Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“I get it. I’m the same with dance.”
“Hopefully May and I will get to see you dance sometime,” Dad says, and I don’t doubt his sincerity. He and Mom are the type who want to support everyone they care about. It’s how I was able to accomplish my dreams.
“Maybe not at Lush,” Anthony jokes, the three of us sharing a laugh.
Dad’s cheeks turn slightly pink. “Shall we go get ready for dinner?”
“Sure,” Anthony replies. I stand and hold my hand out for him, pulling him to his feet.
We go back into the living room, joining the others. Dad has had a pot roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions in the Crock-Pot most of the day. Dinner is a loud affair, followed by cleaning up together, then watching a movie.
I wrap my arm around Anthony on the couch, pulling him close. He snuggles against my side, his hand on my stomach, massaging it while we watch the comedy. I can’t stop thinking about my conversation with Courtney, though. She’s right. Plus, I really want to tell him. I’m happy about this development in our relationship. Hell, I want everyone to know how I feel about Anthony, but I understand that he’s been through something really traumatizing. Fuck Malcolm for what he did to my guy.
When the movie is over, Courtney and Aline get ready to head home. Anthony and I leave for LA tomorrow, the weekend feeling shorter than it really is. I’ll see Aline and Court in the morning, but still, I say, “I’ll walk you out.”
“Me too,” Anthony says.
“Do you want to go for a walk afterward?”
He gives me a nod, and the four of us bundle up. There are lots of hugs and early goodbyes, Courtney holding on to Anthony longer than expected. “I hope you come back with Kason next time, and Aline and I will visit you guys in LA.”
“That’ll be fun. We’ll have to go out one night.”
“Yes!” my sister replies.
Anthony and I watch them until their taillights disappear. It’s freezing out, but still I take his hand, the two of us walking down the sidewalk together, the path lit by streetlights.
I’m about to open my mouth to speak, but Anthony beats me to it. “Your family is so great.”
I grin. “They really are.”
“I see where you get it from.”
I just nod, sensing he has more to say. If Anthony wants to speak, I’m going to let him. I can tell him how I feel afterward…because I am going to tell him. I want him to know he’s loved and that won’t change for me.
“I felt like I belong today…yesterday too…and there are so few places I’ve truly felt like that. With Hayes and Donovan, at Lush, with you, and now here, with them. I know that’s probably a lot for you to hear, but—”
“It’s not. It’s what I want to hear from you. You do belong here with my family, just like you belong with me.”
We stop walking, the light above like it’s shining just for us. When we turn to face each other, Anthony’s eyes are glassy.
“Beautiful…what’s wrong?” I hold his face in my gloved hands, wishing I wasn’t wearing them so I could feel his skin against mine.
He shakes his head. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I just…” He pauses for a moment, looks unsure, then straightens his spine and says, “I’m in love with you.”
My heart nearly bursts out of my chest, expanding into something bigger, like a parachute just released. I try to find words, but nothing comes out right away. It shouldn’t be this hard for me to respond. Hell, I planned to tell him tonight, but of course Anthony would beat me to it.
“I know this is probably too soon and maybe not the best place to tell you, but I’m in love with you,” he says again. “I’ve never been in love before. I thought I had, but it was nothing compared to how I feel about you, and…I wanted you to know. It’s okay if you’re not there yet, or hell, if you’re never there, but it’s important to me to say it. To claim it. I’m so tired of being afraid of everything, Kason.”
I probably look like the world’s biggest idiot, like my smile is trying to devour my face, but I can’t help it. “I’m in love with you too. I’m crazy fucking in love with you. I was talking to my sister about it earlier and planned to tell you on this walk.”
He beams at me just as ridiculously as I’m probably looking at him. “You told your sister?”
“Yes.”
“You were going to tell me tonight?”
“Yes. I’m in love with you, and I want everyone to know it. I want you to know it.” Because that’s the most important thing. “I don’t want a day to go by for the rest of your life where you don’t know you’re loved by me. And that you’ll always have family here.”