“You want what?” Austin asked incredulously.

“Your help,” Hale replied, cocking his head to the side and pouting his lips. “Don’t make me beg, Austin. I know that you haven’t been around to see me grow up, but I promise you, my begging skills have matured just as much as I have. You’re not going to want to go up against them. They’re so good, they’ve twisted Doris May’s arm into giving me free coffee once.”

“Shit,” Austin mumbled. “If that’s true, that’s very impressive.”

“Mmhmmm.” Hale quirked an eyebrow. He looked cute as hell, and Austin wasn’t sure how to process that. “So, what’s it going to be? Are you going to go toe to toe with my expert level puppy eyes, or are you going to throw in the towel and accept that I’m going to coerce you into doing this one way or another?”

“Let’s go inside,” Austin said with a sigh. He gestured at his apartment door. “It’s probably for the best that we don’t stand out in the hallway having conversations about... well, anything, really. If you want to talk, I might as well invite you in.”

The apartment had been empty since he’d come to call it home, and the idea of momentarily sharing it with another person was new. But new didn’t necessarily mean bad. Growth meant change. If everything stayed the same in his life, he’d never feel any differently than he already did. Hale was Michael’s cousin, and Austin had hard feelings toward Michael, but that didn’t mean that Hale was intrinsically bad. He owed the kid a shot.

Besides, the attention might do him some good.

Austin unlocked his front door and entered first, then cleared the way so Hale could follow. Hale stepped inside, looked around, and frowned.

“I didn’t expect the layout of your apartment to be so different from Michael’s. Weird.”

“I’m pretty sure this wing of the building used to be an old house they gutted and incorporated into the complex,” Austin said. He crossed the room to sit on the couch. “There are some signs that the place was gutted and restored. I haven’t lived here long enough to know for sure, and to be honest, I’m not interested enough to ask the administration, but that’s my running theory.”

“Hmm.” Hale perched on the arm of the couch, not really sitting or supporting any of his weight, like he didn’t intend to stay for long. “Well, if you ever find out, let me know, I guess. I’m curious now.”

“I will.” Austin paused. “So, what’s going on? What do you mean you want me to help you?”

Hale nodded and blew out a breath through his lips. “Right. Okay. So, here’s the deal. Michael is gone.”

“Is that really news?”

Hale glared at him. “Yes, it’s news. I know that he’s not exactly the most dependable or reliable person, but usually he’ll at least reply to me nagging him through text, even if it’s just to tell me to fuck off. This time is different. He’s not answering my calls, my texts, or my emails. He’s gone.”

“I still don’t think that’s abnormal for him.”

“I do. That stench you were complaining about? The one coming from his apartment? He’d left food out, and it had started to rot. There was mold everywhere.”

“He lives on his own. That’s not great, but I’m pretty sure that there’ve been people who’ve done worse.”

Hale sighed loudly. “There was urine left in the toilet, and a puddle of it dried on the floor. Say what you want about Michael, but it’s not like him to do something like that.”

“So what, exactly, do you want me to do about it?” Austin leaned back against the couch and looked Hale over. It was clear from his posture that he was distressed about the situation, but if he thought that Austin kept tabs on Michael, he was barking up the wrong tree. Austin spent as much time as he could ignoring the fact that his ex-friend lived across the hall. “You seem to know more than I do.”

“About the situation, sure. But about Michael? Probably not. I know that you guys... had a falling out.” Hale hesitated, and it made Austin wonder how much he really knew. “But you knew each other in the Navy. You spent years together, even if you weren’t exactly friends anymore. I think you might know him, and his behavior, a little better than you let on. Did you notice that he was acting weird lately, or if there were any strange people coming by his place? I found a note, and it makes me think that there’s someone else involved in this—maybe a group of people. Do you have anything you might be able to tell me? I’m out of leads, and I don’t know where else to go from here.”

“A note?”

“It was cryptic. I think it was talking about meeting someone at Grind, but the rest of it, I didn’t understand. It said, ‘Grind at eight. Don’t forget. Quarter down, or they will come.’”

“Quarter down?” Austin ran a hand through his hair. “Sounds like he might have been buying something. You’re sure it was a note about something malicious and not a run-of-the-mill reminder?”

“Then why write something as ominous as ‘they will come?’” Hale turned so that he was facing Austin, one leg resting on the opposite knee. “And why write it in secret code?”

“Maybe because he knew you’d come snooping around his apartment, and he didn’t want your nose in his business.” Austin smirked. “... Kind of like you’re doing right now.”

“It’s a code we made together during our childhood to send each other messages. I have a feeling that if he wanted to hide something from me, he wouldn’t have written it in code I could understand, and he probably would have hidden the message a little better. It was on his bedside table.”

Austin didn’t know whether Hale was simply paranoid, or if he was onto something. Regardless, a creeping feeling started to spread through his gut. Either something was seriously wrong with Michael, or Hale had boundary issues. Either outcome wasn’t great.

“Okay, let’s say I believe you,” Austin said. “Let’s say that these ominous they people took Michael for whatever reason. What am I going to be able to do to help you? I don’t know any more about this than you do.”

