Hollis is done with hanging around the bar on Valentine’s Day. He’s going to stay in -- alone -- and watch some movies. At least, that’s the plan. But his coworker’s half-brother’s cousin, better known as Ryan, is new in town. And although the lunch they shared was more levels of awkward than a house of cards, fate must want them to become friends, because on his way home after picking up his Valentine’s Day dinner, Hollis runs into Ryan again. The nice thing to do is to invite him up for dinner -- who wants to be alone in a new city on Valentine’s Day, right? The night leads to a dinner offer in return, a night bowling, a dinner party. When Ryan is relaxed, he’s a lot of fun, but he’s also a lot of work, facing off panic and anxiety in waves. But that isn’t a problem, because friends are there for each other. And they are, after all, friends. Just friends. Right?

Holding Hands

Ryan didn’t usually call in the middle of the work day, so when his number popped up on the caller ID, Hollis answered, curious and a little worried. “Ryan?”


“What am I going to do? Everyone is going to be there, and they expect me to bring a date”—he said the word like most people would say infestation—”and who am I going to ask? Do you think it’s okay to bring a guy? They know I’m gaybut would it be inappropriate? I don’t want to broadcast, and God it’s a moot point anyway, since I’m single, but I guess I could ask a friend. Who should I ask? I mean, I’d ask you, but I don’t want to force you to go on a date with me, especially when it could be really boring, and why would anyone want to—”


“Ryan?” He’d planned on letting Ryan ramble until he ran out of steam, since normally it helped him work around to what he needed to say, but Ryan seemed geared up and Hollis didn’t have an hour to spend on the phone while at work.


Chapter 14