Eli puts a hand on his own thigh to stop his leg from shaking, but even that doesn't really work. He can only hope that the

table is doing its job to hide his nerves. Every time the bell above the door dings he can't stop himself from looking up, hoping and praying that it's Peter who's walking through those double doors at the

front of the café.

But it isn't.

Eli double-checks the time. Of course, he got here an hour early, just to make sure he was on time, but still... He sips the melted-ice-and-Americano cocktail at the bottom of his cup. One of his new coworkers comes

by, collects his glass, asks him how he's doing. And Eli has to lie and say he's good, just here to see a friend.

Well, it's not a total lie, he supposes.

The door opens again.

Eli shoots up straight, ready to experience disappointment once again, but his heart swells when he sees Peter walking through

the doors.

Followed by another man, the same man from the other day. He's dressed differently, save for the same laptop bag. He and Peter

make small talk, followed by more laughter.

Eli's stomach sinks as they chat, the stranger laughing at whatever Peter was saying. And he wonders if this man is the same

friend Peter mentioned on the phone call.

Peter's eyes glide over the café before they settle on Eli, smiling. And Eli tries to force a smile back. Peter looks at the man, who's joined the long line near the door, and whispers something before he moves toward Eli, the world slowing down to an impossible spin as Eli takes in the scene.

Wasn't this the plan all along? To "fix" Peter, to work on him so that another man would want to date him?

Well... mission accomplished.

Eli stands too quickly as Peter approaches, nearly knocking the table over as he does so.

"Hey, hi!" Eli says.

"Hey." Peter's voice is quiet.

Eli tries to hug Peter, but Peter doesn't seem to want to reciprocate, so he drops it, awkwardly lingering there before he

offers Peter the seat across from him.

"Sorry for not ordering you anything, I got here too early," Eli admits.

"It's okay, Ryan is getting me something." Peter peers over his shoulder, waving at the man he walked in with.

"Ryan."

"Yeah, sorry. He loves this place. Wanted to get some work done while we talk."

"Oh, well... okay."

"You don't mind, do you?"

"No, no," Eli promises. Even though he does—he'd been hoping to have Peter alone. Despite the public nature of the setting,

he'd pictured getting Peter all to himself for at least an hour or two, hoping that they could... find something that remained.

"I'm glad that you called, actually," Peter begins. "I was... I wanted to call you, but I was afraid."

"You were?"

Peter nods, his body stiff. "I didn't really know what I wanted to say to you. And I was afraid that I might regret something if it came out in annoyance or anger. I didn't want that to happen."

"So, what changed your mind?" Eli dares to ask. "Why answer my call?"

"I guess I just... I had a feeling in my gut." Peter hesitates. "And it made me admit to myself that I missed your voice."

Eli pauses, unsure of what to say.

Peter smiles that lopsided grin at Eli, and Eli smiles right back. But as desperately as he wants to feel good about this,

Eli can't help but see Ryan in the background, talking to the cashier.

No , he tells himself. He cannot be angry at Peter.

If Peter's moved on, then Eli has to accept it. At the very least, if he and Peter can become friends again, then everything

will have been worth it.

"How have you been?" Peter asks him.

"Okay. Well... I've been better. I'm working here, actually. It's just my day off."

"I, uh... I thought you might be."

"Seriously?"

"The other day, Ryan and I were here. I heard a guy calling out for Eli,' and then he said, I think it was, Where is that

frizzy-headed weirdo?' And... you're the only weirdo frizzy-haired Eli I know in the city."

"Oh, well. Yeah, that's me. But I've been writing more too, submitting essays and articles. To be honest, you kind of gave

me that courage."

"I did?"

Eli nods. "The way you talked about your writing, and how you were scared of other people seeing it. I think I realized that

was a real pot-calling-the-kettle-black moment for me. So, I took my own advice."

"That's..." Peter says with a soft expression on his face. "That's amazing, Eli. I'm really proud of you."

"What about you?" Eli asks. "How's the writing?"

