Okay, that was it. I was sick of reading between the lines. All I’d gotten from Charlie since he’d gotten off work was a cryptic message about his meeting turning out the best for everyone. Then, he’d texted an xox like he thought that was all I needed to know.

I was sick of playing therapist to everyone around me, interpreting their moods and trying to help them before they even noticed they needed it. And now Charlie was sending me therapy links? Like I was the one who had the issues here?

If Charlie expected me to be his hunk, his sweetheart, and his emotional interpreter, he was wrong about that. From leaving abruptly on Saturday to his short texts, something was clearly wrong. If that was work, that was fair—but he couldn’t just leave me hanging on here, guessing at what was wrong.

Finally, I gave in and called him, retreating to my room for some vague air of privacy.

“Hey,” Charlie answered after a minute. “Kev? What’s up?”

“Can we meet up?” I asked. “I’d like to talk.” I wasn’t going to hash all this out on the phone. Especially not the, So, you think I’m crazy? bit. I’d only barely glanced at the photo, but a LGBT mental health counseling hotline sounded a lot like you’re crazy, and I’d heard that enough for one lifetime.

Charlie hummed. “I’m going out this evening with a couple friends, and then seeing my—well, my… Hugh’s parents.”

Oh, boy. There was a reminder I didn’t need that he probably didn’t want me around when talking to his last, late boyfriend’s parents. “Right. I can drop by for a couple minutes,” I offered. “I just need to talk about things as soon as possible.”

“Is it a today thing?”

“Yeah,” I said, biting my lip. Was he trying to stall me?

“I don’t believe in going to bed with a grudge,” Charlie said. “Come on over. Want me to call you an Uber?”

“I’ve got it,” I promised. I’d figure out the money for it later. Right now, I just wanted to see Charlie. While our relationship was so new and fragile, letting resentments go until we were “less busy” was a bad idea.

“Okay, babe. See you in a few.”

“Bye,” I wished him, already grabbing a sweater and my keys. By the time the Uber arrived, I’d been shifting impatiently from foot to foot on the sidewalk for several minutes.

I couldn’t get to his house quick enough. Now that I’d apparently decided I needed to be around him more often, even an entire day without him had been painful. All the more so when he wasn’t giving me anything solid about how he was doing. After that kind of day, who knew what to expect?

Charlie greeted me at the door with a hug and a kiss, which was a relief. I smiled up at him as I stepped inside.

“How was your Monday?”

“Oh,” Charlie shrugged and gave me a roll of his eyes. “You know. Monday.”

I sighed and grabbed him by the hand to tow him to the couch. “Okay, boyfriend rules. Number one: none of this vague I could be better shit. I’m not going to play emotional oracle to guess what happened.”

Charlie blinked a few times and let me push him down to sit on the couch. “Oh.”

“I’m sick of trying to interpret what everyone’s thinking all the time,” I told him.

When I crashed next to him, he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me in. “Yeah? I didn’t mean to do that. I just didn’t want to worry you.”

I kissed his cheek and shook my head. Men. “I’ve been imagining you getting fired, or getting blacklisted from any new projects, or something… for my sake.”

“No,” Charlie said quickly, but he didn’t quite meet my gaze. When I nudged him, he sighed. “Okay, so… I’m moving to another company.”

Fuck. I sat up straight. “You did get fired?”

“Not quite.” Charlie took my hand. “I didn’t want you thinking it was your fault or anything. It’s the best move for me, and I would have done it regardless.” Then he smiled to himself. “Sort of.”

“More,” I told him, poking him in the ribs until he laughed.

“Sorry. I’m used to thinking through everything myself,” he told me, his lips quirking into a little smile. “Not used to having someone around who wants to help.”

I rubbed his back gently. “I know. But if all I get is silence from you, or if you shut down on me… I just start guessing, and that doesn’t end well.”

Charlie nodded. “Noted. I’m sorry I rushed off the other day.” He rested his head on my shoulder, and I held him close. It was an admission of vulnerability, especially with the way his voice had just softened. He seemed like he’d given in and he was talking now. “What did he mean about watermelon texts?”

I half-smiled. “When I worked, I’d send safety check-ins to him. Addresses, photos, that kind of thing. I didn’t realize he thought I was working…”

“Oh. That’s… smart of you.”

“I get by,” I shrugged. “But what else is going on?” I felt like I didn’t know what was going on between you wasn’t enough reason to rush off like that. “Something else was, wasn’t it?”

Charlie nodded. “I was stressed about the meeting today. I don’t like the idea of giving up what I’ve worked so hard for. But you’ve reminded me that I do have principles, and if I break them for money… well… what does that make me?”

I kissed the top of his head. “Plenty of good people do things they don’t love just to get by.” I sure as hell wouldn’t judge him for that.

“Yeah,” Charlie murmured, “but I can also walk away. When you have another option, or you can make your own… go for it. You taught me that.”

