Tears well in her eyes. “You make it sound so simple.”
“Because to me, it is that simple.” I suck in a breath, knowing I’m not only trying to convince Presley, but Chance. “As long as we’re together, we can handle anything that comes our way. Fuck anyone who doesn’t stand with us. There will always be people with their anti-gay campaigns; people who get off on tearing others down; people who spread hate instead of love. But that doesn’t mean we have to mold our lives around their beliefs. Look at Jason, Celeste, and Kourtney. They came out and took a stand, and changed the world of hockey. We can show the world that love looks different for everyone, and be happy together—the five of us.”
“I don’t know if the kids and I are ready for all that.” Tears well in Presley’s eyes. “And even if I was, we know Chance isn’t ready for it either.”
“I am.”
Both of our heads snap to Chance.
“I understand why you’re worried, and I agree that it won’t be easy on the kids,” he continues. “And if you need time, I’m willing to give you however long you need. You want the kids to be a little older? Done. You want to wait until they go off to college? Fine. You want us to sleep in separate rooms? I’ll build an addition off the side of this fucking house. But I need you to know—” he pauses to look directly at me, “I’m ready to come out.”
Presley and I are quiet. I think we’re frozen. Stunned.
I never thought I’d hear those words from his mouth.
Presley slips her hand into his. “Are you serious?”
His jaw works under his skin as his coal eyes flick between the both of us. “Being around Avery has made me realize that I don’t want to feel ashamed of who I am anymore. I don’t want him to feel that way, so I should be able to lead by example, and show him that he deserves to love himself and feel confident in who he is. And so do I.”
Tears stream down Presley’s face as she throws her arms around his neck. “I’m so proud of you.”
Emotion strangles me, making it nearly impossible to speak as I blink back my own tears.
Chance arches a brow. “I never thought I’d see the day when Stephen McKinley is speechless.”
I chuckle, and tug him closer to me. “There’s nothing I could say that would top the words that just came out of your mouth.”
Chance holds each of us in his arms, and I let out a long breath of relief. If this is what he wants, then we’ll both show Presley how possible our relationship is.
“What do you say, pretty girl?” I pull back and cup her face in my hands. “Are you willing to give this a try? You can set the pace. You make the rules. Just tell us that you want this, and we’ll take care of you and the kids for the rest of our lives.”
Another tear rolls down her cheek as she nods. “Of course I want this. I just don’t know how it’s going to look, or how to navigate it.”
“We navigate it together,” Chance whispers. “You’re not doing this alone anymore.”
Presley’s shoulders shake as she sobs, and we hold her, letting her fall apart after years of holding it together for the kids.
And the three of us kiss, with morning breath and crust in our eyes, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
This is the best day of my life.
It’s finally my turn.
Our turn.
Forever finally starts now.
“The only personwho smiles this much on a Monday morning is a person who got dicked down over the weekend.”
I smirk as I arrange the books on a display stand I’ve been working on. “I’m still not telling you about it.”
When I went to pick the kids up from Dominique’s house on Saturday morning, I refused to tell her anything that happened. Serves her right for sneaking around and plotting with the boys.
Dominique whines as she slumps into the chair behind my desk. “Come on. You can’t punish me forever. The reason you get to smile like that is because I told the boys to dick you down in the first place!”
“Okay, you’re not wrong there.” I hold up my index finger. “But you didn’t run it by me first, and you do not get to go behind my back and talk to the boys about said dicking.”
“Fine, I promise I’ll never do it again. Just please tell me what happened, I’m begging you.”