"It's going great, actually." Peter smiles, hesitating like he doesn't want to say what comes next. "And... I have you

to thank for that, funny enough. Your advice really helped."

Eli smiles back. "It's all you," he promises. "But I guess it was good for the both of us."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't have even tried if it wasn't for you, Eli. That's more than a push." Peter pauses. "I have a lot to

thank you for. I wouldn't have met Ryan if it wasn't for you."

The knife twists deeper and deeper, and Eli has to bite back the emotions that want to escape. He's happy for Peter, he really

and truly is. Ryan looks like a sweet guy, handsome, with dark hair. He certainly looks buffer than Eli.

Then again, it's not hard to be buffer than Eli.

But maybe he's what Peter needs. Someone clearly more put together. Someone who won't use Peter to benefit his own career,

who'd never think of doing that in the first place. Maybe Eli just gets to be the natural step toward Peter being a more confident

version of himself.

Ryan's name is called at the counter, and Eli watches as he grabs two drinks from the barista, walking over to bring Peter

his.

"Here you go," he says. "I'll be at the other booth answering some emails."

"Thanks!" Peter smiles, and Eli half expects him to go in for a kiss or something. It feels so needlessly cruel, to have to

watch this unfold. But maybe this is the universe teaching Eli his final lesson.

He fucked around, and now he's finding out.

Peter watches as Ryan goes to a booth on the opposite side of the café, pulling a laptop out of the messenger bag.

"He seems nice," Eli says.

"Yeah, Ryan's great. He's been helping me a ton ."

"That's fantastic, Peter..." Eli has to bite back the crack in his voice. "The two of you are cute together."

"Yeah..." Peter pauses, turning swiftly back to Eli. "Wait... what?"

"You and Ryan... you're cute together. I'm glad that you found him."

"Well, thanks, Eli... but Ryan and I aren't dating."

Eli feels like the air's been sucked out of his lungs.

"Wait... what?"

And somehow, through all the confusion, Peter still smiles. "You thought Ryan and I were... dating?"

"Well, yeah. You walked in here together; he's buying you coffee. And I... well, I saw you here the other day, I thought

that..."

Peter beams, shaking his head as he looks down at the table. "Oh, right, yeah. I guess I can see how you might've thought

that."

Eli could sob at the relief he feels; ice-cold water that rushes over him in an instant. "Oh my God." Eli feels himself relax,

finally, breathing easily for the first time in weeks.

Peter smiles. "If door-holding means you're dating someone, then I have some calls to make."

"No, no, it's my fault for assuming." Eli hides his face, feeling the heat along his cheeks. He starts to laugh at the ridiculousness

of the situation, his shoulders heaving until he eventually brings himself down.

Then he feels a hand around his wrists, and the careful pressure as Peter pulls his hands away from his face.

"I'm sorry for the confusion."

"It's okay."

"Ryan's my agent," Peter explains.

"Your... agent?"

"After everything happened between us... I started to query my book. I guess I felt like I have something to prove now." Peter smiles carefully, almost like he's afraid to let himself be this happy.

"He's usually in New York, but he has family in SF and came to visit them for the holiday.

We thought it'd be the perfect chance to meet in person, discuss edits and going on submission to the publishers we want to try and sell to. "

"That's amazing, Peter."

"Yeah, I'm still in shock, I think. All the blogs and authors I follow said that it took them years to get agents. And half

the time those agents were either scammers or not a good fit, so they'd have to start all over again. But Ryan seems like

the genuine article. He's the VP of his agency, which I didn't fully understand but seemed reputable enough. He even connected

me with some of his other clients; they all adore him."

"I knew that you could do it."

"Not without you, I couldn't have." Peter stares into Eli's eyes, his hands still around Eli's wrists.

And Eli wants nothing more than to cry.

"You're so talented," Eli tells him. "I'm sure the publishers will be bidding for your book soon."

"Yeah, right. I can only dream."

"I'm serious, Peter."

There's a silence, this one more comfortable even as the wetness behind Eli's eyes grows.

"Can I ask you something?" Peter's voice is quiet.

