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He could hear her breathing on the other end of the line and King’s heart shattered. He’d hurt her. It didn’t matter how much he loved Adds, he’d done the one thing that as a man he swore he’d never do—he disrespected his partner by not being honest with them. He’d cheated on Adds, the love of his life. The silence stretched on interminably. “Adds, please say something.”
“Is it shitty of me to say stop talking to Eve?”
He huffed. He wanted to think the same thing, but Eve was right. “No, it’s not awful. I get why you might say that, but it’s not really about Eve is it? It’s about me. What I’ve done.”
“What have you done, King? If you’re concerned that you’re cheating because you have feelings for Liam, then I have to say we’re cheating on each other—like I said, he’s easy to love. But if that’s it, if you haven’t taken it any further than acknowledging your feelings, then how could that possibly be cheating? I don’t think it is.”
He let her words sit, mulling on them for a moment. He thought he understood what Adds was saying. She continued before he could ask anything.
“I mean, some people might think it was cheating, but is it really up to them to decide? We’re in this relationship, no one else. Isn’t it up to us to choose what we feel comfortable with? Where the line is? And, for me, as long as we’re together, happy, and love each other, then I don’t think loving someone else too is cheating.” She paused and when she spoke again, her words were quiet. “It’s easy to fall for Liam.”
Relief swamped him, but only momentarily. It wasn’t just feelings. It wasn’t just spending time with him. Where was the line? What if Adds thought those touches he’d believed were innocent, weren’t? He needed to be straight with her. He needed to confess everything. “What about if I like encouraging him to work harder?” His belly clenched, knotting up and twisting itself into a ball.
“Unless you’re blowing him, I can’t—”
“Oh my God, no!” King cried out, his heart beating frenetically. “No, I was talking about squeezing his shoulder or telling him he’s doing a good job.”
Adds laughed, the sound musical and genuinely happy. “King, baby, that’s you. You do the same thing to Pop and even Eli. When you talk to your mum, you have your arm around her more often than not. You’re a touchy-feely guy, and I love that. I don’t ever want you to change that. It’s one of my favourite things about you.”
“I am? It is?” He furrowed his brow, thinking back to how he was with his other students. He never touched any of them, at least nothing more than a high five. But his friends, the people he considered family? Absolutely.
“Yes! I love that you and Liam have clicked. He needs someone like you in his corner. Being attracted to someone else…. It’s healthy to admire other people. I’d be more worried if you were completely blinded to everyone because we’re together—that’s a little creepy stalker behaviour. Acknowledging you’re attracted to other people seems perfectly normal to me. You’re not cheating, King.”
He heard the determination in her voice, the warmth there and the affection. She loved him. He still couldn’t believe his luck that they’d met and Adds had given him a second glance. She was incredible and she didn’t think he was doing anything wrong.
“Okay,” he replied, the tension in his body loosening. It was as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders. The knots in his muscles relaxed, and his jaw unclenched. The shroud of worry lifted and in its place was calm and peace. Gratefulness that Adds believed him and understood him too.
There was something more he wanted from her. Permission of sorts. “I want him to meet my parents.”
“Oh, King.” She sniffed. “Yeah. Yeah, I think that’s perfect. He needs that. Your parents will love him.”
“Is it okay? Is it crossing the line?”
“No, I want you to do it.” Her voice was a whisper when she added, “King? Can you do something for me too?”
“Anything.”
“Be upfront with me. If you want to act on your attraction, I just want to know. I don’t want to give you up, but I don’t want you to despise me if you feel like I’m holding you back.” She cleared her throat, her voice wobbling. “I’m okay with the two of you together. As far as I know, Liam’s straight but if there comes a time… then… it’s okay. I won’t say no, but I’d like the respect of you being upfront with me.”
He swallowed, opened his mouth to reply, but no words came. “I know we haven’t said we’re exclusive, but I assumed we were—”
“We are,” she hurried to reassure him. “I haven’t been with anyone else, and I don’t want to either. I’m just saying that I’d be okay with you seeing both of us. Liam’s a good man.”
“He is,” King agreed. “And you’re my world.”
“Don’t you forget it,” she joked, laughing. “Love you, King. Now stop stressing. I’m not one of these insecure girls who thinks they can convert their queer boyfriend into a straight bloke who never craves dick again.”
King barked out a laugh. Her comments shouldn’t surprise him. After all, she was studying sex and intimacy; she had to have an open mind. But she still amazed him every day.
Nineteen
Liam
L
iam stared at the brown leather messenger bag with the rainbow ribbon tied to it. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before. King brought his bag with him every time they studied together. But why the rainbow flag? And how was King gay? There was another ribbon too—pink, purple and blue. What did that one mean?
“I’m not gay,” King answered with a smirk.
