Page 76 of Unfinished Noise

“It’s lunch,” Nathan said.

“Pancakes are timeless.”

Jamie snorted. Spencer grinned.

Billy finally spoke. “So… Christmas.”

Jamie met his eyes. “Yeah. Christmas.”

Billy looked away, jaw tight and shoulders pulled in. The move said everything. A small, sharp spark settled behind Jamie’s ribs. Spencer deserved better than someone who folded the second things stopped going his way. Better than someone who made him doubt himself. Better than someone who walked out when things got hard.

Jamie shifted closer to Spencer, fingers brushing the back of Spencer’s arm in a quiet claim. Billy noticed. His mouth tightened even more.

Good. Spencer had someone who stayed.

“And we’re getting married Christmas Eve,” Nathan added.

“What’s going on here?” Farlan asked.

“Love is love,” Alfie said.

Both Farlan and Billy congratulated them.

Lunch passed with easy conversation. Nathan teased Alfie about almost crashing. Alfie teased him right back. Farlan talked about a new guitar he wanted. Billy stayed quiet.

Jamie leaned into Spencer’s side. Spencer nudged him gently and smiled.

After they finished eating, they piled back into the van. Spencer drove. Jamie sat in the passenger seat. Nathan and Alfie argued about whether pancakes counted as lunch food. Farlan and Billy drove behind them in their van.

Jamie rested his hand on Spencer’s knee. Spencer glanced at him for a second, and Jamie felt his love again. The kind that made the world feel simple. This was the life he wanted, the one he had chosen, and he didn’t regret a single part of it.

When Spencer stopped for gas, Nathan and Jamie swapped seats. Jamie and Alfie had fresh new minted pacifiers to suck on during the trip as they played Fortnite on their Xboxes.

The drive to Reno stretched long and quiet at first. The highway cut through miles of open land, all pale gold and scrubby green. The sky looked huge and made Jamie feel small in a good way.

Alfie sprawled sideways, one leg kicked out, sunglasses perched on top of his head. “Billy looked like he had seen a ghost,” he said.

“He did,” Jamie said.

“Think he’s freaking out because of the wedding?” Alfie looked out the window.

“Yeah.” Jamie rested his elbow on the window. “He thought Spencer would never move on.”

Alfie snorted. “Spencer moved on the second he met you.”

A quiet settled within him. “Billy hurt him. Farlan too. I don’t get why they act surprised.”

Alfie leaned forward, tapping Nathan’s shoulder in the front seat. “Hey. Did you see Billy’s face?”

Nathan didn’t turn around. “He looked like he had swallowed a battery.”

Jamie laughed. “He didn’t even congratulate us properly.”

Nathan glanced back. “He’s jealous. That’s all it is.”

Jamie looked out the window again. The desert rolled by in long stretches with the sun hanging low enough to paint everything in warm orange.

Alfie nudged him. “Are you okay?”