Page 70 of Out of Nowhere

Seo-jun squeezed Dex’s hand comfortingly again.

“Some people have a hard time showing their love.” Seo-jun knew he was one of those people, but he hoped, with Dex, he was learning to do better. He never wanted Dex to wonder if Seo-jun loved him. Leaning toward him, he kissed Dex on the cheek, earning him an affectionate smile.

It had been decided that Anna would stay with her mother through the holidays, and then everyone would reassess the situation. For Dex’s sake, Seo-jun hoped Anna’s motherly instincts kicked in by the time the family gathered again for Christmas.

Ignoring the hum of the plane’s engines, which made him so nervous, Seo-jun concentrated on Dex. “Being at your parents’ house got me thinking about something.”

“What’s that?” Dex asked, turning in his seat so he could see Seo-jun better.

“I’ve always wanted a house. But when it was just me, it seemed silly to buy one. But now that I have you with me…well, I want a place we can call our own, you know? Of course it can’tbe anything like your mom’s house, but maybe something small with a garden?”

Dex stared at him, hazel eyes going wide. Seo-jun hoped it was from shock and not horror.

“Dex?” Seo-jun finally ventured when his boyfriend hadn’t uttered a word in several long seconds. A sudden bout of turbulence made Seo-jun gasp and grasp Dex’s hand so tightly, Dex winced.

“Sorry,” Seo-jun said, loosening his grip, but Dex wouldn’t let him release his grip entirely.

Wiping a drop of sweat from Seo-jun’s temple with his free hand, Dex said, “It’s okay. Just light turbulence. Everything’s fine. And I’m tougher than you think—you didn’t break my fingers.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Seo-jun managed a tremulous smile. “Well, I hope not.”

“Do you really want to get a house with me?” Dex asked.

“Yes,” Seo-jun said emphatically. “But if it’s too soon for you, I understand. I don’t want to push you into anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

A smile broke out on Dex’s face. “It’s not too soon. I’m sure some people might think—“

“Who cares what they think?” Seo-jun interrupted. “This is us we’re talking about. Ours are the only opinions that matter.”

Dex bit his lip, then broke out in a grin. “This is exciting.”

Anticipation rippling through him, Seo-jun nodded.

“Is there anything you particularly want in a house?” he asked.

“Well, it has to have good Internet,” Dex said,

Seo-jun laughed. “Of course.”

“A sunny kitchen would be nice. Maybe a garage? I don’t know. I’ve honestly never given the subject any thought.”

Lifting Dex’s hand to his mouth, Seo-jun kissed it. “Well, start thinking, baby. Because we’re going to be house-hunting very soon.”

Chapter Forty-two: Dex

In the following few months, the realtor Seo-jun and Dex found showed them dozens of houses, some nice and some not so nice. But all of them had at least one flaw large enough to eliminate them from consideration. During that time, Dex realized something: people were weird. At one house they went to see, rather than leaving like they were supposed to, the owners locked themselves in a bedroom with their dog. Dex and Seo-jun could hear them shushing each other the entire time they were touring the house, and, as they walked out to leave, the dog—a mix of several large breeds—stood in the bedroom window barking at them. Another time, Dex and Seo-jun were viewing a split-level and, when they entered a dimly lit room behind the kitchen, they were startled by what, at first glance in the dark, looked like a coffin. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust enough for them to realize it was a tanning bed, but it had given Dex the heebie-jeebies. He had to wonder why anyone living near the beach needed a tanning bed in their home.

A few days before Christmas, Dex and Seo-jun flew back to Colorado to spend Christmas with Dex’s family. Bea roped them into helping at her church’s annual Christmas Bazaar, which lasted three days and culminated on Christmas Eve with a children’s pageant and the live nativity outside the church. Bea had been able to convince a man to play Joseph, although he was about thirty years too old for the part, but it was Baby Jesus who drew the most attention from visitors. Dex kept noticing people passing by the manger scene giggling or making disapproving faces as they looked into the cradle.

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Dex turned to Seo-jun, who was helping to sell homemade bread to a middle-aged couple, and told him he’d be right back.

Crossing the church lawn, he walked up to the live nativity and looked down into the cradle, where the woman playing Mary side-eyed him but remained demure and silent.

“Well. That explains it.” Picking his way through the crowd to his mother, who was supervising the kids in line to sit on Santa’s lap (Santa being Garfield in an old fashioned Father Christmas suit), Dex hissed into her ear, “Mom, that’s a Chucky doll you’ve got playing Baby Jesus.”

“Did you expect me to use a real baby? It’s cold out here, Dex!”

“No, I mean the doll—it’s not right for the part.”

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