“Coming from the king of terrible puns himself, I don’t think you get to judge. Do you want to meet him, or not?”
“Yes,” Andy said quickly, dropping the subject of Spot’s name.
It was a really obvious name, but it wasn’t as though Red had chosen it. Red led Andy over, aware that people were watching them, and crouched in front of Spot.
“Offer him the back of your hand first,” Red said. Andy wasn’t really in any danger, but dog safety came as second nature to him. He’d grown up with dogs, but he hadn’t been able to have one since he moved out of home.
“I know how to greet a strange dog,” Andy said, offering the back of his hand for Spot to sniff.
Spot wasn’t the kind of dog who sniffed an offered hand. Instead, his huge, floppy pink tongue came out to lick it.
Andy giggled, which was way cuter than it should have been. Red really, really needed to stop thinking about Andy like that, but he couldn’t help it. Seeing him out and having fun was only making things worse.
He should have known it would. This wasn’t something he was just going to get over. Red carried a crush for a long, long time.
“Who’s a good boy?” Andy enthused. “You’re a good boy,” he added, as though Spot might have been in doubt about who, in fact, was a good boy.
“He is a good boy,” Red agreed. “I’m gonna miss him.”
Andy looked over at Red, reaching out to pet Spot eagerly at the same time. “Why? Where are you going?”
“Not me, him.” Red nodded to Spot. “He’s ready to retire. We’re training a new dog right now, but Spot’s been at the station longer than I have. He’s the only fire dog I’ve known.”
“Oh,” Andy said, his shoulders dropping. “When’s he retiring?”
Red shrugged. “Dunno. We’re having trouble finding him a forever home. Most people who can have dogs already have as many as they can handle, and anyone else is like me, renting an apartment where they can’t keep one. It’s not as if he’s the kind of dog you can keep a secret, either.”
“No, he’s not.” Andy looked back at Spot, then knelt down in front of him. “You’re a big dog, aren’t you? A big, fierce dog,” he said, playing with Spot’s ears.
Spot was the least fierce animal on the planet.
“He’s such a sweetheart,” Andy said. “You’d have a much easier time finding a date if you had a dog. Men who have dogs are at least twice as attractive as men who don’t.”
“They are?” Red asked. He hadn’t thought of that before, but now that Andy mentioned it, he probably would have been more drawn to a guy with a dog than one without, assuming all other things were equal.
Who’d knock back a bonus dog? Dogs were basically pure joy compressed into a furry, four-legged body.
“I would probably date a guy just to play with his dog,” Andy said, then paused. “I was going to correct myself, but no, I would actually definitely do that.”
Red laughed, enjoying the mental image of Andy playing with a dog and completely ignoring his date.
That was probably… not good.
If he could have adopted Spot, though, he would have done it then and there. Not that he hadn’t thought about it before—he loved Spot, and he would have liked to have someone in his life who loved him completely and unconditionally like only dogs could.
If Spot also made Andy more likely to look twice at him, though, that would have been a nice additional perk to dog ownership.
“Yeah, well, I wish I could adopt this guy.” Red reached out to pet Spot’s neck.
Andy made a sad noise and leaned closer to kiss Spot on top of the head. “I love you,” he said. “And I’m coming back for you,” he added.
“Can’t keep pets in the apartment,” Red pointed out.
“No, but my insurance payout will come through soon enough. If it comes through before he finds a new home, I am coming back for him.” Andy stood, brushing dirt and grass off his knees.
“Just like that? It took you two minutes to fall for him.”
Andy shrugged. “Dogs are very easy to love. And I’ve always been a sucker for a sad face.”
“He does have a great sad face. It’s amazing that he’s not the size of a house with everything we feed him.”
“I bet.” Andy smiled, waving goodbye to Spot reluctantly as several children rushed over to play with him now that he was awake. “I need someone in my life. I was thinking of a cat, but cats are assholes in exactly the same way I’m an asshole. I’d like a dog.”
“Me too.” Red smiled wryly. He was never going to own his own place as long as he worked as a firefighter and didn’t have a partner he could sign a joint mortgage with—even then, they’d have to be on good money, too—but it was nice to dream.
Andy hummed, walking close to Red’s shoulder again. “This has been nice. All your friends think you’ve acquired a cute boyfriend.”
Red chuckled. “Well, you pretended I was your boyfriend when it suited you. This is payback.”
There was a moment’s pause while Andy apparently considered that, and then he made a tiny sound of agreement and reached out to take Red’s hand.
“If it’s payback, we might as well do it right,” Andy said, linking their fingers together.
Red hated himself for enjoying it as much as he was, knowing that he’d be better off forgetting all hope of Andy ever seeing him that way.
How much could it hurt to pretend for a while, though?
Chapter Fifteen
On the way home from the picnic, all Andy could think about was that he hadn’t known Red liked dogs.
Besides the fact that it was really hot that he did, it was something that was completely absent from his profile. That made Andy wonder what else might be absent.