I blinked as he turned to look at me. I hadn’t expected him to look so sincere, and even… grateful. “Me?” I almost squeaked. I’d somehow expected that he was more… well, more put-together than me. He’d had another nine years to practice, after all.

“Yeah, you.” Charlie looked fond. “I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t met you.”

I bit my lip. “So, when you sent the counseling thing… you’re saying I’ve got issues?”

It took Charlie a few seconds before he gasped. “What? No. It’s a job.”

“But I can’t do that, so—” I suddenly broke off. “Oh, shit.” Here I was, spending the afternoon thinking he was telling me I needed to stop being so… whatever he thought. And I’d just fallen right into the trap of putting words in his mouth. “Shit. I didn’t even look at the photo for more than, like, two seconds.” I was blushing so much I could barely look at him.

Charlie just rubbed my shoulder gently. “It’s just a suggestion, anyway. There’s a lot of stuff you could be good at.”

But he had my attention, now that I’d stopped leaping to conclusions like a dumbass. “No, I… I’m good at listening. Normally. Not with my boyfriend, apparently, because I’m a dumbass…”

I was too damn used to having to read the mood of the room around me to stay alive. I could afford to take a step back and ask now.

Charlie laughed and kissed my cheek. “Now that I don’t believe. You’re smart. Everyone has those moments. And I’ve been stressing you out today. I really should have said something when I sent it to you.”

I breathed out a little sigh and shook my head. Thank God I’d insisted on coming over. At least I knew that much about how to have a relationship. “Thank you for agreeing to talk to me, like, right away.”

“I think that’s a smart move,” Charlie murmured and rubbed my back. “Glass of water? Anything stronger?”

“Yes, please. Just water.”

Charlie grabbed two glasses and brought them back. By that time, I’d at least pushed my embarrassment to the side so I could talk with him properly. “Thanks,” I told him and sipped. “So, if you give me a little more to interpret, I’ll try not to interpret for you,” I said. “Deal?”

“Deal,” Charlie said with a smile. “Did you want to meet my friends and my second parents?”

I stared at him. “You… you want me to?”

“If we’re doing this,” Charlie told me, “we’re doing it right.” He touched my knee. “Unless you’re not ready. But I don’t want you to think I’m hiding you.”

I let out a breath of relief as stress I hadn’t even been aware of melted away. Yeah, I was used to being hidden. But this was different. “Thanks. I’d love to.” As long as they didn’t judge me for not having an answer when the inevitable, So what do you do? question came up.

“And for my part…” Charlie trailed off, setting aside his glass and lacing his fingers with mine, “I’ve just been adjusting to the idea of being in a relationship again. I’ve thought of myself as single—or widowed, kind of—for so long that… I’m almost afraid of being happy.”

“Because you might lose me?” I asked, as gently as I could.

Charlie flinched and looked down, and I gave him some silence and space to figure out how he felt. “Partly that,” he finally said, leaning into my shoulder again. “And partly, I guess… if I’m happy with you, what does that mean about me and Hugh?”

I bit my lip and forced myself to acknowledge the moment of emotion in my chest. It wasn’t jealousy—I knew that much. I was just afraid of being the inferior option. In my job, I’d been the backup boyfriend—the emergency last resort for guys who were desperate. I didn’t want to be that in a relationship, too.

“How so?” I asked, trying not to get defensive.

“Like, if we were… you know, soulmates… but then I’m with you, and I feel like we click just as much as I did with Hugh in those early days…” Charlie’s brows knitted together.

I grimaced. Soulmates—there was no worse word, in my opinion, but Charlie clearly valued something about the idea. “Yeah?”

“I guess I’m just challenging what I believe love is.” Charlie’s voice was quiet, but he looked at me steadily now.

My heart nearly skipped a beat. “Was that a—do you mean…”

“I love you,” Charlie said softly. “It’s early days yet, I can tell. But it’s going to grow, if we’re careful. And I think it could be a long-term thing. I’m invested in you in a way that… kind of scares me.”

I took both his hands and squeezed them. Poor Charlie had only been trying to test the waters, and he’d tripped and fallen into… well, me. That would throw anyone off. “For what it’s worth, I think I love you, too. I haven’t really felt like this about someone else.” I struggled to put it into words for his sake. “Like I want to be there to see them grow and become the person they were meant to be. Like I… I just want to be around them all the time. I couldn’t even be away from you for a day,” I laughed, resisting the urge to cover my face with embarrassment.

“Someone wants the D,” Charlie teased.

That broke the mood and made me laugh. “You jerk,” I scolded, smacking his knee. “I was trying to be serious.”

“Sorry.” Charlie’s lips twitched as he clearly hid his grin.

I snorted. “The moment’s over now!” I declared, but I threw myself into him and let him catch me with a quiet, Oof! “Take me to your friends.”

“Aye aye, sir.” Charlie kissed my cheek. “I’d be delighted to.”