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We took our seats, Elic between Reed and me. We sat across from JJ, Greer, and Dexen. Cadence sat next to Greer, talking his ear off. At one point, Cadence had a huge crush on Greer, but Greer was gay and politely let her down. He loved her as a friend only. Now, he had two men he shared his life with, which was something I was doing as well.
It was still hard to believe Reed wanted me beyond sex after all I’d done to him. As much as I tried to not let Slater’s words burrow inside me, I couldn’t help it. When Reed and I were only fucking and I was a grade-A dick, I knew I hurt him but couldn’t stop. I thought it was better to keep my distance. To hear Slater say I was emotionally abusive, that was hard to swallow. I’d spend the rest of my life being better, making sure I did nothing like that to Reed ever again.
A hand gently laid on my thigh. Elic gave me a light squeeze as his eyes met mine. “You okay?” he asked.
“I should be asking you.”
“I’m good with you two here.”
Leaning over and kissing him wasn’t an option, so I settled for smiling. The three of us hadn’t done more than hold each other. It was different for me, but I enjoyed it. There was an intimacy to it I didn’t expect. Yes, I’d held Reed while we were in bed before, but it was under the guise of me being asleep and pulling him close. I knew full well what I was doing though. Even lost in dreams, my body knew who it wanted.
“This is so cool,” I heard JJ say. I turned to find him smiling like a fool. How could someone whose dad was the head of the local mafia be like this? Jordan Altair Sr. was not a man to be fucked with. His son either. JJ was short for Jordan Jr. JJ looked like a tough motherfucker, but he sat at our family table, star-struck at dining with Reed and me. He loved our band. It still blew my mind how much.
“You’ll have to excuse him,” Dexen said, putting his arm around JJ. “No matter how many times he sees you and the others, he still gets excited.”
“They’re celebrities and we’re eating with them, Dex,” JJ stated. “I wish Val was here. He’d understand how I feel.”
“I know, Jordan. But please remember you have two partners who love you sitting by your side.”
JJ waved him off. “I see you two all the time.”
“Can you feel the love?” Greer asked with a grin.
My mom laughed. If she could have a full table every night, she’d be happy. She loved feeding people. I thought it had a lot to do with the many days we didn’t know where our next meal would come from. We understood firsthand what it was like to be hungry.
Every morning, my mom and some of the staff—usually whoever was free—came in early and baked breads, muffins, and scones. They harvested eggs from the chickens on the farm, and they packaged any overages they had of fruits and vegetables. They gathered it together, along with beef when available, and took it to a homeless shelter in the city. Mom never forgot and never would. She gave back every chance she got.
“Cas,” she said, drawing my attention to her. Her blond hair, slightly darker than mine, was pulled up into a bun. “Did you want to tell us something tonight? You mentioned there was a reason you three wanted to come by for dinner.”
“No, that’s ok—”
“I do,” Elic said.
Reed and I both shot him looks of concern; however, he lifted his chin and plowed ahead. I sat in awe as Elic told our family and the three guests about his life before he met us. He didn’t go deep into details, choosing to allude to what he did without saying it flat out. His hand gripped my thigh tighter, so I reached down and held it in mine, letting him know I was here for him. I saw Reed reach for his other hand. We had his back and always would.
By the time he was done, the table was silent, and all eyes were on Elic.
“I wanted you to know before you found out another way. I’ll understand if it changes things, and you don’t want me to work for you anymore.”
“Elic,” Mom softly said. “It changes nothing. You’re still the same man you were when you first came here. You didn’t have to tell us, but I’m glad you trusted us enough to do so. I’m sure by now Cas has told you what he and I went through when we didn’t have a place to live. There’s no judgment here, only love and support.”
“Thank you,” he replied, emotion causing his breath to catch.
“There’s more,” Reed added. “Cas, Elic, and I are in a relationship. It’s new. Cas and I… Well, we’ve been something for years but recently decided to be more.” I was close to confessing my sins then and there. Telling them how I treated Reed, all the awful things I did, but I held them in. It wouldn’t have done any good to speak them aloud here.
Cadence dropped her fork onto her plate with a loud clatter. She held out her hand to Rich. “I was right!”
I quirked an eyebrow at her.
“Don’t give me that look, Cas. You and Reed aren’t that subtle. No, you didn’t do anything in front of us outside of sending each other ‘looks.’” She actually used air quotes. “Mom was on the fence, but Dad didn’t think I was right.”
“I don’t have money on me,” Rich said, then looked at us. “I only bet against her because I didn’t see it. Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
Before I could say anything, Reed replied, “It wasn’t the right time.”
“Can I say something?” Dexen asked.
Reed nodded.
