Why I Need You, Colette Davison

Fin and Noah are both men who are missing out on life.  While Noah hiding from one, Fin is nearly buried under the responsibility in his.  When they meet it's under less-than awesome circumstances but it opens Noah up to something more and Fin might just have a chance with to find his ideal partner.

Fin struggles with the grief he's never truly allowed himself to feel.  He's raising his little sister, Olivia, and is trying to give her the best life he can.  His own life is kind of on pause, especially the romantic side of life, and he's not sure there's a possibility for one.  When he takes on an extra shift and ends up serving an incredibly homophobic table he's unaware that his future may be with the guy who's now drinking himself stupid at the bar.

Their relationship progresses slowly but their feelings grow quickly.  With secrets on Fin's side and insecurities and hang-ups on Noah's they're bound to fight an uphill battle, something has to give.  Patience, understanding, genuine affection, and a meddling roommate all combine to give them a great chance at a future.  And then Fin confesses.

Noah was smart, to take something so serious and actually think about it.  Yes, it wasn't giving Fin hope for more from them as a couple but I respect him for actually thinking of Olivia as not just a fun little girl he chats with during his visits but as a potential daughter.  He was doubtful of his place in life, what he was capable of, and where he thought his life was going.  Absolutely well-founded concerns considering his upbringing.  And acknowledging that if this kind of news were brought up further into their relationship that it might not be as big of an issue because they'd forged something indelible showed foresight, intention, and a realistic view of what they were building together and the reality of raising Olivia.

I was quite frustrated with Noah's sister.  For giving him grief about not trusting her with his secret.  For one, it was Noah's secret to share, no matter how much you think you should have been trusted.  And for two, fears are that way for a reason, they're not always rational but it doesn't give you the right to punish the person for keeping a secret.  Just because they were close all growing up doesn't mean she has the right to know about his sexuality as soon as he does.

Honestly, it's a scary world for kids who grow up in extremely bigoted families, not knowing if they'll have a home, if they'll face their family's vitriol, if there's physical abuse coming, etc.  It's tough even for kids who have loving supportive families.  Their fear is there because they've heard of other families pulling a 180° and don't know if the love they've counted on lasting after sharing something so fundamental.

So yeah, I'm not a fan of characters or people punishing the secret-keeper for feeling like they've been betrayed because the family member's sexuality was hidden, especially in someone like Noah's situation.  The feeling of betrayal is natural, yes, but taking it out on the person who was afraid to confess isn't right.

Overall the story was good.  There wasn't enough transition between the reconciliation and the epilogue and seemed to be quite a jump.  Not that we didn't think it would end up that way, but going from Noah knocking on the door to being on the skateboard was a bit rushed.  The romance was sweet, troublesome, but hopeful.  Fin and Noah together were a great partnership and I feel that the story focused a bit heavily on the slow slog to a mutual desire to the future and then ended rather abruptly.  That end, though, was full of nice things that brought the story full-circle from solitary hesitance to confident togetherness.

*$2.99 on Amazon!