Page 116 of Pretty ’n Peak

He got a few odd looks. Who’s this white guy we’ve never heard of and why is he here? But nothing unexpected.

To his surprise, for someone who claimed to be an introvert, Austin plunged into conversations with anyone who came along.

He talked sports with Mateo’s father, saying that he still followed basketball, since he’d played it in high school, even though he couldn’t watch the games. They joked together about fútbol, and how the Americans had gotten the name all wrong.

Austin explained to Anita, one of Mateo’s nieces, how his tablet could help him let him look at things that were tiny or far away, like art on a wall. He also had an app that would read signs out loud and describe the environment, then handed over his phone to let her race around and try it out until too many of the kids were squabbling over it. Mateo followed the conversation closely, fascinated by the way technology fit so seamlessly into Austin’s life.

Austin asked Mateo to bring him seconds on the chicken tinga and praised Mateo’s mother for her cooking—a sure way to her heart, even though she refused all the compliments. But she said he was a good boy and invited him back any time.

With Mateo’s brother, Ian, he chatted about how much he’d enjoyed mountain climbing, even though he was new to it. He talked up Mateo as a valuable guide, making it sound like their one-hour activity had lasted for days.

Ian shook his head. “Damn. I was sure Mateo was bringing home a girlfriend tonight. Did you meet her?”

Austin didn’t miss a beat. “Just guys on this trip. Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Mateo couldn’t help raising his eyebrows in an I-told-you-so expression. Maybe that would give him some breathing room.

The party continued in a warm, happy haze. With everyone gravitating toward his guest, Mateo had hardly talked at all, which suited him fine. And he learned so much more about Austin seeing him in a new environment.

He kept fighting the urge to just reach over and take his hand. To shift their chairs together and curl up against him. The intimacy between them felt like it hadn’t changed at all in their three weeks apart.

For the thousandth time, he wondered what would happen if he just told everyone he was gay.

But he didn’t have the courage. Not yet, at least. When it could mean losing all this.

In one of the rare lulls between people, he turned to find Austin leaning back in his chair, face lifted to the sky.

“Everything OK?” Mateo asked quietly, for his ears only.

“Just a lot of peopling,” he shrugged.

“I wouldn’t have known at all. You charmed everyone.”

Austin laughed quietly. “I hope so. Your family is good people. Even if I didn’t understand half of what they were saying.”

Mateo chuckled. “I don’t think they can tell the difference.”

Austin gave him a light punch in the arm. Very bro-y. “You were doing it, too.”

It was true. For as many times as Mateo shouted ¡inglés! to remind someone else, Austin had to ask him what a conversation had been about afterward. “Sorry. My brain switches when I’m in an English environment, but at home it’s hard.”

“Maybe I’ll just have to learn Spanish, then.”

Austin said it lightly, but it made Mateo feel like his chest was glowing. It was probably one of those throw-away comments people made. But could Austin possibly mean it? Would they see enough of each other for Austin to learn a whole language?

“It’s supposed to be easier to learn than English,” he answered distractedly.

“That’s what I’ve heard.”

A silence fell between them, filled by an old Spanish love song and the rhythmic chirp of crickets in the grass.

It felt comfortable. Familiar. What if he could have this with a boyfriend? Maybe not Austin, but… somebody.

“Are you ready to get away from the crowd?” Mateo asked

“If you don’t mind? It’s fun for a while, but it gets exhausting.”

“I know exactly what you mean. I think we’ve paid our dues. Let’s go grab our stuff and we’ll get you settled upstairs.”