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Pulling his hands free, Greg bent to extend the handles on his bags. When he straightened, he glanced at Holden. “I don’t want it to end here either,” he said, and Holden’s heart soared. “But I’m scared.”
Holden closed the distance between them, took Greg’s hands back in his own. “I know. I am too. It hasn’t been easy flying under the radar, making everyone think I’m straight, finding a willing guy whenever it got too much, but now…” He shrugged. “Now, I know what I’ve been missing, and it’s going to make it harder to let their comments roll off my back because every one of them is going to remind me what it was like being with you and not having to pretend to be something I’m not.” Holden raised their clasped hands to his lips, kissed Greg’s fingers. “This would have been a lot easier if I met you in another couple of years, but I’m not willing to wait that long if there’s a chance of being with you right now.”
Greg shook his head, and the roller coaster Holden’s heart seemed to be riding took a sudden drop all the way down to his feet. Then Greg smiled. It was a small one, and still a bit sad, but a smile all the same. “I’m going to drop off my stuff in my parents’ place. Why don’t you get us a table for breakfast? Because I don’t want to wait a couple of years to be with you either.”
He started to turn away, but Holden was still holding his hands and pulled him back, pulled him all the way back until they were chest to chest. “Thank you for giving this a chance. Givingusa chance.”
“You’re such a sap,” Greg laughed but then leaned in and kissed Holden before he had a chance to feel indignant.
Holden didn’t know how long they stood in the parking lot kissing, but when they broke apart, he felt like he could breathe again for the first time since his phone rang. “Go,” he said. “I’ll make sure there’s coffee by the time you join me.”
“That sounds like a deal.”
Watching Greg wheel his suitcases toward the side entrance that led to his parents’ apartment, Holden took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Things were moving fast between him and Greg. Too fast? Who was to say what was too fast or too slow when it came to matters of the heart? All Holden knew was that in a matter of days, Greg had become one of the most important people in his life, and he was willing to do anything to keep it that way.
He grabbed his messenger bag and headed inside. Holden had barely been seated at a table in the restaurant when Jason appeared and asked if he could join Holden for a bit.
“Please.” Holden indicated the three empty seats at the table.
Jason settled into the one across the table from Holden and ordered them both coffees from the waiter who stepped forward almost immediately.
“Make that three,” Holden said.
“Just bring the carafe,” Jason said as the waiter left their table. He focused back on Holden. “Greg might be awhile. Rose is subjecting him to an inquisition.”
“About me?”
Rubbing at the spot between his eyes, Jason shook his head. “Unless there’s something else she thinks Greg is hiding from her.”
“I didn’t think we were exactly hiding.” Holden glanced across the lobby to the lounge, where he and Greg had danced two nights before.
“No, you weren’t.”
The conversation paused while the server brought three mugs, a carafe of coffee, cream, and a bowl filled with free-form sugar cubes. Jason waved him away and poured the coffee for both Holden and himself. They both added cream, Jason stirring in sugar while Holden took a sip.
“Should I be worried about Greg?” Holden asked.
Jason smiled. “I wouldn’t be. He knows how to handle his mother when she’s poking her nose into his personal business.”
Raising the mug, Jason kept his eyes on Holden while he took his first sip. They were remarkably similar to Greg’s eyes, Holden noted. He’d thought they looked similar that first night, but now that he’d gotten to know Jason better, he recognized the similarities ran deeper than appearance. Both men were honest about their feelings, they voiced what they thought even if it was a difficult topic, and they accepted the consequences of their words and actions. Jason had a wry smile, the same smile Holden had seen flit across Greg’s face on several occasions.
“So, she’s questioning Greg while you’re sizing me up?” Holden asked with a laugh and a shrug. “Fair enough.”
Jason nodded. “For what it’s worth, I’ve already made up my mind about you.”
“And how am I doing?”
In all his years, Holden had never been the subject of parental scrutiny before. He was equal parts amused and grateful he’d never had to go through this as a teenager. Amused because, truly, the only person whose opinion mattered was Greg, and Holden had a pretty good idea of what Greg thought about him. Grateful because, dear Lord, he was forty-eight, and the way Jason was staring at him was unnerving. If he were thirty years younger, he might be pissing himself. As it was, the fact that he might be closer in age to Jason than to Greg had him wondering if that was on Jason’s mind.
“How do you think you’re doing?” Jason asked.
They stared at each other for several beats of Holden’s heart before they both cracked a smile and laughed.
“I think I’m doing pretty well,” Holden said. “Considering your son wants to keep seeing me, and I think I’m one lucky bastard for that.”
“I told Rose that’s all that really matters here, but she worries about Greg. I don’t know all that’s gone on with him as far as boyfriends go, but I do know he’s been hurt a bit.” Jason shrugged. “It happens, but I think it spooked him.” Another shrug and another sip of coffee. “He hasn’t ever brought someone home since he was right out of the army. I figured you’ve got to be kind of special to him. And then when I saw the two of you together…” A third shrug. “I remember Rose looking at me exactly the same way he looks at you. I may not know everything, but I’m fairly certain my boy’s falling for you. All I need to know is that you won’t hurt him.”
“We’re still pretty new.”
