Page 99 of Inevitable
He nodded and smiled before he called, “Let’s move, Harley.” He lifted a challenging brow at Ezra. “Race you downstairs?”
He sprinted out the door before Ezra could even fully comprehend what he’d just said. He shook his head and smiled at Drew.
He started moving past Drew when the man grabbed his hand and pulled Ezra to him, planting another kiss on his mouth.
“I’ll miss you today,” he said.
Ezra beamed at him before he ran after Bas.
* * *
“I can’t believe you skipped your graduation ceremony,” Bas said for the hundredth time that day.
Ezra just smiled as he lifted his beer to his lips and took a long sip.
“You already made me go to the last one. This one’s pretty much the same, just with different boring speeches.”
“It’s your master’s. It’s a big deal,” Bas insisted. He’d been trying to change Ezra’s mind ever since he learned Ezra didn’t plan to attend the commencement ceremony.
“I’d rather spend this day with my two favorite people,” Ezra said with a shrug.
Harley gave an indignant bark.
“And my very favorite dog,” Ezra said. “Stop looking at me like that. I didn’t forget you, dude.”
Harley laid his head back down on his paws with a satisfied huff.
Bas shook his head.
“You’ll go when you get your PhD. I’m warning you right now. You can’t get out of that one.”
“I’ll have to earn the PhD first,” Ezra pointed out.
Drew leaned back on the wooden dock and watched the waves ripple over the surface of the lake while Bas continued his quest to get Ezra to commit to attending his future graduation.
It was uncommonly warm for May, so they were all in board shorts and shirtless, even though it was getting late and the sun had started to set.
They’d driven out of the city for the weekend to celebrate Ezra’s graduation and relax before the big move.
The thought of leaving Boston made Drew’s belly tingle with nervous energy, but it wasn’t unpleasant. He was looking forward to the new chapter. It was an adventure, and with Bas and Ezra by his side, he was ready for whatever came next.
“I’m going to miss this,” Bas said.
“It’s not too late to change your mind,” Ezra said immediately. Like Drew had known he would. He’d been saying it a lot over the last few weeks. The closer the moving date came, the more frequent the offers to stay in Boston had become.
“Yes, it is,” Bas said easily. “But that’s not a bad thing. Stop looking so freaked-out.”
Ezra dragged his hand through his hair.
“I can’t help it. I don’t want you to start regretting this. It’s a huge change.”
Bas threw his arm over Ezra’s shoulder.
“We talked about this,” he said. “You know if either Drew or I would have had a problem with the move, we would have said so.”
Ezra was chewing on his lip for a few more seconds before his shoulders deflated, and he nodded.
“I know. I just… It’s a huge change.”