“So, I know you said you wanted a break, but I think I’ve figured out what the problem is with the people we’ve been finding for you. There’s a ton I don’t know about you, and I was relying on what I knew plus what was average for someone like you. I’d like to make a change to the system to capture stuff like likes dogs, because that’s probably important. I need your help.”
“Will I immediately have to go on a date?” Red asked, pulling his keys out to open the door to the apartment.
“No. I just need to sit down with you and quiz you on some stuff. I will even buy you dinner to compensate you for your time.”
Red laughed. “There’s not much I wouldn’t do for a free dinner. You’re on.”
Andy breathed a sigh of relief. This was the missing thing that would take his app from good to great, he was sure of it. The more useful information he had about each person, the more likely it was he could match them with someone like-minded.
When he was done with that, he was going to put in another call to his insurance company. He’d been calling once a week so far, but now there was a dog on the line, as well.
Part of Andy had already accepted that Spot would go to a new home before he could find a new place, but the rest of him still wanted to try.
There’d be another dog, but this one had a connection to Red. Maybe Red would still want to be his friend when he moved out, this way.
Friendship was definitely better than nothing, no matter how much Andy wished it could be something else. He still couldn’t quite get the kiss he and Red had shared out of his head.
Maybe all of this was stupid and Andy was just prolonging his own torture, but he wasn’t ready to let go of his crush just yet. Until Red found someone else, he’d still have a tiny sliver of hope he couldn’t quite bring himself to give up.
“You want a beer?” Red asked as Andy sat down at the kitchen table, opening his laptop.
“Please,” Andy said. “I promise not to keep you any longer than necessary.”
“You know…” Red headed over to the table, setting a bottle down beside Andy and flopping onto the chair opposite him. “I don’t actually hate your company. I’d go so far as to say I like hanging out with you.”
“I was thinking, if you’re buying dinner, we should make a night of it. Pick a couple of movies to watch, that kind of thing. I’ll even make you dessert.”
Andy looked up. “What are you making for dessert, in this scenario?”
“I make a good chocolate mousse.” Red cleared his throat. “Well, I think it’s good, anyway.”
Andy chuckled. “You are a man of hidden depths. Every time I think I know everything about you, you come up with another surprise.”
Red shrugged. “I take a while to get to know,” he said, sipping his beer. “You’re actually getting to know me a lot faster than most people.”
Shifting in his chair, Andy tried to tell himself that didn’t mean anything, that they just happened to make really good friends. Numbers didn’t lie.
Although, part of him was hoping that when he tested all the new data he was about to add to Red’s profile, the numbers would look a little better.
“I’m honored.” Andy cracked open his beer and logged into the site using Red’s details, which he still hadn’t changed. “And I mean that sincerely.”
“I know,” Red said. “I’ve never had a friend like you.”
“Gay?” Andy asked.
“Well, that’s part of it.” Red sat back, relaxing. “But there’s more to it than that. You’re just very… easy.”
Andy raised an eyebrow.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Red said. “You know what I meant. You’re comfortable. Uncomplicated.”
Chuckling, Andy opened up Red’s profile again and added dogs to his list of interests. For good measure, he added food as well. Neither of those had been there before, because they hadn’t seemed important.
Now, though, Andy was realizing that he’d assumed the big things were what made two people compatible. Sometimes, they were. People tended to gravitate toward others who had the same education and income levels, the same general political and religious beliefs, lived in the same areas, and had a few key traits in common. That was what made a good long-term relationship, for most people.
But they had to bond over something in the first place. People were finding each other using M4M, but if they were bonding, it was by accident. He needed to rework the system a little so it made two separate comparisons—one on the macro stuff that needed to be there for a relationship to work, and one for the small things. Like whether or not someone wanted a dog or could make chocolate mousse.
He felt stupid for not thinking of it before. Andy had always fallen in love with the little things about a person without caring about the big things.
That was why all his relationships had ended.
That was why he couldn’t let himself fall for Red. No matter how easy it would have been.
“I’m not saying I’m not easy the other way, too.” Andy smiled wryly.
“Yeah, well…” Red shrugged. “You’ve probably got the right idea. So when are we starting this interrogation?”
Andy paused, biting his lip. Adding interests wasn’t enough. He needed to change the way the system categorized certain things about a person.
He could still make a list, though, while Red was in a cooperative mood.
“There is actually something I’ve been wondering about you,” Andy said. “Red isn’t your real name, is it?”
Red shook his head. “No, obviously. My parents have a lot of failings, but they didn’t name me as if I was a dog.”
“It’s not a bad name,” Andy said. “But everyone calls you by it. What’s wrong with your actual name?”
Red shrugged. “You wanna know what it is?”
Wetting his lips, Andy considered. He wondered if there was a reason Red hadn’t mentioned it, or if it was just that it had never come up. The last thing he wanted was to make this conversation weird.
“Only if you want to tell me.”
