Ty sits beside me, his arms moving about wildly as he passionately discusses solving his work crisis. “…so Theresa was yelling at Brian, and Brian was blaming Jaime, who isn’t even there anymore, and finally, I had to call it and say, ‘I don’t fucking care whose fault it is, we have to find a solution, and I want to be back on the beach, so we’re not going home until we figure it out.’”

We sit at the restaurant Eric suggested before Ty made his surprise appearance at the condo. The table is against the rail on the terrace, overlooking the bay as the sun sinks over the horizon, gold in a sky streaked with blue and red hues.

I feel bad because since Ty got back, he’s wanted to spend time with me, his best friend, and despite attempting to be as interested and engaged as I can be in catching up with him about everything that went down during his work catastrophe, there’s a part of me that keeps wishing I could have had more time on my own with Eric.

Eric isn’t subtle about what he wanted either. He keeps glancing at me from across the table, despite clearly trying to stay focused on Ty, trying not to give either of us away.

I turn and appreciate the sunset for a moment, but even that reminds me of what a magical date this could have been.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Ty says. “I know I’m boring you guys with work shit, and I shouldn’t be complaining because we’re celebrating Jesse’s new job, which I think we need to go ahead and toast to one more time for good measure.”

He raises his wineglass before noticing Eric’s is empty. Grabbing the bottle, he pours some more into his father’s glass and then adds a little to mine before topping off his own.

“Okay, now we’re good,” he goes on. “A toast to Jesse’s new awesome job, which I’m sure he’ll be incredible at. Jesse, I have always been impressed with you because you’re a hard worker, and you’ve put in a lot of time and hours at some shit companies that haven’t valued you as much as they should have. I told you they were shit companies and you deserved better, and finally, you’re taking an opportunity where I think you’re going to be used for all the skills you really have.”

“Thank you,” I say.

His sincere praise really throws me. As long as we’ve been friends, I’ve rarely heard Ty talk like that.

We clink glasses, and as we drink, I catch Eric’s expression again. We look away, but not quickly enough, like we want to let it linger as long as we can.

“Okay,” Ty says when he’s finished taking his drink. “I’m gonna head to the restroom.”

He bounces up and heads down a hallway behind Eric’s seat, where the signage leads to the restrooms.

I don’t fight my urge to look at Eric, and he’s not fighting it either. We hold each other’s gazes, neither of us saying anything but saying so much at the same time.

This isn’t like the awkward silences that were so prevalent when we’d first started getting to know each other. There’s something calming about it as we sit there, expressing our genuine appreciation of what we’ve shared…and the disappointment of knowing it’s over.

“This is a really nice dinner,” I tell him before turning my attention back to the sunset.

“I told you it’s a beautiful view, and it really would’ve been a very nice thing to share with you, just you, but maybe it’s better that it worked out this way. Maybe we needed this to remind us that at the end of the day, we’re both going back to our lives, and this will all be in the past.”

“Is that what you want?” I ask.

“No.”

I shouldn’t say what’s on my mind, but I can’t resist. I don’t want to resist. “It doesn’t have to be over. I mean, obviously, we can’t be prancing around here together, but when we get back, I would like to see you again, if you want to do that.”

He doesn’t respond, and it makes me feel that maybe I’ve been wrong about what we’ve shared.

“I would really like to see you too.” Eric’s admission nearly makes me gasp from relief.

We couldn’t have found a more complicated situation if we’d tried. It would’ve been fairly difficult for us to have made it more complicated than this, that’s for sure.

I turn my glance to the hallway Ty exited through to get to the restroom.

“Is he coming back?” Eric asks, peeking over his shoulder.

“No, no, I was just making sure. And while he’s gone, I figure we should take advantage of this moment.” I raise my glass. “A toast of our own, maybe?”

He raises his glass, a slight smirk unable to shake the disappointed expression on his face.

“To everything we’ve shared, to everything you’ve shown me,” I say. “I’ve appreciated it all, so regardless of what happens from this point on, I want you to know I really think you are a very good person, Eric. I’m looking forward to getting to know you more…at least I hope to get to know you more, Eric.”

I’m repeating his name intentionally…since I know how much he likes when I say it.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know you as well,” Eric says as he taps his glass against mine.

The chiming sound hums in my ears, ringing through the air.

As we look into each other’s eyes, it’s easy to forget we were interrupted. At least in this moment, it really is just a date between the two of us—the date Eric suggested, the one I wanted. No, it’s not the same, but it feels as special because at least we had a moment.

“Congratulations, Jesse,” Eric says, and those simple words send a rush of excitement through me, mean as much as when I told Charlotte and Stan about the job.

“Thank you,” I tell him before turning and watching the last sliver of sun disappear behind the horizon, reminding me that this part of whatever Eric and I have been doing has come to an end.

It was fun to lose ourselves completely and recklessly, but that was temporary, and now, what we pursue—if anything—comes with the realization that there’s a lot more at stake. Even knowing the consequences, there’s something inside me that tells me there’s much more to us than what we’ve discovered in this short time—something that must be explored. And that as difficult and problematic as it may prove to be, it might be worth it.