“You’re too tired to drive, aren’t you?”

Roman stared at his phone, trying to make his brain work better. Blane sounded like he was giving him a hint. “Uh…” was his eloquent response.

“That’s what I thought. I’m outside in the parking lot.”

Roman squinted. “What?”

“To pick you up. And get your advice. And kick your ass over something you weren’t saying.”

Suddenly, everything clicked into place. And it was honestly nice to have a break from the routine of arriving home, assessing how tired he was, and climbing in his car for the drive back to the suburbs.

Or grabbing a taxi to a downtown hotel with a swanky king-sized bed and a jacuzzi tub. But strangely, considering how little time had passed since his now-boyfriend had moved in with him, that felt like a lifetime ago. In a good way.

Roman realized he hadn’t answered. “Oh! Oh, uh, yeah. Sure. I’ll find you, gimme a few minutes.”

“I’ll be here.” Blane hung up, leaving Roman to find his way to the parking lot.

When he swung himself into Blane’s car, his friend just about jumped out of his skin.

“Jesus! Didn’t even see you there,” Blane exclaimed, hastily pocketing his phone.

“Too busy sexting your boyfriend, huh?” Roman grinned.

“Fuck off,” Blane told him, but there was a flush of color in his cheeks that told Roman he was right. “Those in glass houses.”

“Ah. Yeah. So, this advice,” Roman said as he buckled up.

Blane laughed. “That’s the least subtle thing I’ve heard you say—”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“And I’ve heard some whoppers,” Blane persisted.

“The advice? Before I fall asleep and forget how to give it?”

Blane cleared his throat and checked all points in his mirror as he backed out. He made a production of joining the road, too. By the time he looked over at Roman, Roman was staring pointedly at him.

“All right, all right.” Blane cracked. He patted his pocket. “I got a ring. I’m ready. I’m going to propose to him.”

“Your boyfriend and not mine, I hope,” Roman deadpanned.

Blane drew half a breath. “It’s not funny!” His voice nearly cracked. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Roman teased, patting his shoulder. “Just pulling your leg. Jesus. You’re touchy today.”

“I want it to be right,” Blane breathed out, recovering his composure. He wasn’t easily rattled, either. You couldn’t have unsteady nerves as a zoo vet—dealing with huge, touchy animals, you had to project calm confidence. It was one reason Blane and Roman got on so well: their jobs had trained them each to be cool under pressure. Yet the thought of proposing had Blane shaken? Oh, true love.

Roman shook his head. “He’ll say yes no matter how you ask.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“You already, like, pre-proposed, didn’t you? And he wants to get engaged?” Roman patiently asked.

Blane winced. “Yeah, good point. Yes. But…”

“Cold feet are for altars, not engagements,” Roman sagely told him, then cracked up at the glare his best friend gave him. “Sorry. Uh.” He schooled his expression. “He loves you, you love him. It’s not cold-calling. Close the sale.”

Blane burst out laughing. “Okay, never become a counsellor. Or a doctor. Anyone in a helping profession.”

Roman joined in the laughter. “What? I’m very comforting.”

“Fuckhead,” Blane muttered and punched his shoulder.

Roman shoved him in return.

“Well, if you aren’t gonna give advice about me…”

Suddenly, the tables were turned. Roman gulped. “Uh, I mean, if you wanna go over your plans…”

“Nah uh uh.” Blane slapped his arm. “No, you’ve earned no mercy from me today. You’re dating your live-in guest and my boyfriend’s best friend in the world and you forgot to mention this to me… why?”

“This is, like, the third interrogation in as many days,” Roman grumbled.

“But most important, I hope.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” Roman was tapping his toe on the car floor—a nervous habit he’d long since drilled out of himself in the cockpit. “I’m sorry. I just… liked him, and I figured you’d all think he was just another fling. I thought he was, at first.”

