“Kieran’s on the basketball team,” Dean continued, and I couldn’t help but side-eye Ryan.
My boyfriend surprised me when he interrupted Dean’s story to ask Kieran, “Oh yeah, that’s cool, mate. You hoping to be drafted?”
Kieran gave a very audible gulp before shaking his head.
It was Dean’s sigh that snagged my attention. Nothing but adoration appeared on his face when he focused on his boyfriend, but his sigh was all frustration.
“Just don’t start.” Kieran’s voice was low.
Something was amiss, and with beer fueling me, I just came out and asked, “What’s going on? What’s with all the tension?”
Emotion shadowed Kieran’s expression. A quick dart of his eyes toward Ryan followed before he cleared his throat. “There’re no currently out League players.”
His words were a punch to the gut, and I could only imagine how they impacted my boyfriend.
“Honestly, it’s too hard fighting the system, fighting assholes all the time. Especially being so young.” He shrugged. “It’s just not in the cards for me.”
Fuck, his words hurt, his sadness and complete acceptance soured the beer I’d just taken a swig of.
“I’ve already said—”
“No.” Kieran cut Dean off, following with a tender smile.
“But I’d absolutely do it for you. I love you, baby.”
Holy hell, this felt like we were intruding on something too personal, and unfortunately, something I could completely relate to. Awkwardness crept into my stomach.
“What will you do for him?”
It took me a moment to register that the quiet, solemn question came from Ryan. Wide-eyed, I stared at my boyfriend, willing him to meet my gaze and wondering why he was digging, despite me doing the exact same thing a moment ago.
Self-preservation had kept me from pushing it, sickeningly sure I knew exactly what the bone of contention was.
“I’ve said I’ll keep our relationship on the down-low until he’s ready, or maybe something changes.”
Unbidden, I closed my eyelids, selfishly wishing we’d just gone straight back to the cabin rather than being smacked with reality. These poor kids’ plight hurt my heart. Weren’t they too young to be dealing with such shitty realities? Hell, it would only be a few years until I turned thirty, and I still felt unprepared.
“And I love you for it,” Kieran said, drawing my attention back. “But I’m not willing to do that to you… to us. I won’t lie about loving you.”
It was time to leave. With their sweetness and their pain beating so heavily against me, I couldn’t take any more. I took a calming breath and sought out Ryan. His attention was already on me.
And fuck, the look in the depths of his dark, penetrating eyes froze my breath. It stalled my heart, and I had no choice but to cling to the tabletop.
“I’m gay.” Ryan’s words sliced through the group quicker than slashing rain in a storm. “And one day I’ll be marrying Nate Griffin. And anyone who can’t handle that can go fuck themselves.”
No one spoke.
No one moved.
I wasn’t even sure a single soul in our group breathed. And when Ryan stepped around the table, arrowing straight for me, I knew our world was about to unravel.
CHAPTER24
RYAN
The only thinggrounding me was Nate’s soft kiss and the way he clung to me. I didn’t want to let go, too afraid he would float away somehow and that my moment of bravery, my moment of being so moved by a kid’s story, would disappear with it.
I didn’t want to take it back. Not ever.