“The easiest way you could help is by telling me where Michael’s haunts are.” Hale looked Austin in the eyes, unafraid to engage. “We were best friends until he started getting too cool for me during his senior year in high school, and when he left for the Navy, we drifted apart even more. You hung out with him all through your senior year. You would know. Where might he be, if he’s not being held somewhere against his will? It’s been three weeks that he’s been gone.”

“If I could help you, I would. You know that Michael and I aren’t on the best terms, but that doesn’t mean that I wish him ill. I’m not withholding information from you, Hale. I legitimately do not know.”

The cocky confidence on Hale’s face faded and gave way to wavering uncertainty. “You don’t even have a lead? An inkling? I’m grasping at straws. I knew Michael when he was a kid, but I know that he grew up in senior year. It’s... I just need something to work from. Anything at all.”

Austin exhaled slowly through his mouth, prolonging the sigh to give himself time to speak. He’d spoken too soon. Growth meant change, and change meant stepping outside his comfort zone, but it didn’t necessarily mean throwing himself overboard into turbulent waters while he did it. Whatever was going on with Michael and Hale was trouble no matter which way he sliced it. It was best not to get involved.

But on the other hand, Hale had been the one who’d made him feel something after months of emotional numbness. Didn’t he owe it to the man who’d revitalized his life—even if only momentarily—to step in when he was in need of help?

“Look...” Austin hesitated. “I want to help. I don’t know how much help I can be, but I can try to fill you in on what you might not know, if you like. We can revisit some high school memories, maybe figure out where Michael might have gone if he’s laying low. Sound good?”

The expression on Hale’s face spoke for him. “It sounds great.”

“So, we’ll—”

“And it’d sound better yet if we talked about it over dinner.” Hale’s smile turned into a smirk. He met Austin’s gaze, and Austin found his pulse picking up. “Do you want me to order something from Rocket, or do you want to cook me something? I’m easy either way.”

Austin was left grasping at straws. He wanted to help Hale, but he hadn’t exactly signed up to make him dinner. That was taking it a little far. “Well...”

“I’m allergic to bell peppers,” Hale said. “That’s about it in terms of food allergies. I’m not a big fan of overly sweet foods, but I don’t think that’s going to be much of an issue, is it?”

“No,” Austin said. Before he could continue to say that he was willing to help, but not exactly keen to have an unexpected guest for dinner, Hale hopped to his feet and clapped.

“Great. Then I guess it sounds like you’re cooking, is that right?”

Austin blinked. Hale had a way of twisting everything he said, and he was sure that if he did any more talking, he was only going to sink himself deeper.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes.” Hale winked. “I’m fantastic in the kitchen, did you know that? Let’s get started on something together. There’s nothing like some busy work to get lips going.”

“What are you even saying?” Austin asked. He picked himself up off the couch, trailing behind as Hale found his way into the kitchen. “I’m not following you at all.”

Hale reached the counter and turned to face him. He braced both of his hands on the counter behind him. “What I’m saying is, if we’re working together on something fun, you’re going to be looking for something to talk about. If you can start stream-of-conscious talking about Michael, then maybe we’ll find a few hints as to where he might of gone. Does that make more sense?”

Austin tightened his lips. Hale’s energy was contagious, but he wasn’t interested in catching it. He’d been so caught up in his own world that being dragged into someone else’s felt like an assault on his sensibilities.

But if I never challenge myself to step outside my comfort zone, then I’ll never grow...

“Alright,” Austin said uneasily. “Let’s try it your way, then. You want to look through my fridge and tell me what you might like for dinner, Master Chef?”

“Fresh ingredients on hand?” Hale raised an eyebrow. “I should invite myself over for dinner more often. You’re going to feed me better than I usually eat at home. Color me impressed.”

“I’m a man of many surprises.”

“Then let’s hope you keep on surprising me tonight.” Hale opened the fridge and ducked down to start rooting through the bottom shelves, but before he disappeared from sight, Austin thought he saw flirtation twist Hale’s lips and a glimmer in his eyes. Austin’s heart skipped a beat, and his stomach felt like it was filled with helium. He was excited that Hale was interested in him, he realized, and it troubled him not because it was unwelcome, but because it wasn’t enough.

But isn’t that what I wanted? To feel desired? That’s where it was supposed to end. So why do I suddenly want more?

“Here we go,” Hale declared. He’d found enough vegetables to make a stir-fry and discovered Austin’s spicy peanut sauce in the fridge door. “Do you have rice? I wouldn’t mind throwing in some beef or tofu in there if you wanted some protein, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to eat chicken for a few days at least.”

“I’ve got some tofu,” Austin said. “I’ll take care of preparing it and get the rice on to cook if you want to wash the vegetables and get them ready for frying.”

“On it.” Hale brought the vegetables to the counter. “So, let’s start talking. Tell me about Michael like you knew him back in high school. I want to know everything you have to say.”

Austin doubted that. He’d temper his story and leave out the bad. His friendship with Michael wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. “Everything” would be a story for another day.