Page 74 of Out of Nowhere

“I saw your neighbors outside a while ago. I’ll go ask them if they know who the spider might belong to,” Logan said, looking eager to escape the house.

“I’ll go with you.” West disappeared around the door.

Shaking his head, Dex sat down in the only chair in the living room and watched the tarantula scuttle up his arm.

Seo-jun suppressed a shudder. “With its size and all the hair, it seems less like a spider and more like a little animal.”

“Want to hold her?” Dex offered.

Seo-jun stepped away. “No, thanks. I’m good.”

Chuckling, Dex shook his head. “I can hear them putting our bed together upstairs. We should be helping.”

“Matilda!” A boy around twelve suddenly burst through the front door. Racing toward Dex and the spider, he said, “Thanks for finding her! I’m Kobey.”

“Hi, Kobey. No problem,” Dex, said, handing Matilda to her owner.

“She got out of her habitat when I was cleaning it.” Lifting the spider, the boy said to it, “I was so worried!”

Logan walked in accompanied by a plump young woman with a nice smile and introduced her as Chelsey Callihan.

“They found Matilda, Mom!” Kobey showed her the tarantula.

“I see that. Thanks so much,” Chelsey said to Dex. “You guys are moving in?”

Seo-jun tensed. What if these people had a problem with two gay men living next to them? They’d just have to get over it. But he hoped it wouldn’t be an issue.

“Yes,” Dex said.

“Well, maybe you can have dinner with us one night. It’s just me and Kobey next door. Oh, and Matilda,” she amended when Kobey looked up at her with a frown.

“That sounds great. Let us know when, and we’ll be there.”

Seo-jun relaxed.

After they left, Seo-jun and Dex got busy helping their friends bring in the rest of their furniture. The apartment had been small, so there really wasn’t all that much to bring in. At five, Andi and Tara arrived with all the fixings for a taco bar. Salem arrived shortly after with a pan of chocolate brownies. Jude put on some music, and by the time the food was ready, Seo-jun and Dex’s bed had clean sheets on it, the bathroom was set up, and most of the kitchen appliances were put away.

“Dex and I really appreciate all of your help,” Seo-jun said, raising his glass of wine as they all settled down to eat. “Cara and Kris, Scott and Kasey, and Jase and Ezra are all working on cases and couldn’t make it, but they’re with us in spirit.”

“Here, here!” Everyone lifted their glass or beer bottle and then drank.

“I haven’t been the easiest person to get to know,” Seo-jun continued. “Trust comes hard for me and I don’t say much.”

“No way, not you!” Colt called out, and, smiling, Seo-jun shot him the bird. Shaking his head, he said, “I trust you guys, though, and, with Dex’s help, I’m learning to open up a little.”

“We always understood you are a private person,” Mal said. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Personally, I always thought you were a secret assassin or a government spy,” Sean quipped, making everyone laugh.

“No, there’s nothing wrong with it,” Seo-jun addressed Mal’s comment, “but I was cheating myself out of a lot by closing myself off.”

Seo-jun looked at Dex to see if he wanted to say something.

“To friendship,” Dex said, lifting his beer.

“To friendship,” they echoed. After that, everyone built their tacos. They stayed late, and as Dex and Seo-jun stood on the front porch saying goodbye, it struck Seo-jun how much his life had changed in such a short time. He was no longer alone. He had friends and he had Dex. They were making a home together. And, if everything worked out, he and Dex would add a baby to their family.

Epilogue: Dex

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