Charlie breathed a sigh of relief the moment he set the phone down. He’d expected a twinge of regret, or to feel as though he’d just taken a huge risk, but…
It didn’t feel that way at all.
He turned the key Scott had given him over in his hand, marveling at it.
Scott felt the same way. They were both dancing around what this felt like, how easy it was, but their actions spoke louder than words.
Charlie wanted to stay. Scott wanted him to stay.
This wasn’t a mistake. He didn’t have to regret it.
Riley would have been so proud of him. For once in his life, Charlie felt just as brave as his older brothers. Sure, his bravery wasn’t like theirs. He hadn’t left home and headed out into the world to make his own way.
Sometimes he was ashamed of that, but not today. Today, he knew that sticking around had been the right thing. He knew that making this choice was the brave thing to do.
He wasn’t giving up his shot at a better future. He was taking it.
Scott was the better future. Scott, and Hope Springs, and everything he had here… that was what Charlie really wanted.
Somehow, he was getting to have it.
Charlie looked up as the bedroom door opened, and all the dogs, who’d settled down with him earlier, ran over to Scott, milling around his legs in the hopes that he’d drop something from the plates he was holding.
He always gave them something. He was careful to make sure it wasn’t anything they couldn’t have, but they always managed to get something from him. Just a taste.
He’d said it was to make them feel like they were part of his pack.
Charlie wanted to be part of Scott’s pack, too.
“How’d it go?” Scott asked, handing Charlie a plate stacked high with waffles, bacon, and scrambled eggs, as promised.
“They were disappointed, but I don’t care. There are lots of good librarians in the world. There’s only one Hope Springs. There’s only one you.”
Scott blushed darkly, settling back onto the bed beside Charlie. “No regrets?”
“None,” Charlie said. “Seriously. I was just thinking about that. I feel relieved. I didn’t want to leave. I never wanted to leave.”
“Then how come you applied?” Scott asked.
“It was before I met you.” Charlie shrugged. “Before I met you… I hadn’t dated in over a year. I had my heart broken last time when my boyfriend announced that this town was too small for him, that I wasn’t worldly enough for him, that he wanted bigger and better things.”
“Ouch,” Scott said between bites of waffle. “He was an asshole.”
Charlie shook his head. “Not really. We weren’t right for each other, but he wanted what he wanted, and that wasn’t me. Which is fine.”
“You’re enough for me,” Scott said. “More than enough. A little too much, sometimes.” He smiled.
“You’ll get used to me.” Charlie shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth, making soft, happy sounds as he chewed. Scott knew his way around breakfast foods.
He was definitely the right decision.
“Your whole family is kinda like that, huh?” Scott smiled wryly. “They’re cool, though. I, uh… I like the idea of being part of it. If they’ll have me.”
“Are you kidding? My mom has already mentally adopted you,” Charlie said. That was true. She hadn’t stopped asking about Scott since she’d first met him, and once he’d come to lunch, that was it. He was part of the family already, whether he liked it or not.
“I can live with that.” Scott nodded, chewing on the corner of his toaster waffle.
They needed a waffle maker.
Charlie was absolutely moving in, and Scott wasn’t going to be able to stop him.
“Hey, uh,” Scott started after a few moments of eating quietly. “I never asked about your tattoos. And it’s not that I’m not interested, it’s just never really seemed like a good time, but…”
“You’re curious,” Charlie said. “I get it. I’ve been expecting you to ask.”
“So…”
Charlie laughed. Everyone asked, and he didn’t mind answering, but Scott’s curiosity was adorable.
“I planned the clock on the day of my dad’s funeral, and I had to wait two years before I could actually get it done,” Charlie said, gesturing to his chest. “It’s a way of honoring him, but also a way of reminding myself that life is short. He died so suddenly. He left half a dozen projects in the garage that are still just… gathering dust.”
“You don’t have to tell me this if you don’t wanna,” Scott said.
“No, I… I want to, I just… the point is, we only have a little time. Some of us more than others, but even the longest life is so short. Which is why I’m not holding back with you. I love you. I don’t wanna pretend I don’t. I don’t want to pretend this doesn’t feel like forever.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Scott murmured. “I was so scared of losing you. I couldn’t imagine my life without you. And it’s too soon, I know that, and I feel like an idiot, but… you feel so right. You feel like…”
“The One,” Charlie finished for him. Scott nodded, staring down at his plate.
Charlie’s heart was pounding in his chest. Scott felt it too. It wasn’t one-sided or something he was imagining. Scott felt it.
“Yeah. You, too,” Charlie added.
He’d have to get a tattoo for Scott. Not his name—name tattoos were cursed—but something. Even if this all ended tomorrow, Scott would still have meant something to him. Something huge. He wanted to honor that, as well.
Charlie had intended to get one for everyone in his life for a while now. Maybe it was time to start again.
“So the shoulder?” Scott asked, bringing the conversation back to Charlie’s tattoos as though they hadn’t just confessed their undying love for each other.
That was fine.
That was what this was supposed to feel like. Comfortable. Easy. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
And it did. Charlie had never felt so at ease with another person, aside from his own family.
That meant Scott was supposed to be family, too.
“I had a crush on my tattoo artist, so I wanted to get something that’d take a few sessions, and this was exactly his style,” Charlie admitted, blushing. “I still love it, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. And they’re addictive, y’know? You can’t stop at one. Also, getting them is kind of a turn on? That’s probably weird.”
“What I’m hearing is that I need to go with you next time,” Scott said. “Not, like, to establish dominance over the tattoo guy or anything, but to help you get off after.”
Charlie paused to imagine that, desperate, needy sex while he was still high on endorphins from the pain, Scott torn between being gentle and possessive, clinging to him and fucking him slow and deep.
Charlie was really glad he’d already gotten someone else to cover for him today. He really wanted to stay with Scott this morning.
“Yes. Absolutely, you have to. Also, I’m making a booking today for as soon as possible.”
Scott laughed at that. “What’re you getting?”
“I want a paw print,” Charlie said, only realizing it as he said it aloud.
“Yeah?” Scott asked, surprise in his voice.
“Yeah.” Charlie nodded, shoving the last bite of his waffle in his mouth and pausing to chew on it. A paw print was perfect. “Someone very important to me really loves dogs. And I want to be a part of his pack.”
Charlie looked over to see Scott smiling down at his empty plate, his entire face glowing.
That was exactly the reaction he’d wanted.
“I’d like that,” Scott said.
“Good, ‘cause I’m staying.” Charlie took Scott’s plate from him and set both of them aside, leaning over to kiss him. “I hope you don’t have anywhere to be today.”
“Nowhere but here.”
Charlie smiled. That was just as well, because he didn’t want to be anywhere but here, either.