“You will?” Cael asked, his voice strained and thick with emotion.
A smile broke across Zach’s face as a quiet half laugh, half sob escaped him. “Yes, I will.”
Puling Zach into a tight embrace, Cael let out the breath he’d been holding and captured Zach in a blissfully passionate, lips-only kiss, sending an immediate zing of electricity straight down his spine. The surge of heat to his groin made Zach’s muscles clench, but it was the warmth and love from his best friend filling his heart that made Zach realize he’d finally found what he’d been looking for, and Zach wasn’t ever letting him go.
***
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Zach asked as he parked in his parents’ driveway. His stomach knotted. Knowing his grandparents were inside at this very moment, Zach worried more than ever how they would treat Cael.
“It’s fine, Pook. I promise.” Cael unfastened his seatbelt and shifted a little to face Zach. “It’s temporary, and it’s not like I haven’t dealt with intolerant people before, but I can still leave if you’d rather me not be here.”
Zach shook his head. “I always want you here. Besides, you’re family whether they like it or not. You shouldn’t have to sit out, even if they do think we’re only friends. Mom and Dad are expecting you anyway, and I already told them our plan.”
“What’d they say about it?”
“Believe it or not, neither of them liked it, but they agreed to support it.”
Zach heaved a sigh, feeling uncertain. He looked down at Cael’s left hand, and his heart ached.
The day after Cael unexpectedly proposed, Cael had gone out and bought matching rings for them to wear. Before Cael had even paid for them, he’d slipped the simple silver band on his finger and had worn it religiously until this morning, because, as Cael had said, he wanted the world to know he was taken. Seeing Cael without the ring now made Zach second guess his decision to hide who they were to each other.
“Anyway, you ready?” Zach asked.
“I am, but are you?”
Zach twisted his lips and gave a short nod.
Cael reached across the console and clasped Zach’s hand on his thigh. “I love you.”
Zach pressed his lips into a tight smile. “I love you too.”
“Okay, let’s go, before we look suspicious.”
***
The late afternoon sun shone through the back windows, lighting up the eat-in kitchen as Zach wandered in and dropped the diaper bag on one of the dining chairs. Cael followed with Taylor in his arms. The house seemed empty, but muffled voices echoed nearby. Zach approached the sliding back door, and through the glass, he saw his parents and grandparents sitting out on the back patio, talking.
Zach took a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped outside.
All four heads turned, smiles on all of them, until Cael stepped out behind him. Two smiles faded, and the expression on his grandfather’s face hardened. Fuck, this was going to be a long visit.
“Hey, we’re here,” Zach said. He skirted around the back of the patio chairs to each his grandparents. His grandfather stood and gave him a quick hug. “Hi, Abuelo.”
“Zach.”
Zach moved around to his grandmother and bent to give her a hug. “Hi, Abuela.”
Zach grabbed the empty chair between her and his mom and took a seat, casting a cautious glance toward Cael. “You both remember my friend, Cael, don’t you?”
Abuelo made an affirmative grunt.
“Of course we remember him, mijo,” Abuela answered, the slight disapproval in her voice making Zach’s stomach turn.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Rivas. It’s nice to see you again,” Cael said, a fake smile plastered on his face. “Taylor, can you say hi?”
“Hi,” Taylor said, her high-pitched, sweet voice cutting through some of the tension.
“Cael’s been helping Zach take care of Taylor,” Zach’s mom said.
