For Better or Worse — R. Cooper

To the other firefighters in Montgomery, Javier is a quietly heroic figure with a reputation for staying calm and doing what needs to be done. To the small town gossips, he's some kind of mysterious ladies' man, despite how he hasn't dated anyone in years. Truth is, Javier's demisexual -- it takes him a while to feel desire for someone, and most people don't want to wait for that to happen. Tired of being hurt, he gave up on dating. He gave up with such determination that two years into spending nearly every free evening making dinners with his best friend, Jimmy, he's only just realized that he's in love with him.

Jimmy is noise where Javier is silent. He expresses his thoughts and feelings about every subject imaginable -- except the reason he moved thousands of miles away from his family to start a new life in Montgomery. He spends his nights with Javier, cooking and jointly taking care of his rescue dog. If he's noticed that he and Javier have been all but dating each other for the past two years, he hasn't said, and Javier isn't going to risk upsetting him by asking.

That is, until the very public romance between their fellow firefighter, Scotty, and school librarian, Cole, leads Jimmy to reveal more about his past. Suddenly, Javier has hope. If he has to change the minds of the entire town in order to woo his best friend, then so be it. He's not someone to let a little fear get in his way, especially when it means a chance to make their date nights real.