“Do you know where he’s going to school next year?” He inched closer to me and pressed his thigh against mine.
“Knowing him, I’m sure he’ll have scholarships at a few places.” I tapped the screen and FaceTimed my mom’s phone.
She answered, her brown hair hanging down the sides of her face and cut in a bob, her brown eyes lighting up as her gaze caught mine. “Malik, how are you, honey?” Her smile grew.
“Great, Mom. I’ve got Grey here.” I turned the screen to him and jiggled my leg as my pulse kicked. Fuck, this should be easy, but my nerves were firing all at once.
“Hi, Janice. It’s good to see you.” Grey waved into the phone.
“Hi Grey. Malik tells me you’ll join us for Christmas this year?” Mom ticked a brow.
“I am. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll help light the luminarias if you like.” He gave her a broad grin.
“Oh, we stopped using the paper bags a few years ago and have fake ones now.” She chuckled. “It was windy one year, and the bags kept catching fire.”
“Oh, that’s not good.” Grey furrowed his brows. “They’re so pretty, though.”
“We’ll have to do the Farolito Walk on Canyon Road while we’re there.” I leaned in to kiss his cheek and halted. Oops. “Uh, where’s Dad?”
Peering at me, she said, “He’s right here.” She looked off-camera. “Marc, quit fussing with the brushes and get over here.”
Dad came into view next to Mom, his dark hair a little longer than usual and falling around his brown eyes. “Sorry, I was cleaning my brushes. I got a few hours of painting in today.” His gaze shifted. “It’s nice to see you, Grey. How is your family?”
“Uh…they’re fine.” He dropped his teeth into his lower lip.
I should get this over with. “So, I planned this call because I have important news.” My pulse quickened even more.
“What’s that, honey?” Tilting her head, Mom gave me a warm grin.
“I’m, uh, I’m…Oh hell, Grey is my boyfriend now. We fell in love this year.” I swallowed hard and clutched Grey’s thigh.
Grey placed his hand over mine. “We’re both bisexual, Janice and Marc, and yes, I love your son. He’s…amazing.” He beamed at me.
Mom’s eyes glistened, and she covered her mouth for a beat. “Oh my God, I’m so happy for you both.”
With a shake of his head, Dad grinned and said, “Well, isn’t that something.” Pointing into the phone, he said, “I always knew you two had something special.”
“I guess I don’t need to prepare the guest bedroom.” Mom arched a brow. “I take it you’ll share Malik’s old room?”
“Mom…” I choked on a laugh and flashed a peek at Grey. “Yeah, we’ll share my room.” Twisting my hand, I laced my fingers in his.
“This Christmas will be extra special then.” She glanced away. “Landon, come and see your brother. He has a boyfriend now.” She waved.
Landon came into view behind them, his dark hair falling to his shoulders. “Who’s his boyfriend?” His brown-eyed gaze found mine. “Oh, Grey. Of course.” He tsked. “Hey, bro,” he said. “Grey, welcome to the family. Though, it’s not like you weren’t one of us already.” He lifted the corner of his lips.
“Thanks, bro.” Grey squeezed my hand. “I can’t wait to visit and see you all.” He dipped his head onto my shoulder. “It’ll be the best Christmas ever.”
Finals week was here,and Coach had given us extra time off to study. I sat at the dinette with my open laptop, tapping a mechanical pencil on the side of my head, working on the genetics class material.
Grey, sitting across from me, typed on his laptop, and then his phone rang. “Shit.” He picked it up, and his eyes grew wide. “Oh my God, it’s Dennis Brenner.”
“Well, answer it.” I set my pencil down and shifted into the chair next to his. I knew Dennis had been assessing Grey, but we still needed a definitive answer from him, so this should be it. The last time I’d spoken with Dennis, I’d announced our status to him, and he’d taken it in stride. Hopefully, it hadn’t dampened Grey’s chances. Dennis had seemed fine with it.
“H-hello? Dennis?” His throat dipped, and he swept his tongue across his lips.
Holy hell, I wanted to hear this conversation, but it was confidential, and I couldn’t ask him to put it on speaker.
“Uh-huh.” He nodded. “Yes, that works. I’ll text you my email address, and you can send it there.” A smile erupted across his face. “Of course. I’m looking forward to working with you too.”