Page 4 of Small City Heart
Chapter Two
The wind chimes attached to the diner’s door tinkled behind Charlie as he pushed his way in out of the heat. He had to force himself not to turn around to see if Patrick had moved from the sidewalk. Hell, he had to force himself not to simply ogle the man.
Holy God, Charlie had been imagining that exact moment for years. For ten years, if he were honest. Sure, there’d been other men, other crushes, other relationships through the years, but it was hard to forget the person who helped you realize you were gay.
Charlie had avoided Patrick when they were teenagers but had obsessed about him in private. Now they were grown men, and he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
He sat next to Suzy, and she slapped him on the shoulder, a shit-eating grin on her face.
“How’d it go?”
“Good.”
He couldn’t hold in his smile as the diner door banged open and slammed shut when Patrick came back inside.
Veronica, having evidently watched their showdown outside, hooked an arm around Patrick as he tried to slip by her. He faced them all with a grim set to his beautiful, pouty mouth.
“Patrick is my date to all the Alumni Weekend stuff,” she said.
“Well, it’s a good one for him to come back for since it’s our ten-year reunion too,” Suzy chimed in. “Charlie has done an awesome job planning stuff for it. He’s our class rep on the Alumni Weekend Committee.”
She directed her last statement at Patrick, who visibly stiffened under his mom’s arm. “He’s on the committee with you?” he asked Veronica.
“Yes.” Veronica smiled serenely, and Charlie laughed.
He loved Veronica. They had coffee together once a week—supposedly to talk about reunion planning, but mostly he just enjoyed chatting with her. She made him feel welcome and showed him support when his family acted like a shitshow. She modeled the love, care, and affection he’d never received at home. Plus, she talked about Patrick all the time, and he was happy to have a front row seat.
“What do you mean by ‘all the Alumni Weekend stuff’? I thought it was only the dance on Saturday?” Patrick asked.
Everyone laughed.
“Oh, my sweet summer child, have you been gone so long you don’t remember how big a deal it is? There’s whatever your class has planned for their ten-year reunion celebration tomorrow night, on Friday, there’s the Alumni Cookout and Ice Cream Social, and on Saturday, there’s a parade in the morning and the dance that shuts down Limestone Drive in the evening.”
“We have the top floor of Minky’s Bar rented out for our class reunion tomorrow,” Charlie explained. “There will be drinking and a pool tournament. Pretty low key.”
“Well … that’s nice,” Patrick said before ducking out from under Veronica’s arm and disappearing into the kitchen.
Charlie watched him go. Patrick had always had this otherworldly quality about him. In high school, he’d been pretty. Delicate, soft features. Willowy build. Short, blond hair that had fallen in silky curls over his forehead when it started to grow out.
As an adult, he’d matured into his looks. His jaw had sharpened, and he had blond scruff that made his face less pixie-ish and more rugged. He’d filled out some. Not a gym bunny, but he was solid.And his hair.
Good Lord, Patrick’s hair was a dream. It was still that dark, burnished gold color, but now it fell in perfect spiral curls to his shoulders.
Fingers appeared in front of Charlie’s nose and snapped. He jolted back before scowling at Dan. He’d obviously been lost in daydreams about Patrick Pearl.
It was high school all over again.
Veronica patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll get your chance, dear.”
He hummed, a bit uncomfortable that she could read him so clearly when his thoughts were distinctly full of her son. He wanted a chance with Patrick, but he wasn’t sure it was a good idea. For one, Patrick didn’t live in Small City. He didn’t even live in the state, and Charlie was over the casual hookup scene. Though, if a casual hookup was his one shot at getting his lips on Patrick, then Charlie would take it. Maybe he’d manage to not be completely clingy.
Clinginess was Charlie’s forte, according to his ex.
Veronica eventually left, leaving their waitress to take care of the table as the crowd picked up. Charlie, Dan, Suzy, and Rico all ate together once a week, usually at Ronnie’s Diner, as unofficial team building.
Today, the wheels were turning in Rico’s and Dan’s eyes, and Charlie was already wishing they weren’t so observant. Suzy was grinning, but he trusted her not to be too hard on him. As his best friend, she already knew everything there was to know about his Patrick Pearl crush.
“So, Ronnie’s son,” Dan started, referring to Veronica by her nickname. “You want to be his boyfriend? Or”—he dropped his voice—“is it a casual thing?”
