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“Congratulations, Rocky!” Enzo said, clapping me on my shoulder. Zane helped Lily grab a macaron before grabbing one for him and Enzo.
“Congrats, Rocky.” Zane put a hand on my shoulder, his smile causing a dimple to appear. Zane Holden had given me a chance by bringing me into Stonewall, and even though we lived states away and didn’t get a chance to work together, I still considered him a close friend.
A close friend. Who would have thought I’d have close friends?
“Thank you both for flying out. It really means a lot.”
Lily waved her half-bitten macaron in the air. I kneeled down so I could be at her level.
“And thank you, Lily, for being such a magical little princess!”
She smiled and giggled before she waddled behind Enzo’s leg, holding on to him with one tiny arm while holding the macaron in the other.
“Of course, Rocky, we wouldn’t have missed this,” Zane said.
I nodded, overcome with a sudden swell of emotion. As I looked around, seeing all the people who had shown up to celebrate our love, I realized that the Rocky who had craved solitude and loneliness was no longer. Today, I was different. Changed. Instead of barriers, I built friendships. Long-lasting and solid friendships that changed how I saw the world. It made the sun shine a little brighter and the birds sing a little louder.
Life was better when it wasn’t spent pushing people away.
Sam came over then, holding his stomach as he laughed, Maverick Gold right behind him, no doubt having told one of his many stories. He was a stand-up comedian with a degree from Harvard and a job at Goldman Sachs. The guy was the definition of interesting, and his charisma carried through, spreading to everyone he was around.
Hell, the entire Gold family was pretty much the same. They were old friends of Sam; Maverick’s moms, Mia and Ashley, had grown up with Sam’s mom. His mom was the one who pushed them together, seeing how complete they were with each other but both having been too scared to pursue anything. Fast-forward fifteen years and they had a huge and vibrant family. They’d adopted all their children, four of them having come from broken homes that shattered even more when they had come out.
Behind Maverick and Sam were the identical twins, Dusty and Benji Gold, although they both carried themselves very differently even though they had the same exact faces, smiles, even haircuts. Benji was the sportier one of the twins, with more muscle and the physique of a soccer player. Dusty was thinner and wore thick-rimmed tortoiseshell glasses that made his amber-brown eyes pop under the lens.
“There’s my husband,” Sam said, coming over to me with a kiss on the lips, his smile transferring to me. “God, I love saying that. Husband.”
I held on to Sam as I introduced Zane and Enzo to the Gold family. Ashley and Mia came over with Kaitlyn, their youngest. She was a teenager with a bright blue streak of hair through the jet-black strands, and she looked at her moms’ glasses of wine like she was plotting on grabbing them and running.
“It smells like marriage over here,” Ashley said, hugging me and then Sam.
“Oh that’s what the smell was” Maverick said. “I thought that was me.” He lifted his arms and sniffed. The entire crowd laughed, Ashley playfully slapping her son’s chest.
“Mom, what does marriage even smell like?” Kaitlyn asked.
“Definitely not like Mav’s smelly armpits,” Dusty said.
Benji scoffed, smiling. “God, why is my family so weird.”
“We’re not weird,” Mia said, kissing her wife on the cheek. “We’re unique.”
“That’s a good way to spin it.” Kaitlyn arched a brow, but the love that emanated from her as she looked around her family was as clear as the sunshine beaming down on us.
We chatted with the entire group for a while, the group devolving into tears as Maverick told the story of the time he and Benji got locked inside of Toys “R” Us on Halloween, both of them dressed like two old ladies, tits sagging to their ankles and all.
“Oh man, I wish I could show you all the surveillance footage,” Maverick said when the laughter died down.
Ashley and Mia, both holding empty glasses, excused themselves to grab a refill. Benji and Dusty stayed speaking with Zane and Enzo, while Maverick spotted a cute guy he clearly wanted to take home with the way he practically bolted toward him, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.
It gave me the perfect opening to have Sam all to myself. I kissed him again, standing under the palm tree, finding pure love in his eyes. I adored this man. The way he looked at me always made me feel like I was the only person in his world, the only one who held his heart the way I did.