Blane’s lips quirked. “Yeah. I know the feeling. But dude, we’re not gonna get in your way. You’re a motherfucking adult.”

“Still don’t believe you there,” Roman chuckled. “But sure.”

Blane grinned. “Yeah, I feel like someone gave us the keys to adulthood, and then ran away, cackling.”

“Yeah!” Roman shook his head. “And then we’re suddenly figuring out all this stuff: friends, relationships, jobs… everything at once. Failing forward.”

Blane patted his shoulder. “At least you’re steady on the job front.”

“Right. Uh, about that…” Roman cringed. “But Oscar first.”

“Oscar first,” Blane agreed, his brows furrowing. “I like him. He’s good for you. You’ve settled down a lot in the last month.”

“Have I?”

“Normally I’d have learned and forgotten a couple soulmates’ names now,” Blane teased.

“Was I that bad?” Roman exclaimed.

Blane hummed noncommittally, which meant yes. “It’s nice to see you happy, that’s all. Remember when you were like it’s weird that I want a relationship? This is you fixing that.”

But for how long? Roman bit his lip as all his doubts flooded back in. He’s right, it’s a pattern. Hell, even Oscar knows that. When does this all go wrong? Any time now. “I hope so.”

“You hope you’re happy? Or you’re freaking out because you’re finally dating a guy you can be happy with?”

Roman blinked and stared at Blane. “Uh. That second one?”

“What’s the problem, in a sentence?”

That made Roman rub his neck as he tried to cut to the heart of it. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Do what?” Blane had his patient voice on.

“A relationship. At all. Like, rearranging my life, being that guy going home to make dinner for his boyfriend at night… I feel like all I know is being, well, Mr. Slick. Picking them up. I don’t know how to keep them. And that’s no way to be a good boyfriend. I see the way you and Falcon treat each other, or Deen and Nico. Am I really gonna be good enough for him?”

As the last sentence came out, Roman winced. He hadn’t meant to say that much. Now he just sounded like an insecure loser.

But Blane was patient. “It’s a skill. You got good at picking up guys, you can get good at keeping this one around. This is how people change—when they really want to. It can be an internal or external thing, but it’s strongest when it’s both. Like now, you want to be better at these things for you, but also for him.”

Roman nodded slowly. He wasn’t convinced, but he was willing to believe it. “If he sticks around that long and I don’t scare him off like the rest of them.”

“So far he is. He’s still living with you, for God’s sake,” Blane laughed. “And we gave him several outs.”

“Good point,” Roman admitted.

“Why were you always chasing them off with those long-term dreams?”

Roman had to think about this one. The easy answer was because that’s what I thought I wanted, and then the slightly harder one came to him: because it is what I want. Then, like a ton of bricks, “Oh. Because I… I don’t know how to bridge the gap. Between here and the future. I’d start dating someone and then fly away for a few weeks.” He winced. “That doesn’t look good.”

“And you’re trying to change your schedule to be around him more. That’s change.” Blane punched his shoulder. “So cheer up and don’t let yourself fall into old patterns. Now, what’s this about the job?”

“Are you my fairy godmother today?”

“Yeah, but I look better in a dress. And my wand doesn’t sparkle… usually. Spill,” Blane ordered.

“More than I wanted to know,” Roman laughed. “Uh, there’s been a thing going on for a while with this guy who’s an asshole at work. It finally blew up, and I’m figuring out if I should call HR.”

“Duh,” Blane snorted. “Why not?”

“The flight deck is one of those boys’ clubs.” Roman shook his head. “I wasn’t running to tell on him.”

“Yeah, but the playground isn’t a workplace. They can be fucking professionals or get out. And your company’s pretty good with human rights, right? They won’t fire you for being gay and causing trouble or whatever bullshit reason. They can in Tennessee, but yours won’t.”

“No, they won’t,” Roman agreed, feeling a surge of gratitude that he was at a huge American airline and not a mom-and-pop freight operation or something. It could be a lot worse. “They’ll probably just shuffle him somewhere else. But I don’t feel good getting him fired.”

