The silence was killing Carver, it might not have been that long, but it felt like an eternity. His mind flitting between the fact that Anthony was probably thinking of a nice way to turn him down, or maybe the silence was a good thing. He couldn't think straight and he tried to keep the eye contact intact but it was proving difficult and he was afraid that every thought was passing over his face right now. Just before Anthony started to speak again, Carver lowered his head a slightly and shifted his glance to the remainder of his wine and drank it, half aware that refills were coming as he polished it off. Okay, yeah, this was going to be the talk. The one where Anthony said something to the tune of 'I'm flattered, but I'm not into you that way.' He'd been here before a number of times, for many different reasons. Didn't make it suck any less, but Carver would get through it and try to move past it, and see if they couldn't salvage some sort of friendship. Turn it into an amusing story down the road or something. Way down the road, but down the road nonetheless.
But then Anthony finally broke that insufferable silence. And he started to shift closer, and he wasn't pulling away. In fact, the reverse was happening. The touch of Anthony's fingers exploring over Carver's hand was enough for Carver to feel a little bit of hope start to bud inside of his chest. Part of him wondered if this wasn't some cruel joke being played on him right now. Though, sadly, that was more from experience than a genuine place, and Carver felt rather guilty for thinking about it. Since, the other man had never really given him a reason to think he was a mean-spirited person.
As Anthony spoke, Carver sat there and listened, and was oddly quiet for a little while as he did so. He let Anthony get it all out and it was his turn to sit there and think about what had been said. He never claimed to be the brightest light on the Christmas tree, but he also knew he wasn't stupid either. He looked up at Anthony with a soft gaze, a very understanding graze at that, and when he felt him actually hold his hand, he squeezed Anthony's a little bit to let him know that the words were well received as he continued to work on a decent response in his head.
He gave a soft still in disbelief laugh as he took his free hand and rubbed the back of his head. He knew this moment well. That moment where you actually admitted to someone what was happening inside of your head, trusting them not to stomp all over your feelings. Coming out to his friends and family had been the hardest thing he'd ever done. He was lucky in the fact that Cassie and Kevin had been so supportive, even though Carver had been on the verge of tears when he'd told them both. His family more so. He remembered the high he'd felt the first time he'd made out with Blake in the back of the library and then the utter panic and feeling as if the whole school had just watched it happen on his way back to the dungeon that night, even though they'd been alone. This was a moment that needed to be dealt with carefully, and if there was ever a moment where Carver's real skill set could shine, it was this one.
He gave Anthony a very warm smile before he started to speak again. "Perhaps over thinking isn't always the greatest thing, but moments like this, it's often impossible to stop yourself from going there off the bat." he said sympathetically. "It's a hard thing not to sit there and wonder why things are the way that they are and why they can't be just like everyone else. How you don't want to be that special edition, sometimes. But writing your own story...it's not all that bad. Actually, the good tends to out weigh the bad. Scary as hell at times, but, it's worth it in the end. No matter how long the journey might take." he'd tried to stick with the tone of the conversation and in all honesty, he had no idea if he was making any sense what so ever. So, time to just speak plainly, though still with that warm, understanding tone of his. "You're coming out to me, aren't you?" he said in a soft, low voice after their refills had arrived and the server left.