked that Bastian sat close.
“Good friends of mine, co-workers, Leo and Aaron moved here as Leo’s brother Gavin lives here. I was traveling around the United States and didn’t have anything better to do so I decided to swing by.”
“You don’t work?” Hudson frowned. That wasn’t right. “I thought you were buying that office today?”
“Yes.” Bastian nodded. “Aaron and I retired from our work with a government agency. Leo just resigned this week. We’re opening our own office.”
“Government agent?” Hudson asked.
Bastian nodded tensely and Hudson decided not to push. “What are you going to do here?”
“Aaron has his private investigator license. We’ll expand on that.”
“Oh! That’s so cool. I’ve never met a private detective before. I’ve only ever seen them on television.”
“It’s not as exciting as it sounds,” Bastian said with a smile. “A lot of sitting around or computer work. But if we can help people, then it’s worth that frustration.”
“Cool.” This was not what he expected to learn about Bastian. “And you came here because of Leo’s brother?”
“That’s kind of how it works here,” Bastian said. He sat back in the chair as he peered across the yard.
There was a swimming pool, toys, a giant playset, what even looked like a sandbox, all around the yard. Hudson didn’t remember hearing about any kids being there, but they must have several.
“Bryce visited the town to see his best friend after Shawn moved to run a construction company. Axel took one look at Bryce and it was practically love at first sight.”
Hudson giggled. He loved the idea of just knowing that someone was right for you.
“Bo came to work at the club in town that Craig owns and met Craig and Nate. Lawson went to the club with his brothers Seb and River. Drake found Lawson, then River met Axel’s brother, Anton.”
Hudson leaned closer, intrigued by the connections.
“Rainier was meeting Shawn about a store front and ran into River and Anton. Seb went to visit Nate, Craig, and Bo in Bo’s hometown and met Ash.”
“One person led to another?” Hudson asked. “It’s like a fairytale.”
“That is an absolutely brilliant description about how the couples and throuples have all gotten together.”
Hudson dropped his head as he blushed. Bastian wasn’t making fun of him. He smiled as he responded to Hudson’s silliness. Maybe he could be a part of the story as well. He felt more comfortable with Bastian than on any other date that he’d ever been on.
Bastian continued to share about the rest of the couples and Hudson found himself drawn into what sounded like chaos and happiness. They really did sound so happy.
He was disappointed when Bas waved at himself as he spoke.
“Then I came here and that’s it so far.”
“What about the kids?” Hudson asked.
“Kids?” Bastian questioned.
Hudson waved his hand around the yard.
