Matt spent the next month trying to hold on to what little memory he could savor. The hangover may have been brutal but those dark green undies had been a cool glass of water. Miles of skin and stomach and shapely arms.
Matt had an hour left of work. Seamus had already come back from running errands with Aidan. The duo was walking around the cafe. Seamus leaned over and held Aidan upright while his seven-month chubby legs wobbled on the ground. Aidan showed no interest in walking but Seamus pressed on. Matt thought they should focus on crawling first, which Aidan also showed very little interest in.
Aidan finally gave up, refusing to take another step. His face went red. It was over. Seamus tossed him in the air with a twist, when Seamus caught him, they were face to face. Seamus cooed and laughed. Aidan liked that a lot better than trying to walk.
Matt smiled from behind the counter where he was steaming milk.
Hilary was perched next to him on the counter. They were both watching Seamus and Aidan with the same
too-fucking-perfect
look in their eyes. The look was meant for Seamus, Aidan was the garnish.
"I don't know how you do it."
"He's my best friend," Matt said. "No offense—"
"Offense taken," she pouted. Then she winked because she couldn't blame Matt for being half in love with the most perfect man on earth. "There's a reason the best friends-turned-lovers is such a popular trope."
"Well," he said. "If my life was a book, it would be in the unrequited-love genre or if you were looking in the LGBT section, the I-fell-for-my-straight-best-friend section."
"Ha," she laughed. "He's not even straight and, whatever teenage angst-drama is going on between you two, unrequited love isn't the issue."
"I'm not even in love. It's just a crush. He's cute, successful, and good with Aidan. I'd be blind and dumb to deny an attraction. It doesn't mean I actually want anything to happen. I just enjoy watching. He's fun to daydream about."
Not believing him, Hilary squeezed Matt's shoulder as she walked away.
"You ready?" Seamus asked.
He had Aidan on his hip and the diaper backpack hanging off his shoulder. Matt looked at the clock and realized his shift ended five minutes ago.
Leaving work with Seamus had become a thing. It started just before his birthday. Randomly at first, then regularly, then daily. Matt checked his email from his phone as they drove to Lackies, a multipurpose store that had a little of everything. They shopped there any time they needed stuff like lightbulbs and toilet paper.
"Barbara from DHS emailed me the outline for the home-study," Matt said. He didn't know why he was so nervous. It wasn't like the courts were going to contest the adoption. There was just so much to it. Getting the documents had been hard enough. If his mom had them, Matt didn't know where. But he got everything submitted and filed, the next step was the home-study.
"Oh cool," Seamus smiled. "What does it say?"
Matt opened the PDF file and zoomed in. There were different requirements based on the type of adoption. Since Matt was adopting his brother, it was a lot less invasive. "Pretty much what we expected. They'll come check out the apartment; make sure it won't kill him. It looks like she included what they'll be looking for in the home," Matt glanced down the list. "Safety latches, fire detectors, baby gates around a fireplace, blah blah blah," he continued to scroll through the list, then he paused. "Oh no."
"What?" Seamus glanced over. "What's '
oh no
'?"
"He has to have his own room." Matt had kind of looked for a new apartment but people weren't usually moving mid-term and there was a hefty fee if he broke the lease so he decided to wait until school was out. "She wants to come in two weeks. There's no way I can find a two-bedroom apartment
and
be moved in by then."
"What will happen if you postpone?"
"I don't know and I don't want to find out. What if she takes him away?"
"I don't think that's how this works. I'm sure you'll have time to rectify the situation. They'd rather you find a proper place to live than try and find a foster family for Aidan. It's not like he's being abused."
"They might think that a one-year-old shouldn't be sharing a room with a twenty-one-year-old. They could see it as abuse. What if they think—"
"Wow," Seamus put his hand on Matt's arm to stop the train wreck going on in his head. "That escalated quickly. I really don't think you have anything to worry about. If you're really worried about it—you and potato-for-legs can move in with me."
Matt looked at Seamus like he was fucking crazy. "Well,
that
escalated quickly."
"Has it?" Seamus asked with a
is-this-really-that-unbelievable-of-an-idea?
tone. "You already have a room there and so does Aidan. If you're not at the loft, I'm at your apartment. It's not that big of a leap."
"I don't think you know what you're signing up for. It doesn't seem like a big deal because you can go home any time you want. Anytime you need a break. It's your space to do as you please. If we moved in—"
Seamus adjusted in his seat and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. "It was just an offer. No one's forcing you. You can say no."
"It's not about saying yes or saying no, Seamus. You already do so much. Hell, you do more than me. Having a baby in your loft is a big deal."
"There's a baby in my loft every day."
"It would be different if he lived there. And what about our friendship? What if we're terrible roommates and it all goes to shit?"
"We both know we won't be terrible roommates."
"I leave towels on the floor."
"I know, I pick them up all the time."
"
I know
. If we lived together then you'd be picking them up
all the time
. It could drive you crazy."
"I
do
pick them up
all the time
and it
does
drive me crazy. Yet, we're still friends. Imagine that."
Matt turned in his seat. There was a bite to Seamus' words and he was practically white-knuckled. "You're mad."
"No."
Seamus pulled into the parking spot and put the SUV in park. He got out before Matt could respond which meant the conversation was over. Seamus grabbed a cart while Matt got Aidan out of the car. The walk across the parking lot was silent and awkward. They got everything from the list Seamus, plus a few extras like chips, salsa, and some candy they hid under the other stuff so Aidan wouldn't see. Not that he cared.
They went home, made dinner, and watched Aidan refuse to crawl. Things were mostly silent between them. What conversation they did have was so simple you hardly needed to grasp English to understand.
