Evan opened his eyes and stared at the closed door. “Yeah,” he said. “He’s good to me.”
“Okay,” she said. “Then that’s what matters.”
They talked for a while longer, and there were moments when the conversation got heated and they had to find their way back. But she stayed on the line so Evan did too, and when they said goodbye, he honestly believed they would talk again soon.
He returned to the living room and sat next to CJ, who waited for Evan to talk.
“She called,” Evan said. “It’s a start.”
CJ’s hand moved to his knee and stayed there, but he didn’t say anything. Evan tipped his head sideways until it rested on CJ’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he whispered.
CJ just pressed a kiss to the top of his head and turned the volume up on the television, and for the first time in a long time, Evan felt like he was right where he was supposed to be.
EPILOGUE
EVAN
The house hunthad started as a joke.
A few weeks after the season ended, they had been sprawled on CJ’s couch while some HGTV marathon played in the background. Head resting on Evan’s thigh while he scrolled through his phone, CJ had casually asked, “What if we bought a house with, like, a backyard?”
Evan snorted. “For what? The dog you don’t have? Or the grill you don’t have and also don’t know how to use?”
CJ ignored him. “And a pool.”
“You hate pools.” Evan looked at him suspiciously. “You like going to the beach.”
“I likelookingat pools while I drink a cold beverage on my patio.”
“You’re weird.” He shook his head in amusement.
CJ started pulling up listings on his phone, and Evan, who had never before considered buying an actual house for himself, started looking too.
More than once, he found himself sending CJ absurdly expensive listings they could technically afford but would never actually buy. Some were modern monstrosities balanced oncliffsides that were so aggressively white and minimalist that neither of them could imagine experiencing any kind of joy inside them. There were houses with private movie theaters that neither of them would ever use enough to justify having. One house had an indoor bowling alley, which sent them into a twenty-minute debate over whether they needed one in the hypothetical house they were looking for.
Somewhere between laughing at private elevators and backyard guesthouses bigger than Evan’s apartment, he found himself starting to imagine what certain spaces would look like filled with furniture the two of them had chosen. Somewhere along the line, he realized it had stopped being about joking for him and started being about something far more dangerous: imagining a life together. They had never actually talked about the future like that, though, and he realized he knew what he wanted but didn’t have any idea what CJ wanted.
After dinner one night, he brought their plates to the sink where CJ was loading the dishwasher, then leaned against the counter. For a moment, Evan just watched him before speaking.
“Can I ask you something?”
CJ looked over at him. “Sure.”
“When we’re talking about buying a house together…” Evan hesitated, and CJ waited. “Are you actually serious?”
CJ frowned in confusion. Then he let out a disbelieving laugh. “Evan.”
“No, I’m serious.” Evan crossed his arms.
“I know you’re serious,” CJ replied. He wiped his hands on a dishtowel and turned to face Evan. “So am I. I’vebeenserious.”
Evan swallowed and looked down at the floor. “You keep talking about neighborhoods and kitchens and backyards and…” He shook his head. “Sometimes I can’t tell if you’re daydreaming or planning.”
CJ’s expression softened immediately, and he reached out to grab Evan’s hand. “Ev, I didn’t spend three hours researching school districts for fun.”
Evan blinked. “You researched school districts?”
CJ looked offended. “Of course I researched school districts.”
