Page 24 of Wants and Needs
It’s taken me some years to trust myself again—trust my intuition, the one that’s still so flawed but does the job well enough.
So when I realize Idotrust him, of course it’s a shock, and you can hear it when I speak.
“I do,” I murmur.
He tilts his head to the side, and reminds me a bit of Sonny, my Bernese Mountain Dog who passed away more than a decade ago.
“Good,” Carter says in a strong voice and nods once. “So next are Mike and Theo. Mike is the?—”
“Center for the New York Kings,” I say with a nod. “He’s an amazing player.”
“He is,” Carter agrees with a soft smile. “And he’s a sweetheart. He has the best belly laugh. If you think my laugh is nice, wait till you hear his. It’s like joy in a sound.”
“The Pirates of the Caribbeansoundtrack is joy in a sound.”
Carter lets out one loud burst of laughter and my lips twitch. “You might be right about that, mate, but Mike’s laugh is right up there with it. So anyway, Mike loves food, and...” He trails off and tilts his head back to look at the sky. I think he lookspensive. “Yes, he’s pretty expressive with his face. Theo is more reserved, definitely not as boisterous, quiet, but also a sweetheart. He’s a baker and he can be hard to read when you first meet him, but he’d never hurt you or make fun of you. His story is his to tell, but I think you’ll have a lot in common with him.”
“Is he Autistic too?” I wonder.
“No,” Carter says simply. I think about what that means for a moment. He’s given me a lot of information freely, but not this. Why?
The logical explanation is that it’s something he considers sensitive, and maybe personal to Theo and doesn’t want to break his trust. I remember Dad explaining how people don’t often offer up information that seems too sensitive for them or too personal, and how others don’t mind being completely open about their history or issues.
Mental health is something a lot of people deem too personal to share with others, so I think that might be it. Maybe Theo has some kind of anxiety like me and that’s why Carter said we have more in common?
That somehow makes me relax even more with Carter. He’s clearly a good friend. How much he knows about all these people is a clear indicator if nothing else.
“Now, Bidi and Josie. Bidi is non-binary, and they are the life of any party. They’ll join any game, dance to every song, and basically have a good time no matter the day or the place. Josie is a friend of ours from college too. She’s a social worker in San Diego where they both live, and she was Adam and Sebas’s surrogate for their daughter, Dani.”
I nod, making sure I’m still paying attention and keeping everyone straight in my head.
“Josie’s a joker, just like Sebas, and if she’s frowning, then yeah, she’s mad but not really. She gets over things very quickly, and she and Wolf bicker a lot. It sounds like they hate each other when they talk, but I promise you they don’t. They are weird, though, so don’t feel bad if they confuse you. If you tell them, they’ll explain their dynamic to you. Hawk you know already, right?”
“Yes, he’s very sweet, but also loud. He’s always been loud as far as I can remember, and it’s hard to keep track of his thoughts, but I’m used to that.”
“Good. So Hawk’s husband, Derek, is a bit like Wolf. He’s frowning all the time, but he melts for Hawk. Unless you truly upset Hawk then you have nothing to worry about when it comes to Derek. If you want to talk to him, ask him about football or home-cooked meals, he loves both.”
I nod along.
“Next are Bennett and Luke.”
“Luke Riggs, the quarterback of the Las Vegas Rogues?” I ask just to make sure.
“Yes. They have two kids, Lizzie who is four and Robbie who is three, both adopted. Robbie is actually Luke’s little brother. Again, they’re both pretty laid-back, will do anything to help a friend, and their facial expressions are pretty typical. Then last are CJ and Wolf.”
“I know Wolf well, and he’s always been patient with me, though we don’t interact much.”
“That’s probably more to do with him than you.”
“Yes, I know,” I tell him, wondering what made him think I thought it was about me.
“Good. CJ is a lot like Adam, actually. Funny, always a joker, and doesn’t take life too seriously anymore. He’s happy to talk about anything and everything, and he’s very clever too.”
“What does he do for a living?”
“He’s a resident, working to be a surgeon.”
I nod. “Got it.”
