Alec arrived home with a smile on his face after a day of running errands on the Monday after Thanksgiving. It was a productive day and another step forward in pulling his life back together. All of the pieces were falling into place. He bought groceries, purchased paint to deal with a nagging old water stain in the extra upstairs bedroom, and dropped off clothes for charity that he’d stored in the closet for two years. Jensen slept over Thanksgiving night, and Alec hung out at Jensen’s house on Saturday most of the day with Jensen’s friend and current houseguest Les.

As he pulled into the driveway, Alec knew that he had approximately ninety minutes to change clothes, have dinner, and drive downtown to work on the light crew for the night’s show. He’d planned the time perfectly to allow for a quick visit with Jensen if he was available.

Surprising Alec, Jensen knocked at the front door minutes after Alec arrived home. Alec planned to send a text message, but he didn’t have the phone out of his pocket yet when he heard the knock.

Opening the door, Alec said, “Wow, you’re quick! Were you watching for me to get home? I don’t have long because of the show tonight, but I’ve got plenty of time for a quick hug and a kiss.”

Jensen pushed inside and shut the front door behind him. “I hope I can get a few more minutes than that. I’ve got something I have to tell you. I’m done stewing over things and trying to decide when to bring them up. I have to tell you now.”

“Wow, something is up. Do I get that hug first?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sorry.” Jensen wrapped his arms around Alec and shared a kiss that was more like a peck.

Alec stepped back and raised an eyebrow. “You’re not yourself. I hope Les is okay.”

“Les is fine. There’s nothing up there. It’s what I heard at school today.”

“Oh, man. That could be anything. I hope something bad didn’t happen to one of the kids. Should we sit on the couch for a few minutes? My T-Shirt’s there on the back of the chair. I’ll grab it and change while we talk. That way I can kill two birds with one stone.”

Jensen watched Alec unbutton his shirt, and he sighed. “Damn, you look so good. I don’t know if I…shit, I’ll have to spit it out.”

As Alec pulled the black T-Shirt down over his chest, he grew more concerned. “Yes, tell me. I’m starting to worry.”

“I got a call about a job.”

Alec straightened the sleeves of his shirt. “Okay, so you got a call about a job. Is it one that’s interesting to you? What is it? Would you work at a different school? Where is it? Would you have a shorter commute?”

“Arizona.”

Alec blinked hard. “Arizona?”

“Yeah. My principal has a friend down there in Phoenix. He recommended me for an opening, and now they want to interview me. It’s a good job. It’s more money. It’s a bigger school, and, well, I like Arizona. I’ve been there twice.”

A confused expression took over Alec’s face. “Are you looking for a job? I didn’t hear anything about that. Maybe you should have told me if you were. This is sudden.”

Jensen shook his head. “Oh, no, I’ve not been looking for a job. Of course, I think about moving up to a better position. Most people do when they think about their job, but no, I’ve not been looking. The news was a big surprise to me. I wasn’t expecting it at all. Not at all.”

“Well, assuming they like you when they interview you…of course, they’ll like you. I’m sure you’ll be impressive like you are with everything else you do. So, assuming they like you, when does the new job start?”

“Next school year.”

Alec’s eyes opened wider, and he exhaled. “That’s almost a year from now. They don’t rush things, do they?”

“Well, it’s education. Often, when someone leaves a job, they announce that they are going at the end of the school year and give a lot of advance warning. That way the school district can conduct an extensive search. I’m not sure it makes any difference, does it? Arizona is a long way from the Midwest.”

Alec rubbed his hands on his jeans. “Oh, yeah, of course it is.” He paused. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yes, please do. I feel like I’m the awful bearer of potentially bad news. Just when I’m confident I can break my dating record, life throws a huge curveball. I don’t think I can hit curveballs. I couldn’t do it in high school. That’s why I didn’t go out for the team.”

Alec laughed softly. “You’re funny sometimes, Jensen. You really are funny.”

Jensen wrinkled his brow. “I don’t see anything funny about this at all. What’s funny?”

“Oh, the curveball thing was funny. I’ll ask you the question I had in mind. Throwing everything else aside, do you hope you’re still my boyfriend at the end of the school year? I mean this school year. That’s May or June, isn’t it?”

Jensen nodded and looked down at the hardwood floor. “It’s the end of May unless we get a lot of snow. Yeah, of course, I hope we’re still together, but with this… Shit, I feel like I’m on the verge of ruining everything. I can turn the job thing down, but it’s a big potential offer. I hate this. We shouldn’t get choices. Somebody should tell me what to do and take all of the choices away.”

“Aww, fuck, Jensen. I think you might be making a huge deal out of something that isn’t one. I’ll ask you another question.”

“Okay.”

“If we’re still a couple at the end of the school year, do you think it would be too early to move in together?”

Jensen looked up again. “After we’re together for around eight months? If we last that long, I think it makes a lot of sense to consider living together. My parents married each other after six months of dating. That’s a little quick, but they’re still married. Neither of us is getting any younger. Well, if we’re still here next door to each other, it might not be important.” Jensen took a breath. “Wait, are you…?”

Alec chuckled softly. He loved hearing all of Jensen’s thoughts out loud. He said, “I bet they have a lot of concerts and plays in Phoenix.”

Jensen started to smile. He said, “Of course they do. It’s a huge city, and it’s getting bigger all the time.”

“It only makes logical sense that they need people that know how to run the lights.”

“You bet.”

Alec leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. “Well, here’s the deal, Jensen. I think if you get offered this job, and it’s a great one, I should go with you. Isn’t that what good couples do? They make the best decisions possible, and sometimes they follow one person’s job, even if it’s a thousand miles away. Of course, I would only do it if you want me to go with you.”

Jensen shook his head. “Seriously, how did I get so lucky? I’d love that. I’m a little worried that I’m going to cry.” He reached out and wiped at the corner of his eye. “If I do, it’s happy tears. I want you to know that. Shit, could you leave this house? Could you leave the city?”

“I think you would have a tougher time doing that than me.”

“I would? Why do you say that?”

“I’d be escaping ghosts. I think that might be a good thing whether we go to Phoenix or not, but you’ve got a guy over there in your house. He’s a special guy. He’s important. You can’t do this without at least thinking about the impact on your friendship.”

Jensen sighed. “Yeah, Les is the best friend I could hope for. He’s a little loopy sometimes, but he’s always got my back. I do need to keep that in mind, but none of this is anywhere close to a done deal. They haven’t talked to me at all. For all I know, they might have somebody right there in their school district, and they want to talk to me to check off the box proving they opened the position up for a real search.”

“I bet they’ll love you. You’re hard to resist. I learned that quickly when you gave me that pan of lasagna.”

Jensen said, “I need a hug, and then you better be damned careful climbing into the rafters downtown tonight. I don’t like to think about you hanging up there, but I guess I’ll get used to it.”

“I don’t ever want to get used to you. I want it to feel like I’m discovering you all over again day after day.”