Honestly Yours
-- EXCERPT: [Warren at Gian’s home for dinner.] —- “I didn’t go all out with dessert,” Gian said, jarring him back to the present. “I’ll do that next time.” Next time. He could get used to this. To all of this. “I just made a chocolate cake and I’ve got some ice cream to go with it.” There was that word again. Just. Gian had no idea how much all this meant to him. Gian stood and took their plates to the sink, rinsed them off, and then placed them into the dishwasher. A few seconds later, he brought out a glass cake stand and raised the glass dome top. Warren closed his eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the mix of sweetness and chocolate filling the air. Something foreign inside him swelled and had him standing. He walked over to Gian and took the knife from his hand and set it aside. “What’s going on?” Gian asked. He slid his arms around Gian’s waist and held him close. It was the million little things this man did that threw Warren off-balance. How he knew giving Warren a code for entrance to the community would put him more at ease than handing over his ID to a guard. How he never pushed. The way he paid attention to every minute detail. How he listened for the sake of understanding, not for the purpose of waiting for that precise second to interrupt. He cared about others, what they thought, and how his actions affected them. He was a good man. With good intentions. And a kind heart. The opposite of what he had grown accustomed to expecting from others. “If I had known I’d get a hug out of this, I would have made you two cakes.” Warren smiled. He couldn’t forget adding Gian’s use-of-humor-to-ease-the-tension-in-the-air to the list. He rested his head against Gian’s shoulder when strong arms wrapped around him. This…this was where he wanted to be. A place where he felt welcomed and happy.
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