I doctor up a mug for Juliette, waiting for the coffee to percolate. “So you guys worked it all out?”
She laughs, her cheeks claiming some color. “I’m so embarrassed about that night. I’m usually so private and–”
I slip into the barstool next to hers and pat her hand. “Love makes us do wild things sometimes, doesn't it?”
She smiles. “I guess so.” She peers back at Cade and Ford, still talking, and looks back to me, green eyes wide. “So are you two…?”
I nod. “We are very much together.” I let out a sigh, and drop my head into my palm, blinking at Juliette. “I liked him for so long. I almost can’t believe he’s mine.”
She pats my hand. “Oh honey, tell me about it.”
When the coffee is done, I pour us each some and Juliette tells me about her current photography project, and how the fashion show here in the city went. While I’mmaking toast, Ford and Cade reenter the space, both of them wearing easy smiles.
My heart swells.
Juliette slips out of her seat, but Ford eases her back down with a hand to her shoulder. “You don’t have to rush on my account.” He cuts me a look. “Noah, this is my girlfriend Juliette. Juliette, I see you have been getting acquainted with Cade’s boyfriend, Noah.”
We fall into easy conversation, while Cade makes eggs Benedict, another round of coffee, and plates fruit like a chef. The morning is slow, and in my belly shirt and Cade’s sweats, I find the beginnings of a great relationship with Ford and Juliette.
After spendingthe weekend in my apartment, we drive to campus together in my car on Monday, windows down, letting the fresh post-rain air cleanse us. We’ve showered a lot this weekend but it was nonetheless pleasantly filthy.
His hand rests on my thigh the entire way, quietly reminding me of how far I’ve come, and I don’t mean in understanding myself. I mean in not getting a raging hard-on every single time he touches me. I’ve never been that way with anyone but Cade.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m hard, but at least I’ll be able to walk when we get there.
When we park and start walking toward the annex, I thread our fingers together openly. Cade squeezes once, then we relax into it, and it takes less than a moment to feel natural. Completely.
The annex buzzes with the usual Monday morning energy—students chatting over huge coffees, some rushing to their first, even second class. A few heads turn as we pass, eyebrows lifting at our joined hands. Whispers will follow, of course. But standing beside Cade, feeling the steady warmth of his palm against mine, none of it matters. None of it ever mattered to me—but I’m happy that it no longer matters to Cade now either.
We reach our office door. I unlock it and hold it open for him with a dramatic little bow that makes him laugh—the sound I’ve missed more than air these past five days. The long weekend together was a good start at refilling my tank, but I can already tell, the days we force ourselves to be apart simply because we’re afraid of moving too fast? Those days are gonna be fucking awful.
Once inside, we hit our normal routine. Bags off, lamps on with the blinds open. He starts his laptop and I do the same. We check phone messages, then emails. Sunlight jumps through the blinds, landing across the bookshelves. I get up at one point and close the door, to block out the loud students in the hallway.
Eventually, he has a student meeting. And then I get pulled into some…thing. I don’t even know what. Because I’m in a lovesick haze.
On our way out, Dr. Pratt stops us and invites us to hisbarbeque over the weekend, and slips me his wife’s number to receive my assigned recipe. “It’s not a potluck. It’s a Kathleen Pratt-assigned feeding frenzy.” He beams when discussing her. “But we have a great time. It’s a regular thing.” He looks between us. “You both would have been invited individually but this makes it easier.” He wags a finger. “If it doesn’t work out, you’re not changing offices. And I wish I was kidding but Mulroney just signed on for another five years.”
I shake my head. “That old shit.”
Cade’s brows pull together. We haven’t discussed Mulroney, but it’s possible they have beef. I nudge him. “What?”
He looks at Dr. Pratt. “It’s gonna work out. You’ll be buying us a toaster or electric wine cork remover at some point in the future.”
That was by far the hottest thing Cade has ever said, and the most unexpected thing, too. I’m actually kinda hard right now. Dr. Pratt laughs, and shakes Cade’s hand. “I hope so. But you’re wrong about the electric wine cork remover. I’d never buy that. Those suck.”
Then the three of us end up catching a late meal, discussing the symposium, class schedules, and new peer reviews for hours. Me, Cade and the head of our department. Cade kisses me on the cheek twice during the evening, and I swear I’m so drunk off of life I feel like proposing.
CHAPTER
THIRTY
CADE
Six months have passedlike pages turning in the best kind of novel—one you can’t put down, where every chapter leaves you aching for more. The life Noah and I have been building together feels both accomplished and exciting, as if the universe or God or whoever had been waiting for me to finally catch up and gifted me with the most perfect partner.
Tonight, my house is brimming with warmth and laughter, light and happiness. The kitchen smells of garlic, fresh basil, and the citrus heaven of Zennie’s famous lemon bars, cooling on the counter, taunting us all. Kat’s voice carries from the dining room where she’s arguing with my uncle Geo about the price of a competitor’s listing, while Juliette and my dad canoodle quietly in thecorner. And yes, I’d very much and slightly uncomfortably call it canoodling.
Noah stands at the stove beside me, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, stirring risotto with the focused intensity he usually reserves for my eyes behind closed doors.