“Dude, it’s not some huge secret. The name on my driver’s license is Steve Matheson.”
Andy wrinkled his nose.
Steve was a perfectly solid, respectable name, but it didn’t suit the man in front of him at all.
Not that Red wasn’t both solid and respectable. He was. He was just also so much more.
“I like Red better,” Andy said after a few moments of consideration.
“So do I. Which is why everyone calls me it.”
“Fair enough. Curiosity satisfied.” Andy turned his attention back to his laptop and opened a new document.
He typed dogs and can make dessert into it.
There was a lot more he’d learned about Red, recently—that he had the potential to be a great kisser, that he smelled good up close, that he was nice to hold hands with—but they didn’t seem like the kind of thing he could really put in a dating profile.
Andy wasn’t sure he was capable of objectivity about Red at all anymore. He liked him too much for that.
“You know, we could still solve all your dating problems by changing your profile picture to you without a shirt on. You could have any gay man you wanted.”
Red blushed, looking down at his knees.
There was another thing Andy had learned recently. Red was cute when he was being complimented.
“I’d like them to like me for something other than my body. Maybe that’s stupid.”
Andy shook his head. “It’s not stupid. For some of us, it’s our only option.”
Red looked up again. “Hey, you’re cute. Some of us aren’t interested in a guy who could bench press his own body weight.”
Andy’s eyes widened. He’d never actually tried to bench press anything, but he understood it was difficult. “Can… can you do that?”
“Uh, well, no,” Red cleared his throat. “But I could do yours.”
“Hot,” Andy said automatically. He wondered how to add that to the list, and then decided on fitness. He didn’t get the impression Red was particularly interested in that, but it was something he seemed to think was important for himself, at least.
Now that he’d given it a split second of thought, it made all the sense in the world. Red had been able to lift him as though he’d weighed nothing. He looked great, but he was even stronger than he looked.
That was really hot.
“Wait, so…” Andy realized what Red had said earlier belatedly. “You’re interested in smaller guys? Or…?”
Red nodded, as though it was obvious. “I mean, I’m not saying I’d never ever date a guy who was built like me, y’know? But I know what I like…”
All of a sudden, the solution to all of Andy’s matchmaking problems came to him. He needed to change the entire way he prioritized profiles.
Thankfully, it wasn’t the world’s hardest change to make. Maybe two or three days of work.
“Of course you do. Oh my God, I could kiss you,” he said, gathering his laptop and standing. “Seriously, you’ve been awesome. I have to go work now.”
Red blinked at him. “What about dinner?”
Andy paused when he saw Red’s face.
He really, really wanted to hang out with Red. On the other hand, he didn’t want to waste the moment of inspiration he’d just had.
Suddenly, he remembered Jake telling him he loved his computer more than anything.
The app could wait.
Red was more important.
That felt like some kind of breakthrough, but Andy didn’t want to analyze it too closely. He just wanted to hang out on the couch with his best friend.
“You’re right. Dinner first. I can work when you’re in bed.”
Red smiled at him.
Yeah, Red was definitely more important.
Andy was falling hard and fast for him, regardless of what the numbers said.
Maybe this update would fix the nu
mbers. Maybe he’d been wrong all along, and now that he knew what to change, he’d discover he was actually the perfect man for Red after all.
All he could do was hope.
Chapter Sixteen
When Red got a message out of the blue from a guy on M4M, he assumed Andy was to thank for it—he knew Andy had been making changes in the background for the last few days, since he’d barely left his room except to eat.
Red was actually starting to worry, but he figured two or three days of intense work wasn’t really a bad sign for someone like Andy. If it lasted more than a week, then he’d intervene.
In the meantime, the fact that Andy was obviously still working on finding Red a date confirmed that he wasn’t interested. If he had been, he wouldn’t still be actively trying to get Red to see other guys.
For a little while over the weekend, Red had thought that maybe Andy was starting to see him as someone he could have a relationship with. They’d had a really good day together that had left Red wanting more of the same.
Obviously, that wasn’t something he was going to get from Andy. He needed to set his sights elsewhere.
Harry was way more to his taste than the last two guys had been. He had a pretty smile, his opening line had been funny, and he was the perfect way to take Red’s mind off the guy he couldn’t have.
Now that Red was sitting across from him, enjoying a cup of coffee and the chatter of people around him, he could imagine himself with someone like this. Someone uncomplicated.
“So you’re a firefighter, huh?” Harry asked between sips of tea from the cup he was nervously holding close to his chest. “That must be a helluva job.”
“It is,” Red agreed. “Your profile didn’t say what you do.”
“Oh, I’m an art teacher, actually.” Harry grinned. “Not as exciting.”
Red smiled. Yeah, he could definitely imagine himself with someone like this. “Still very cool, though.”
Maybe letting go of Andy would be easy. Here was a guy who was actually interested, who’d reached out to Red of his own accord—not been wooed in the background by Andy. Red assumed the updates had something to do with it, but still. This could work.
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