Page 16 of How Not to Date a Griffin

“What?”

“How each of those people down there have their own lives. They have jobs and families and concerns and worries. Sometimes it’s just…”

“Hard to imagine?” Nolan finished, with a lilt to his tone.

“Exactly. There’s no way all those people down there have their own crises and complicated situations.”

“But they do, don’t they?” Nolan asked, tilting his head.

“Yeah. Probably.”

Reid shifted his attention from the lights and people below to the man beside him. Dark hair, clean jaw, a nose that he wanted to bite. Perfectly coiffed hair that his fingers itched to mess up.

“What about you?” he asked, and waited for Nolan to look at him. “Any crises?”

Nolan’s lips twitched, but it wasn’t humor that sparkled in his gaze like earlier. “My whole life is a crisis,” he said, and then winced. “No, that’s... That sounds dramatic. There’s people out there who don’t know where they’re sleeping tonight. I’m just stuck in a job I hate.”

“Hey,” Reid said, frowning, and nudged his arm into Nolan’s side. “Everyone has different struggles.”

Nolan smiled, though the lines were tight. “It’s okay, you don’t have to make me feel better.”

“Why do you hate it so much?” he asked, and pulled Nolan over to the lounge chairs.

“Oh, this is lovely,” Nolan remarked as he sat. Above them, string lights zigzagged over the lattice privacy fence, cocooning them in their own little world.

“This building belongs to some company, but they’re never here at night, only during the day. Don’t even know why they hung these lights if no one’s here to enjoy them.”

“Well, we’re here to enjoy them. Thank you,” Nolan said, his gaze suddenly heavy, and Reid’s heart was in his throat as he swallowed back the urge to lean forward and kiss him.

Did Nolan’s eyes just drop to Reid’s lips? He didn’t have time to decide before Nolan glanced down at his lap and spoke. “Why do I hate my job? Where do I start? I sit in an office all day. Not even a nice one. What I do doesn’t mean anything. I’m just a paper pusher, or worse, for show. I’m there to make my father look good, and in his eyes, I still manage to fuck that up.”

“Dads are dicks,” Reid declared.

“Dads are dicks,” Nolan answered. “Sometimes I wish I could just… say fuck it, and walk out. He doesn’t need me. I don’t really need him.” His brows lifted, surprise sparking in his expression.

“You used to, though?”

“Yeah… yeah, I did.” He frowned. “Well, isn’t that something.”

Reid wished he could read his mind better than he could read his expressions. “What’s wrong?”

“My dad owns the company I work at, obviously. But I’m not… he doesn’t… I don’t get any favor, is what I’m trying to say. I’m just another schmuck who works there.”

“This seems… revolutionary to you. Why?”

Nolan turned in his seat and faced Reid, the lines around his eyes tense. “At the risk of sounding like an awful, spoiled rich kid, I’ve been under his thumb my whole life. Everything has been mapped out from the moment I was born, and at first it all seemed designed to get me as far away from him as possible. I’m talking… pre-k, nannies, boarding school, college in another state. He spent my whole life trying to keep me as far from him as possible, and yet...” He frowned, and Reid hung on every word, only stared at his lips, like, twice. “When I graduated, it was understood that I would just slot into his little office like I’d always belonged there. But I was doing shit work, getting coffee and running errands like an intern for some rich guy I didn’t even know.”

“Did you ever have a rebellious phase?” Everyone had a phase. Reid’s had been smoking weed at the park with his high school friends, thinking he was tough. Mom had not been very happy about it, and Reid was definitely not tough when it came to his mom.

Nolan dug the palms of his hand into his eyes, and Reid resisted the urge to comfort him. “My rebellious phase was just finally coming out to him. I’d hoped maybe it would be the last straw, that he’d throw me out or cut me off or something.” He dropped his hands with a groan, shoulders slumping, oblivious to the way Reid was suddenly frozen. “Because at least then I would’ve been free. Instead, I’ve spent the last several years stuck by his side. I’m like a… like a polished little trophy he shows off, to try and prove that he’s not a homophobic, bigoted asshole, so he can keep his shareholders and hold people’s interests and make the business look good.”

Coming out. Reid’s breath hitched, and he disguised it by clearing his throat. “Well, shit,” Reid murmured, chest swelling in sympathy. The dad stuff? Terrible. Having his own shit dad, Reid knew how hard it was to move on, to function with the weight of those expectations on your shoulders. That really sucked.

But at the same time, he wasn’t just going to ignore the fact that Nolan clearly wasn’t straight. Thank god, because it would’ve been awkward as fuck if he’d tried to kiss a straight guy.

Because what Nolan had just admitted meant… I have a chance.

Focus, Reid. Be normal.