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Leaning forward, I dropped my forehead to his. “Please stop. You’re perfect the way you are and before you say you aren’t, it’s not for you to decide who I find perfection in. I think Tristan is. He’ll tell me he’s not either. We don’t see ourselves the wayothers do. I don’t look at you and see a man with anxiety or who dances for a living. I see Romeo, the man I’m... The man I’m falling for.” Before he could speak, I lifted my head to spear Tristan with my gaze. “I see Tristan, the kindest man I’ve ever met. You both deserve someone to lasso the moon for you and every other sappy thing I can’t think of at the moment. I’m falling for you both, and I’m not sure what to do with that.”
Romeo slid to my side, breaking my and Tristan’s hold on him. “Tris,” he began. “When I look at you, I see someone strong who perseveres. I see a beautiful soul who hasn’t had the chance to shine but is finally getting the freedom he’s been after.” His eyes met mine. “Dash, you are so steadfast in the way you care for others. You don’t give a shit who’s there to witness it. You’re so damn genuine. How you’ve gone this long without finding your soulmate is beyond me.”
“I’ve been waiting for the two of you,” I said honestly, though as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I sighed because they were cheesy as hell.
Tristan reached for me to wrap his palm around the back of my neck. Before I could react, he drew me into a heated kiss. I was about to slip my tongue between those sweet lips when he pulled back so we could share the same air. “Dash, we see you. Not the drummer, not the rock god. We see the person you are inside. And we appreciate how amazing you are. You want those around you to thrive and will do anything to make it happen.”
He released me and focused on Romeo. “I’d like to kiss you too, but after what you just went through, I’m not sure—”
Romeo lunged forward and cut Tristan’s word off with his lips. To watch them kiss with Tristan’s hand still on my neck and Romeo’s on my thigh was hot. Like sinful fucking hot. It was also over far too soon.
“You hide as much of yourself as you can,” Tristan said to Romeo when they broke apart. “You don’t have to hide from us.No matter what you do or what you say, we’re not leaving. Let us take every doubt and fear and turn it into something positive you can remember when your anxiety flares and negativity tries to weigh you down. Let us drown them out. You’re worth everything, Romeo. You’re worth our love and attention. Our devotion and care. We’re not giving up on you or letting you push us away.”
Romeo’s bottom lip trembled. “What if I’m always like this?”
“We’ll always be here,” Tristan told him. “You don’t have to be alone ever again.”
“Fuck,” he whispered and dropped his gaze to his lap. “Oh my god. I’m still in pearls and silk. I don’t even have pants on.”
“Were you going for innocence on stage?” I asked and ran a finger along each pearl on the hip closest to me. “Because I gotta say, nothing you did up there was virtuous.”
Romeo gave me a watery smile before a chuckle took over. It felt like I could take a full breath now that he smiled. By the way Tristan’s shoulders dropped, I guessed he felt the same.
I leaned back on the couch and sighed. “It’s pretty plush in here. Dexen does well.”
Tristan looked around. “Not a bad office, though it needs a window. Hey, how did he know to come get us? He alluded to the fact we were here to see you, but we didn’t confirm or deny it, unsure of what you wanted to tell people.”
Romeo scrubbed his hand over his face. His makeup was smudged, and his eyes started to droop. If he was anything like my brother, a severe panic attack drained him. “I didn’t come outright and say it, but Dom kind of tricked me into admitting we were together when he said some of the dancers were interested in the celebrity in attendance. I got jealous and showed my hand.”
“Does this mean I can walk down the streets of East Dremest and hold both of your hands, laying claim to you as my men?” I asked.
“Would you like to tattoo your name on our foreheads while you’re at it? Proof to show the world?” There was the playful side of Romeo.
“I’m not ruling it out. Tattoos are hot.”
“I have one,” Tristan suddenly said. Romeo and I swung our gazes to him. A blush quickly spread over Tristan’s cheeks. “I, um, got it after everything happened with Oscar.”
“Well, where and what is it?” I asked. “We need details.”
“It’s... it’s on my left ass cheek. The tattoo is of a blue jay flying free. It was one of my first steps in reclaiming myself and the decision not to let another man take advantage of me. I was owning myself and setting the bar higher. I’ve always loved how vibrant their coloring is and when I decided to do something for me, a blue jay was the first thing to come to mind.”
“Oh, baby, it’s like you reached right into my soul. I love blue jays.”
“You two are sappy fools,” Romeo cut in. “But I love it.”
16
TRISTAN
Every day I hated my job more. I used to think it wasn’t bad, but then I saw how happy Dash and Romeo were while they worked and wondered what the hell I was doing. Then again, they had a very different skill set than I did. Dash was super famous, and Romeo danced with incredible talent.
Me? I was a sales associate for a clothing company. I helped people find their size and would make suggestions on styles if asked. When another associate went on break, I’d run the register or man whatever post they needed me to. There was nothing special about what I did, but it paid my bills. Did I want a different job with more? Of course. What, I didn’t know.
I kept my eyes on the front door while I stood with my back straight and waited for the next customer. My mind drifted to the date I had with Romeo and Dash a few days ago, where we went to a quiet restaurant in West Dremest. Dash got us a chef’s table, so there was no one else around us. After what Romeo went through at the club a week ago, we wouldn’t push him to go out to a busy place with us unless he was ready and wanted to go. Both Dash and I were content to spend time at home. Romeo was not. He wanted to go out and prove to himself that he could.
Dinner was amazing. Not only the food, but the conversation as well. The better I got to know Romeo and Dash, the harder I fell. We got into the restaurant with hardly anyone noticing us. Leaving was a different story. We were met with photographers shouting Dash’s name as well as fans trying to get his attention. I attempted to pull Romeo to the SUV, but he held his head high and gave a forced smile to the crowd as Dash politely thanked them for coming to see him, but we had to leave. On the way home, Romeo did breathing exercises to work through his panic attack. He got through it with Dash and I helping the best we could.
The world now knew Dash had two boyfriends. There was no missing our hands interlaced as we exited the building. Romeo didn’t bother with social media and kept to himself. I had accounts but didn’t interact much on them. Dash was everywhere, managing his own accounts, not wanting anyone else to do it. Of course, his manager had a few choice words for him because Dash didn’t give him or the label a chance to get ahead of this. Reed, Casper, and Elic’s names were also thrown around. They did the same thing. While I understood where the label and his manager were coming from, I also saw the point of view of the members in the band. They wanted to lead their lives on their terms.