“Man.” Blane shook his head. “If I had a coworker at the zoo who did the stuff to me that he’s done, what would you say?”

Roman was silent for a moment, conceding the point.

“Call them.”

“What, now?” They were just pulling up to his house, and the suggestion startled him.

“Yeah, now.” Blane put the parking brake on and leaned back. “We don’t let each other take crap, remember?”

Roman offered a faint smile, too nervous to say anything back as he took his phone out to call the boss—his chief pilot, rather than one of the managers. Mark was strict but fair, and his gut instinct told him Mark would have his back.

“Hey, Mark,” he greeted when he picked up. “Uh, do you have a minute?”

“Roman. Hi. Sure. What’s up, man?”

Roman found himself looking at Blane, who nodded encouragement. “Uh. Um,” Roman stuttered for a moment. “I got a problem and I wasn’t sure who to call.”

One perk of the industry—nobody lost their head at the first sign of trouble. Mark sounded perfectly calm as he answered, “Okay. Walk me through it.”

“Basically,” Roman blew out a sigh, his nerves settling as his brain engaged its training. Just the facts. “Cory’s been a real pain in my ass since I started. He started saying little things here and there, but it was just banter, you know? Then it got worse, and finally he blew up during our outbound. In Singapore, he picked a public fight in front of the crew while we were at the bar. The flight back was… if not for Ken, man, things could have gotten ugly.”

Mark blew out a sigh. “I wondered how long it’d take. I knew he was a jerk sometimes, but not that bad. Jesus. You’re right to report it.”

“I guess. I just want to stop it happening at work, at least. I can be professional for eight hours in a cockpit if I need to be. But I am transferring back anyway, I think.”

“He’ll just find someone else to pick on that way. Don’t let him drive you away.”

“Because I want more time with my boyfriend,” Roman said, clear and strong. He was in a free country, goddamn it, and he wasn’t going to be ashamed of it. “I’m not running away from him.”

“Oh. This is… homophobic stuff from Cory, I take it?”

“Yeah.”

“This can become a he-said, he-said mess, but if your crew will you back you up…”

“Oh, yeah. They encouraged me to report it,” Roman said. “What’s next?”

“I have to talk to people and figure out how HR wants to proceed. They’ll probably want to talk to everyone. I’ll let you know when I hear back, okay?” Mark told him. “Thanks for calling me.”

Roman blinked, the knot in his chest loosening. “Thanks,” he answered. “Talk to you later.”

As he hung up, he shook his head and looked at Blane. He almost felt hopeful, but he didn’t dare hope for any comeuppance. If they talked to him and got him to knock that crap off at work, and if he got a short-haul position again where he didn’t have to work with Cory, he’d be happy.

“Good?” Blane prompted.

“Better,” Roman admitted. “Thanks, man.” He wasn’t sure he would have done that unprompted. At least, it might have taken him a few more weeks.

Then, Derek popped into his mind and he realized that wasn’t true. It had only started bothering him now that he’d seen Cory’s potential abuse of power.

“Good.”

“You? Ready to pop the question?” Roman teased.

Blane groaned, but he was smiling. “Yeah, I guess.”

“You talked the talk to me. Walk the walk,” Roman told him. “Thanks for the ride, man.”

Blane mock-saluted, then leaned in to hug him. “Go on, get some sleep. I think someone’s waiting for you.”

When Roman looked over, the front curtains were moving like they’d just been dropped. He grinned and glanced back at Blane, his heart light with anticipation. “Yeah. See you. Tell me when he says yes and posts Instagram stories about it and all that sappy crap.”

“Will do,” Blane laughed.

Roman grinned as he clambered out of the car, rolling his bag behind him as he headed for his front door. He was a minute away from having Oscar in his arms again, so everything was right. How could it be anything else?