"You just did," Eli says. Because he can't help himself. "But you can ask something else."

"If you thought that Ryan and I were together... why'd you even bother talking to me?"

"Because I'm not a child," Eli says. "Even though I act like one sometimes."

"But didn't you come here hoping that we'd get back together? Or... together for the first time? I'm not really sure what does and doesn't count. I know the lines got blurry somewhere."

Eli can't help a laugh. "I should've listened more when you said we needed a pull-out clause in case things got real." Peter

chuckles along with him, and Eli can't help but want to drink in the sound of him. "I came because... because yes, it broke

my heart to see you with another man. But the truth is that I did my best to not care, because no matter what capacity it's

in, I want you in my life, Peter Park. I don't care if it's as a boyfriend, I don't care if it's platonically, I just...

I want to be someone who gets to be around you.

"And more than that, I needed to explain myself. To sit across from you and say that what I did to you was too far, that it

was awful. I lied, Peter. I used you for my own gain because I believed that was the only way I could advance my career. Because

I was so used to shoving the blame onto Michael, onto Vent , instead of accepting that I never belonged there. I never took responsibility for the things that I chose to do. And I was in my own way." Eli lets out a short, shaky breath. "But more than anything, I needed to look you in

the eye and apologize to you. For what I did, for hurting you, for betraying your trust the way that I did."

Eli pauses.

"I'm sorry, Peter. I'm so, so sorry for lying to you, for hiding the article from you. I never should've done that, even if

I thought it'd never be released. And I can only hope that you'll give me the chance to be in your life, to prove how sorry

I am, to try and work to earn the trust I lost."

Peter's expression sinks, and Eli's heart goes with it. Of course he'd entered this situation wanting the best outcome. For

Peter to open his heart to Eli again, for Peter to forgive him in an instant, even though Eli hasn't earned it.

"I, uh... I don't know if I'm ready for that, Eli. The boyfriend thing."

Eli nods, accepting the words because he knows that his feelings aren't the ones that matter right now. Peter's do. Peter

has to do what Eli taught him, to take control of this situation, to make his own boundaries, and be brave enough to make

his own choices. "I completely understand."

"I wish it was that easy," Peter says. "But I guess... I don't know if I can trust you, not yet."

"I know, Peter."

"But..." Peter pauses, seeming to consider his words carefully. "I'd like to spend more time with you. Get to know the

real you, give you a shot to know the real me," he tells Eli, his smile reappearing, this one sadder than the last. "I'd like

to give you the opportunity to earn it again. My trust, that is," Peter adds.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Eli asks. He wants this to be Peter's choice, and no one else's.

Then, after a beat, when Eli is given just enough time to consider Peter might actually say no, he nods. "You gave me a second chance. All those months ago. You deserve

one too."

Eli's laugh is an exhausted, soft sound. "I don't think those situations are comparable, Peter."

He just smiles. "I think they are."

Maybe it's not the exact answer that Eli wants. Because he wants that movie magic. He wants Peter to declare his love for him, he wants Peter to lift him into the air, to kiss him, to forgive

him for everything that he did. He wants the ending of Peter's favorite romance novels.

But life isn't a movie, it isn't a romance book, and it isn't full of such simple fixes.

That doesn't mean the opportunities never arise, though.

"I'd really love that second chance, Peter," Eli tells him.

And Peter smiles. "Are you free tonight?"

"You're not showing Ryan around?"

"He's visiting some relatives in Oakland with his parents. So I'm free. I thought... maybe we could get dinner, catch a

movie? We never got that last date."

Eli stares into the eyes of the man that he's fallen in love with, the man he risked for everything he never realized he didn't

want. The man who found a way into his heart even when Eli didn't want him to. Because love hits us at the most inopportune

times. Especially when we aren't looking for it.

And Eli Francis knows, deep down, that he'll do whatever it takes to keep Peter Park as a piece of his life.

No matter the circumstances.

"Doobu?" Eli offers. "It's on me."

"Let's hope it's not this time." Peter chuckles. "I'd hate to ruin another pair of your shoes."