I knew the smile on Nesto’s face when I mentioned Easton was genuine. Easton had been a good friend to Nesto since he’d arrived in Ithaca. My friend looked out the window, his eyes trained in the direction of the county courthouse where the District Attorney’s office was. “He’s been busy since he started the interim DA gig. Hasn’t stopped by as often. He usually comes here for lunch a few times a week.”

I nodded, thinking about what Easton had said last night. “He mentioned that. Said he’s not sure about the politics.” Easton’s answer had been ambivalent, which was different for him, at least when it came to his job. “Sounds like he’s thinking about it though.”

Nesto nodded, eyes interested. “He’d be good for this town.”

I blinked at that, because Nesto was not one to get political, ever. Jude on the other hand did not mince words when it came to opinions about bullshit happening in town. Once again, I smiled at all the changes love had made in my friend, but before I had a chance to detract the conversation, Nesto called me out.

“Yeah, you’re not getting me off your run-in with Easton to talk about politics. Spit it out.”

I shrugged, feeling stupid, because I wanted to spill my feelings all over this floor and that was so not the norm for me.

“He was fine. It’s not like we had a heart-to-heart,” I said, lifting a shoulder like an asshole. “I was getting some snacks to bring to the office and ran into him. We only talked for like five minutes.”

Nesto just stared at me, waiting for whatever else I was going to say to come out of my mouth. After fidgeting with my pocket square and generally acting like a preschooler, I finally said it. “He said his building had some vacancies when I told him my apartment might not work out.”

Nesto’s eyes widened at that. “I actually thought about him, he told me he’d been fixing up those two units after the tenants left. He wanted to do something to the floors.”

He must have noticed the confused look on my face, because he angled his head before asking cautiously, “He didn’t tell you he owns the building?”

“No, he sure as fuck did not tell me he’d be my landlord!” I said, annoyed. “You know what, forget it.”

Nesto was not done though, he flipped his hand and pointed two fingers at me. “He probably didn’t mention it because you would have told him no and pulled that judgmental stank face you’re rocking right now.” He twisted his mouth to the side before really going in.

“P, what the fuck is your deal, my dude? I mean, I know why you may be all cagey with him, but why are you doing this shit with me?” He gripped the edge of the bar he was standing behind, as if it would somehow help him get ahold of his patience. “Come on, son. Even if you won’t admit it to your damn self, I know your ass is up here at least partly because you’re thirsting after his dick. Don’t deny, because I know the jobs you turned down to take this one. Not that I’m not fucking elated to have you here, because you know I am.”