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“Deal,” he finally said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, but before he could pull up Emil’s contact info, his heart began to race. He took a few deep breaths, but his hands began to shake.
Oliver quickly laid warm fingers to his wrist. “Hey. I was mostly kidding. If you’re not ready?—”
“I’m ready,” Renzo said in a rush. “I’m more than ready. I was being a moron, waiting for him to restart a conversation that I paused, because that’s…” That’s how it had been with his ex. Everything had been on John’s terms, no matter what. And Renzo was still trying to learn what it meant to finally hold power in his own life. He licked his lips, then voiced another quiet fear. “What if he turns me down?”
“Not a chance in hell,” Oliver said with a small laugh. “But if he does, you’ll move on. You’ll meet someone else, and you’ll learn how to be happy with a person who makes you feel good about yourself. There are more good men in the world. I promise you that.”
Renzo’s heart ached in all the worst ways when he thought about being with anyone else but Emil. He rubbed at his sternum. “I haven’t had the best luck.”
“I know. But you were caught up with a dick-weasel for way too long. It made you forget how fucking hot and fun you are.”
Renzo choked on a laugh as he rubbed his thumb over the side of his phone. He stared down at Emil’s name on the screen. “I’m seriously not.”
Oliver let out a sharp laugh. “First of all, yes, you are. I still call you the hot professor at home, and Victor gets so pissed about it. Secondly,” Oliver went on before Renzo could stop him, “Emil called us while we were on vacation and waxed poetic about the sexy shirtless lumberjack for half a goddamn hour.”
Renzo’s whole body erupted in a blush. “To Victor? No wonder he still hates me.”
Oliver burst into laughter. “He doesn’t hate you. And he’ll warm up a lot more once you and Emil are official. Which you will be. Trust me.”
Renzo lost the ability to argue with him any further. Instead, he forced his thumb to move, and he tapped Emil’s name on the screen, then held the phone to his ear. His heart beat hard enough it was almost a rhythmic accompaniment to the ringing.
“Hey. Hi,” a voice said after a beat of silence. Emil cleared his throat. “Hi.”
Renzo tried not to laugh. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Emil said again.
Renzo’s grin was so wide it hurt. “Sorry to call like this. You’re with Victor, aren’t you?”
Emil made a small choking noise. “How did you know? Are you here right now?” Renzo heard a chair squeak loudly in the background. “Where?—”
“No, no. I’m at a café with Oliver,” Renzo told him. “I feel like they’re the children of divorced parents who are trying to fix shit.”
Both Oliver and Emil laughed at the same time, and Renzo quickly turned away from his friend. “I don’t have long, but I think I’m about to lose a bet.”
“Oh?” Emil asked softly.
Renzo swallowed heavily. “First of all, I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I was being a moron and thought I couldn’t. I thought I had to wait for you to come back to me.”
“Back?” Emil breathed softly. “Renzo…I never left.”
“I know. I know that now. Let’s just call my bad decisions my shitty trauma and move on.”
Emil laughed again. “We can do that. What’s the other thing?”
“I was calling, um…well. Matty and I both are hoping you can still make it for New Year’s Eve.” There was a long, long pause, and suddenly, Renzo’s heart dropped to his feet. “I totally get it if you made other plans, considering I was a jackass who?—”
“I can’t,” Emil said in a rush. Renzo felt like his heart was starting to crack, ready to shatter into a billion pieces. “You have no idea how much I want to, but I just found out I’m being subpoenaed.”
Renzo sat up, blinking in surprise. “What?”
“I got the email about two minutes ago. Victor did too. It’s a long story, and I can explain it all next time I see you, but it looks like I have to get a flight back to California today. I’m so sorry, gorgeous.”
“What the fuck!” Oliver cried suddenly, staring at his phone in horror.
Renzo laughed, though his heart was still a little tender. “I guess Victor just told Oliver?”
Emil sighed. “Yeah. He’ll obviously come along, but I can’t promise the whole thing will be over before the next semester starts. We have a ton of meetings, and the first hearing isn’t until the second week of January. I’m so sorry,” he said again.
