Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“You didn’t know because I didn’t want you to.” I wiped her tears and noticed my hand was shaking. “I can’t believe you’ve been holding this in your whole life. That must have been so hard for you.” I’d be lying if I didn’t silently acknowledge my hurt at her not telling me. We’d lost all this time. If I’d known, maybe things would have been different, but then I reminded myself that we all have our own journeys. We can’t expect other people to follow the path we did. Being human was so fragile and nuanced and beautiful and devastating. How could we expect everyone’s stories to be the same?
She cupped my face. “You are the best thing I have ever done.”
“You deserve more than that. You deserve your own life too.”
“I think…I think I’m ready to try and find it.” She had been waiting her whole life for me to be happy, to be whole, to find my place in the world, and now that I had, she was willing to look for her own.
“I love you. So much.” I pulled her into a hug, and we cried.
I didn’t know how long we were out there, but no one interrupted us. After we both settled down, I smiled and asked, “So, what kind of women do you like? Physically, at least.”
“Oh my God!” Mom covered her face and laughed. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”
“I’m glad we are.”
She reached over and grabbed my hand. “I am too.”
We went back inside not long afterward.
The movie was over. Knox, Charlie, and Carol were playing a board game. Logan was sitting at the table where they kept his model planes.
“These are lovely,” Mom told him.
“Thanks! Want me to show you all the parts? My dad and I build them together.”
Mom looked at me a little panicked for a moment, I think because they were so open, so willing to accept us into their family. I nodded to tell her to go on, and she said, “I’d really like that.”
She joined Logan, and he began rambling about airplane stuff. The kid had so many hobbies and likes, I knew the world was wide open for him.
I watched my mom bond with the sweet boy who had opened his heart to me, who had changed my life, and then I glanced over at Knox and Charlie. They were playing and laughing before Charlie hooted and jumped up, obviously winning.
Knox looked up at me, and smiled.
“I’ll be right back,” he told them, before coming over. We sneaked into the kitchen together. Knox wrapped his arms around me. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. It’s better than okay. It’s perfect.”
He hooked his finger under my chin, leaned in, and kissed me. “Perfect. Now come play this game with us. We have to find someone who can beat Charlie. She keeps winning.”
I nodded. He held my hand as we walked over, and the four of us played.
Charlie won again, but maybe really, all of us did.
EPILOGUE
Knox
Four Months Later
“I can’t believe Griff is here,” Kellan said.
“Yeah, me neither. How’d you do it?” I asked Josh.
We were all in Richmond for the weekend, at a gay club. Honestly, I couldn’t believe I was there either. It was my first time in a gay club, hell, my first time in any club in a long-ass time. I felt old and out of place, but Cal, Josh, and Kellan had wanted to go for a while now, and we finally made it.
“Because I’m fucking good,” Josh replied. “He needs to get out and have more fun.”
Griffin and Chase approached us then with a handful of beers for everyone. They passed them around, Remy and Law declining. Lawson, like a fierce protector, hadn’t let go of Remy all night. Being here was big for Remy, given his anxiety and all, but he was doing well, laughing and joking with the rest of us. He had his good days and bad, but he was trying to experience life more, and I thought that was because of the man beside him.
The thought made me wrap my arms around Callum and pull him close, his back to my chest.
“What were you guys talking about?” Chase asked.
“How my brother is going to steal my best friend,” Kellan teased.
“Hello pot, meet kettle,” Griffin said.
“He didn’t steal me,” Chase replied. “You’ll always be my brother, Griff. You know that.”
Griffin nodded. “Yeah, but I like to give him shit.”
“Aw, does that mean you really do think of me as your bestie?” Josh slung an arm over Griff’s shoulders. “I’m touched. And don’t worry, boys, there’s enough of me to go around. I’ve always wanted to know what it was like to have a pair of brothers, only it wasn’t friendship in my fantasies.”
Kellan and Chase laughed.
“You’re gross,” Griffin told Josh.
“You love me, Griffy. I make your life more interesting.” Josh leaned over and gave him a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek, much like he would have done with Kellan, only Griff jerked away.