Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Christ, he was great. I leaned over and kissed him. The show went on for a few more minutes before we ended it.
“You guys did so good. I’m proud of you,” Parker said, standing. We all did the same, and Parker pulled Sebastian and me into his arms.
“Group hug!” Corbin shouted.
“No! You can’t make me,” Marcus argued but let Corbin push him over to us, where we did all hug, Sebastian and me in the middle of it.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked Sebastian. “Being with me means you inherit them too.”
He nodded, his eyes glistening. “I’m sure. I love it.”
“Great. He’s going to be one of them, Dec. We’re outnumbered now,” Marcus joked.
We didn’t pay attention to anything said online, just left the recording room and went outside to the slice of beach in Marcus’s yard. We spent the day there with our friends, and when evening came, Sebastian and I decided to go to Driftwood, even if only for a little while. I wasn’t going to let people chase me away from the bar I loved so much. I’d hired extra security for now, and eventually, all the attention would move on from us. Another story would drop, and we’d be old news. I didn’t wish that on anyone, but I was ready for something else to take the pressure off us.
The bar was packed, and I couldn’t say the business wasn’t nice. We’d come in through the back, and Sebastian stayed in his place behind the bar, where people couldn’t get to him. And the cool part was, a lot of people didn’t care. Most everyone left us alone. Maybe it was just because we were in a building surrounded by mostly queer people and they got it; they just wanted us to be able to be happy without all the extra shit.
Later, when we were at home, naked in Sebastian’s bed, he said, “Move in with me.”
My heart punched at my chest…but then just felt as if it was growing. “No,” I teased.
“Please?” he played along.
“I’ll think about it.”
“You’ll say yes,” he countered.
“Yes,” I replied. I wasn’t going to keep myself closed off from possibility anymore, especially not with him. I’d spent my life trying to be a loner. I was done with that.
And while we were still figuring out some things—what Sebastian wanted out of his career or if my dad would cause further problems for us, I knew that no matter what, we would face life head-on, together.
EPILOGUE
Sebastian
January
“Do you like Vegas?” I asked Declan, who frowned.
Exactly. I knew the answer to that and couldn’t say why I questioned him about it.
“Do you know me?” he countered.
“You’re right. Stupid question,” I said as we made our way through the busy casino.
It was Corbin’s birthday, and he’d wanted to take a trip to Sin City. It worked out well for Parker because he had a baking event here on Monday and Tuesday, so we’d all spend the weekend celebrating Corbin, and then Parker would stay on for that.
It had been an interesting few months together. Declan had moved in with me. We’d taken a trip to Atlanta together when I had to do some reshoots for Bound and Determined. He’d never been before, so not only did he get to come on set with me and see me in action, but we spent some time in the city, doing touristy things I didn’t make the time for before Declan.
We did more like that in California too. Declan always pretended it was me who wanted to do it and he was just along for the ride, but we both knew he enjoyed it as much as I did, that we liked doing these things together.
“I looked up a few things we can do here too,” Declan said, making me smile. “Shut up.”
“I didn’t say a word.”
“You didn’t have to.”
We made our way to our room. The guys were already at the hotel too. We’d gotten a couple of suites on the same floor so we’d have one place to convene between all the things we were doing.
As soon as we were inside, Declan swiped my hat off and tossed it to a chair. “I hate that you have to wear that.”
“Not a Dodgers fan?”
“Not a fan of anything that obstructs my view of your face.” He winked, and I swooned dramatically.
The media stuff had slowed down, thankfully. There would be a story here and there, photos of us together out at dinner or on the beach. It was part of the life, and there was no getting around that. Declan didn’t love it but took it in stride. It wasn’t as if we had much choice.
His dad had called him for help once since everything went down. Declan had turned him down, told him he was done with him, and that was that. He changed his cell number and officially cut ties with the man who’d never deserved him anyway. It was hard on him sometimes. He’d wanted a relationship with his parents, but life didn’t always go the way we wanted it to. Sometimes walking away was best, and you learned to move on.