We both decided to let them have their fun and may the best man beat the equally best man to pop the question first.
“Yeah,” Roman says, smiling at me. “We’ll have to work on getting him a tux.”
Mom squeals again, like she’s a teenager and not a woman in her mid-fifties. “Okay, I’ve got to get back to work, but we’ll come meet him soon.”
“Sounds good. We love you,” I say.
“I love you boys too.”
Roman taps the button to hang up the call and all but throws himself into my lap, and if there’s one thing I will never complain about, it’s a lap full of deliciously naked Roman. His warm skin presses against mine and my cock hardens instantly as I cup his jaw and slam my mouth to his. Fuck, I’m so happy. I didn’t even know this kind of happiness existed. And if you had told me five years ago this would be my life right now, I would have laughed you out of the state.
“Mmm, I love you, beautiful. Let’s get dressed and go make lunch. I’ll let Kassie out if you wanna start.”
He brushes his lips over mine one more time and nods.
“I swear, it was so fun,” Eli says, a grin on his face.
“I bet,” Roman says, his fingers drawing mindless patterns on my thigh, as the three of us sit in the living room.
Eli laughs, so hard that it makes me want to laugh too. “I still can’t believe she threw up, though.”
I gesture toward Roman. “He doesn’t throw up, but he’s a big chicken about rides.”
Eli leans forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “Really?”
Roman nods. “Yeah, I really am. I don’t get sick, thankfully. But I’m not a fan. Rode the Ferris wheel with this one a single time, and that was enough for me. Never again.”
If I recall, he actually had a lot of fun on the Ferris wheel with me, although it probably had more to do with our first fumbling kiss than it did the actual ride. “I think it was successful at any rate.”
Eli looks back and forth between the two of us. “How long have you two been together?”
The normal, stabbing pain I get when I think about all the time we missed out on is nowhere to be found. I’ve noticed it happening less and less lately. It still sucks, but it’s not as bad as it used to be. I’m mostly just thankful to have what I do now. No point in crying over a past we can’t change, so I simply smile. “Almost three years now. But we dated for a while when we were eighteen.”
Eli hums. “That’s cool.”
Roman gives my thigh a little squeeze. He’s almost always touching me when we’re together and I love it. After going so long without him and his touch, I willalwaystake his needy little touches.
Before either of us can answer, there’s a knock at the door. “Ah, that’ll be Julian and Hold.”
I hop up to open the door. The second it swings open, Julian steps inside and gives me a huge hug. “I’m happy for you,” he whispers before releasing me. Of everyone around us, Julian is the only one I suspect picked up on how much I was longing to become a parent. His eyes were always a little too knowing. He always shared his kids with me a little more willingly than Holden, like he knew I needed it.
I’m far too choked up to say anything back to him, so I don’t. I just give him a wobbly smile and step back so they can come in.
Holden walks in behind Julian and gives me a little smirk. He’s such a shit. “Eli,” I hear Roman say. “This is Holden, the one I talked to you about last night, and his boyfriend, Julian.”
Holden turns to Eli and offers his hand. “Holden.”
Eli blinks up at him, but doesn’t take his hand. He just blinks and blinks and blinks some more. I can tell it’s making Holden feel uncomfortable, but he doesn’t say anything. He just smiles and drops his hand. Julian introduceshimself as well, but Eli barely acknowledges him, choosing instead to watch Holden.
Holden shrugs his coat off and tosses it over the back of the couch before sitting down beside Roman. I glance back at Eli to find him still looking at Holden. I mean, I don’t think he’s homophobic. He obviously knows Roman and I are together. Hell, we talked to him about our wedding earlier. So, I’m not really understanding his issue. I’m bracing for an argument when Eli sighs. “Wow. You’re, like, the prettiest person I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”
Holden looks around before pointing a finger at himself. “Me?”
Eli swallows hard, nodding. Uh-oh. This could go sideways quickly. Everyone in the room is dead silent, and Holden cocks his head to the side. “Thank you?”
Like he just realized what he said, Eli flushes bright red. “I just… I mean… Not in like a…” He groans, covering his face. In seconds, he’s jumping up and running off toward his room. Kassie immediately notices his distress and jumps up from her spot in front of the couch, taking off after him with a whine.
“Wait!” Holden basically yells, panic splashed across his face. I, for one, am stunned into silence because what the fuck is happening right now? “Come back, Eli.”
