Chapter Twelve
Rusty’s ears perked up as he heard footsteps on the stairs. He turned to the doorway as they approached, knowing it had to be Blake.
No one else had woken up yet.
“Perfect timing,” he said as Blake rounded the corner, dishing out scrambled eggs from the pan he’d been cooking them in. “I thought I owed you breakfast.”
“You didn’t have to cook for me,” Blake said, though he didn’t even hesitate to sit down at the table and look over at Rusty expectantly.
“It’s not much. I hope you like your eggs scrambled,” he said.
“Scrambled works,” Blake responded. He’d changed back into sweatpants and a t-shirt, which was a shame. Rusty had been enjoying the towel.
He grabbed both plates and headed over to the table, setting one down in front of Blake and sitting down across from him with his own plate.
Blake took up his knife and fork without a moment’s hesitation, piling eggs onto his toast and cutting off a corner to start eating. He must’ve been hungry.
They hadn’t really eaten much last night. Rusty had meant to grab them takeout or make them cheese toasties when they came in, but he’d been as upset as Blake was about how their night had gone.
This was his apology, and judging by the soft, happy sounds Blake was making, he assumed it was acceptable.
“Are there chives in this?” Blake asked.
“There are,” Rusty confirmed.
“Huh. Weird, but good.”
“Weird?” Rusty raised an eyebrow. “Chives are the thing you have with eggs. Every café in the world puts them in.”
“Maybe in Australia,” Blake said.
“I… don’t think this is an Australian thing. I think it’s a whole world versus you personally thing.”
“Well, I like it.” Blake shrugged. “I don’t really eat out much. I feel like an idiot eating alone.”
“I’ve always got someone to bribe with the promise of free brunch,” Rusty said. “This is the best company I’ve had in a while, though. I actually like you.”
“I like you, too,” Blake said. “And, uh. I wanted to thank you, for trusting me enough to tell me about your parents. I kinda got the impression you didn’t get along, but… I dunno. It means something that you’d trust me with that.”
Rusty looked down at his plate. He did trust Blake. Blake had always felt like he was on Rusty’s side, just because, and not hanging around to see what he could get from him.
People like that were few and far between in Rusty’s life.
“Well, if you like it when I whinge about my life, I can keep whinging,” Rusty said.
“You can, if you need to,” Blake responded, cutting another piece of toast eagerly. “I’ll listen.”
Rusty had no doubt that he would, but Blake didn’t deserve to hear him complaining. He deserved someone who’d take care of him.
Rusty wasn’t sure he could be that man for anyone. He’d heard he was useless enough times now that he believed it.
But he would have liked to be, one day, for someone like Blake.
“You’ve already listened. Means a lot,” Rusty said sincerely. They’d had a rocky night last night, but he was starting to feel like they were getting past it.
“Then it’s my turn to tell you something,” Blake began, keeping his eyes firmly on his eggs.
His cheeks were already going red. Rusty loved that he blushed at everything. It made him easy to read.
“You were my first,” he said softly. “I know I probably wasn’t yours. I just… wanted you to know that you’ll always mean something to me.”
“First as in…?” Rusty trailed off, not sure how to word the rest of the question.
Blake’s intense blushing gave the answer away, though. He nodded, looking down at his eggs again, the tips of his ears practically glowing red.
“Oh,” Rusty said. “Well… I couldn’t tell.”
That was why Blake had been so hurt last night, probably. Rusty meant something to him.
He didn’t begin to deserve that, but he understood it.
Guilt settled in the pit of his stomach. He would have done a lot of things differently if he’d known. Been gentler, more patient. Not that Blake had complained, but…
Rusty would have liked to do better by him. He would have liked to be doing better by him right now.
“I didn’t want you to know,” Blake said. “I just… I was so grateful that someone so kind and thoughtful had just fallen in my lap while I was away from home so no one ever had to know and I could stop being nervous about it. Hope Springs is a small town, and it’s full of gay people, but… it’s still a small town. If it’d been anyone else, everyone would have known. You offered me something important, and I’m grateful for that. I never said. But you don’t have to apologize for dragging me into this in the first place. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Rusty swallowed, not sure how to respond to that. His heart felt tight, some unidentified feeling tugging on it, making every beat an effort.
It meant something to him, too. He probably needed to tell Blake that.
“I wouldn’t trade it, either,” Rusty said softly.
Looking back, it was the last time he remembered feeling truly free. He could never separate Blake from that feeling, and he didn’t want to.
“The sex was really hot,” Blake responded after a moment, still blushing, but this time with a smile on his face.
“Oh yeah,” Rusty agreed. “Long time ago now, though.”
Blake hummed, still working his way through breakfast. “I’ve learned a few things since,” he said. “But you never forget your first.”
Rusty laughed at that, but he couldn’t pretend to himself that it didn’t feel good. He was glad that Blake was happy with his first time, even if he regretted not being better to him.
“So, what’re we in for today?” Rusty asked. He still wasn’t sure why they’d flown in so early for the wedding, but he was enjoying his time in Hope Springs, for the most part, so he didn’t mind.
“I guess most people are hungover.” Blake smiled wryly. “There’s a family dinner tonight. Bringing everyone together so they can meet.”
Rusty chewed on his toast, waiting to see if there was anything else.
“We don’t have to go,” Blake said. “If you don’t want to. It’s not important.”
The way he said it told Rusty that it was important. Maybe Blake was nervous about it, but it did matter to him, for whatever reason.
“I’m not in the habit of passing up free food,” Rusty said. “We can get out of the way if you don’t wanna go, but… don’t back out on my account. I love a good family dinner.”
He didn’t, but he was trying to be encouraging. He’d had a hiccup in his perfect husband promise, and he wasn’t about to have another one. He was nothing if not a man of his word.
“That was a terrible lie,” Blake said. “But I’m going to pretend I can’t tell and drag you along anyway. At least it’s not your family. And my parents love you so much. They won’t shut up about you.”
Rusty grinned at that. “I’ve always been good with parents. Apparently I seem sensible.”
Blake snorted. “I really can’t see that, but considering the way my parents talk about you… you’re probably right.”
Rusty hummed, piling more eggs onto his toast and eating happily. He was glad he’d sorted things out with Blake.
It was nice to see him happy, and it hurt like hell to see him upset. Rusty planned on keeping him happy until they parted ways.
Even if that meant sitting through a family dinner.