Ed choked on a laugh at the image that passed through his brain. “I just can’t see you as the adorable househusband.”
“Fuck you! If it meant making Will happy, I’d be the best damn househusband there ever was. I’d wear the apron and the pearls if necessary.”
Ed rubbed his scalp, sure he was never getting that image out of his head, but there was also a part of him that envied him. Charlie knew he could be completely happy in a quiet life just so long as it had Will at its center.
When it came to Max, there were so many questions.
“We all knew that this thing we were doing wasn’t going to last forever. The mercenary gig is a young person’s thing, and we’re all starting to get up there in years,” Charlie began again.
“Some of us more than others,” Ed teased.
Charlie snorted. “And I’m still making it look easy. The point is that eventually we’ll all go our separate ways to make new lives. Kairo’s set with Izzie. I can definitely see them settling on an olive farm or a vineyard, doing their cute little thing together. When Will gets tired of travel, I’m sure we’ll pick a spot to settle down and he’ll be some beloved country doctor.”
“Alexei and Soren?”
A long, low groan rumbled out of Charlie, and Ed cackled. “They’ll go on to wreak their havoc around the world and probably drag West with them. Are you thinking about what you’ll do next with Max?”
“I don’t know,” Ed mumbled, shrugging one shoulder. “Just idle thoughts. It’s that he’s a professor who teaches in the US and goes on these digs. His life is neatly set out in front of him. And when he talks about teaching, I can tell he loves it. How are our lives supposed to fit together for things like dating? I was thinking that it might be easier if I gave up this mercenary thing so we could be together.”
Charlie grunted and fell silent, which only made Ed roll his eyes at his friend.
“It’s okay. You can give your opinion. Tell me it’s too fast or that I’ve lost my mind. I’m pretty sure I have.”
“It is fast, but who am I to judge? Look at Kairo and Isidore. They happened fast, and I’ve never known anyone happier. But I’ll give you the one lesson that I learned from dating Will: Talk. To. Him. When I found Will again, I was ready to give it all up and create a quiet life for him, but that wasn’t what Will wanted. He wanted to travel with us and live our crazy lifestyle. I would never have guessed that. Just because Max looks happy with his teaching and digging in the sand, that doesn’t mean he’s not open to something completely different. Don’t make decisions for him unless he specifically tells you to do that.”
Ed’s smile felt lopsided on his face. “Charlie Sands, love guru. Never would have seen that coming.”
“Yeah, well, fuck up as many times as I have, you’re bound to learn something valuable. The point is, talk to him while you’re thinking about things. No point in getting yourself worked up over what could turn out to be nothing.”
That made sense, and God knew he could do with a little logic when it came to Max. Since that first kiss, it was as though he’d been soaring with his head in the clouds, ready to turn his life inside out just so he could keep that smile on Max’s face.
“I’ve never met anyone like him. Anyone who makes me feel the way I do.”
“How’s that?” Charlie asked with a grin in his voice.
“Seen! I feel really seen with him. He loves the fact that I’ve got a brain in my head—even if I don’t use it a lot around him. He doesn’t treat me like I’m just some big, stupid guy only good at acting like a brick wall. He never talks down to me. The man even tries to protect me. Max is brilliant and funny and so damn snarky. I never know what’s going to come out of his mouth. I could listen to him talk for hours. And that’s what I want. To spend the next several decades simply listening to him talk and being with him. I don’t know what to do with my life next; I just know that I want him in it.” Heat burned his cheeks. He hadn’t meant to burst out with so much, but it was hard to hold all those feelings in when it came to Max.
“I’m glad. Max is a good person. Crazy, but he’s our kind of crazy. And I’m glad you’ve got someone ready to protect you.”
Ed huffed a soft, breathless laugh. “Like I need anyone protecting me.”
“I think you need it the most because you think you don’t need anyone doing that job. Max doesn’t look at your size and assume you don’t need protecting from the world. And that little guy is angry enough to take on the world for you.”