To put it bluntly, had I been alone, I would’ve picked somewhere else. But had I been alone, I never would’ve made the trip. As long as I had Nick, it didn’t matter where we were.

We made it. After a month and a half, we made it.

That’s when the hard part started.

“So, do we tell people we’re gay?” I asked.

“No. The point of being here is so we don’t have to care,” Nick explained.

“But how will people know if we don’t tell them?”

“They don’t need to know,” he laughed.

We were in the backseat, getting dressed and ready for job interviews.

As much as Nick and I wanted a bed, we decided it was best to find work before moving out of the car. The money we had would only last so long without adding to it. Still, my thoughts were on everything but work.

“But what if—” I started.

“Tom,” Nick interrupted.

“Yeah?”

“Relax,” he said.

Seattle was one of the gayest places in America. I was eager to be with my boyfriend like any other regular couple, but it was stressful. I wanted to hold his hand in public without flinching. I wanted to kiss him without checking over my shoulder. But wanting something didn’t make it easy.

“You ever have a job before?” Nick asked as we got out of the car.

We’d parked on the highest level of a parking garage overlooking most of the city. The streets below were quiet—early morning, gray light, barely any foot traffic. Our interviews were scheduled for that hour, and the city felt like it hadn’t woken up yet.

“Nope,” I said.

“I’ve had plenty,” Nick said.

I locked the car before we left. Had I been less nervous, I might’ve noticed what Nick was wearing. He stuck with his usual sweater with long sleeves and jeans, while I tried to make more of an effort with a suit I stole from my dad’s closet. It was the first time in weeks we worried about being presentable. Hopefully, we didn’t stink. We could only get so clean from washing our balls in convenience store bathrooms.

When we got down to the street, we had to head separate ways. We had to split up and I was hesitant to actually walk away. When Nick tried to go, I caught his hand and pulled him back. The motion could have dislocated his wrist or his shoulder, thankfully he was used to how rough I could be.

“What’s up?” he asked.

I kissed him.

We were outside, where people could clearly see us. The instant I let him go, I subconsciously looked around to make sure no one was watching. I half expected someone to break a bottle over our heads.

“I’ll see you later,” he said before finally taking his leave.

I almost wished we’d stayed on the road. The city hadn’t welcomed us with a red carpet, but I suppose it let us in.