“Ugh, Darren doesn’t even want to pay for press-and-fold!”

I bit back a grin as Adam lamented to me over the phone about his roommate. The honeymoon phase had passed, and now Adam was undoubtedly making Darren’s life harder in some ways while being a sweet asshole in others.

“Uh huh. And how does that make you feel?”

Adam groaned. “Dude, you haven’t even started class yet! Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing.”

“Yeah, but I’ve read the first five chapters.”

“Oh, God. I should’ve known you’d be an eager beaver,” Adam said with a sigh. “Now you’re gonna be testing all your skills on me.”

“Yep! Aren’t you glad I didn’t end up in massage, then?” I burst out laughing at Adam’s noise of horror. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t give you a happy ending.”

“Good. I don’t need one from a guy. Especially you.” Adam was still resolutely pretending to be straight, then. Something about him had tripped my gaydar—maybe bidar—for a while. I’d teased him about giving guys a try a hundred times and he’d always pretended to miss the hint.

He was a hell of a character, but I counted myself lucky to have him as a friend. He’d also come with me to help me buy textbooks, something I’d never had to figure out in my life, and taught me how to navigate the new college campus last week.

“Uh huh,” I hummed.

“How about you?” Adam finally asked. “How do you feel?”

“Pretty damn nice.” I giggled to myself, but that was a joke for just Charlie and I. “I mean, he’s great. Two months in and we haven’t killed each other. We haven’t even broken up.”

“I’ll start saving the date now.”

“Don’t even,” I laughed, trying to hide the flutter in my chest. It felt nice to have something like an engagement to daydream about, but we’d taken so many steps so fast that we’d agreed to take it all nice and slow for a little while. We both had a lot of life changes recently and coming up, after all.

“Charlie’s just getting started on a new project. He’s not managing or leading things anymore, which sounds like a demotion, but he’s way less stressed. And he doesn’t have to travel. He seems happier.”

Adam hummed. “That’s the main thing. And you?” he grumbled, as if he were almost unwilling to even ask.

I smiled to myself as I wandered to the kitchen and crouched by the oven, making sure the lasagna was keeping warm without burning.

Compared to the years I’d spent scrounging for a solid meal, twenty bucks for a bed, or a guy who’d make me believe in the fantasy I constructed for him?

“Happier than I can believe,” I murmured. “I’m so fucking glad we came here.”

Adam grunted, but he didn’t disagree. “At least you’re getting laid. You’re a lot more cheerful, even if you psychoanalyze me now.”

“Oh, fuck off,” I laughed. “Call me and tell me how the new job goes, huh?”

I wasn’t the only one who’d gotten a new job. Adam had been promoted to a full-time employee in the landscaping company he’d started working for, and that meant he could ditch all his cobbled-together jobs. I knew the stress relief must be immense for him. Best of all, he could quit that fucking grocery store job and its lousy customers.

“Yeah, yeah,” Adam grumbled. “It’s no big deal.”

“You know it is. We’re doing celebration pizza and beer at your place next week, all right?”

“You wanna come back to this dingy little place?”

“Anywhere you are,” I told him.

Adam was quiet for a moment—several moments. Finally, he answered me, just when I was thinking he hadn’t heard. “Thanks, Kev. For… you know.”

I grinned. That was as much as I was getting from him for the whole year, probably. “Of course. Thank you.”

Who would’ve thought a couple small-town kids, butting heads every other day, could wind up here in Brooklyn, happy—or at least on the way, in Adam’s case—and right at home?

Life had turned out better than I’d ever expected, or even hoped or dreamed for. And it was all thanks to one man seeing straight through me, and not giving up until I saw the potential in me, too.

With Charlie’s love, and a little help from friends, I could get by.