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“Thanks. Although I should clarify, I talk about that period all the time. Not my evil parents but the time period once I left their house. It was the start of my sexual awakening, which is absolutely worth sharing.” Not to make light of his words, but we’ve had enough heavy stuff for one night.
“You can apologize for that if you want to. It won’t erase the images in my head,” Xander snorts, “but it’s a start.”
“Please,” I huff. “That was good material, and you know it. I bet you’ve even re-enacted some of it with the hot piece of ass sitting next to you.”
“We don’t need to re-enact anything.” Niko slings his arm around Xander’s shoulder. “Our sex life is awesome.”
“How about we leave sex out of the conversation tonight.” Xander gives him a wry look.
“Fine.” Niko kisses Xander’s temple. “So, what do you think will happen to your folks after this?” He asks me.
“No idea. Don’t really care.” I sip the whiskey in front of me. My boyfriend’s springing for the good stuff.
“Can he get kicked out of… What kind of politician is he again?” Justus asks.
“A senator,” Noah replies for me when I don’t answer. “He can’t get kicked out but he’s up for re-election next year so he could get voted out.”
“You had to learn that for a citizenship test, didn’t you?” I nudge his shoulder, and he smiles bashfully.
“I’m still not clear on something,” Luca says. “This charity thing was for underprivileged kids, which you basically were for a while.” He points a finger at me. “And aren’t a lot of those kids gay or bi or whatever? Why support a charity if you don’t like the people impacted by it?”
“Denver skews Democratic and he’s a Republican. I assume it makes him more appealing to Independents or moderate Democrats if he seems supportive of the LGBTQ+ community,” Noah says.
I nudge him again. “I’m the bad boy dating the teacher’s pet, aren’t I? That’s kinda hot.” Noah’s hand finds mine under the table and he threads our fingers together.
“What a douche.” Luca wrinkles his nose in disgust.
“He could be facing some legal trouble if what Rose said about holding her green card is true,” Noah muses aloud.
I’d forgotten about that until he mentioned it, and as much as I’d enjoy seeing the man squirm, my guess is it would turn into a big headache for her. “I’m guessing Judge Calahan will get that worked out without involving the authorities. Hopefully, with some sort of big payout for her so she doesn’t have to work again.”
“We’ll make sure she doesn’t.” Noah gives my hand a squeeze as my air gets lodged in my chest. While the big guy has done some pretty sweet things for me, this is the one that tips my world off its axis. Being boyfriends, moving in, those things are stages in a relationship that may or may not last. Committing to take care of the only mother I’ve ever known… That’s permanent.
“Hey.” Luca suddenly perks up. “You’re out in public and walking just fine. That means you’re coming back to the team, right?”
I try not to tense—it’s not like I didn’t know this was coming—but I’m even less thrilled about Noah traveling with Luca than I realized. Apparently, having a boyfriend makes me possessive.
Noah rubs his thumb over the back of my hand, sensing my distress, I think. “I’ll start practice Monday, but it’ll still probably be a few weeks before I’m in a game, just to be safe.”
“Gauthier’s killing it and all,” Niko starts, “but it’ll be nice to have you back. His reflexes are a hair too slow for my liking.”
“Slower than mine maybe, but not slow. He’s a big part of the reason we aren’t too far out of first in the conference,” Noah points out.
“Agreed.” Niko nods vigorously. “I just feel a little more at ease with you.”
The guys dissolve into a conversation about cold stuff while I sip my drink and marvel over the fact that I just shared what I did. It’s not that I was ashamed of what happened, lots of kids have shit parents that make their lives miserable. It was more about not wanting to put myself in a vulnerable position again by trusting people who could eventually hurt me. And rather than be offended I didn’t open up, the people at this table accepted it without question.
I didn’t expect that.
Given the way they acted when Niko and Xander came out to them, and even Noah, I probably should’ve realized they’d accept me too. But I’m not on their team, and I kept Xander at arm’s length for years. I didn’t give any of them much reason to be so tolerant of me. Hell, I probably baited them to push me away instead, but they're still here.
***
By the time we get home it’s nearly midnight, and we’re both exhausted. That doesn’t stop Noah from pinning me against the door the second we get inside.
“Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep my hands off you when you look this sexy?” He licks up my neck, over my jaw, and takes my mouth in a searing, possessive kiss.
I bite my lip suggestively when he pulls back to look at me. “The un-tied tie and open collar really do it for you, huh?”
