Coach Shepherd waved a hand in front of the camera. “There’s no need to thank me. You’d have to do a hell of a lot more than that to get cut from the team.”
Colton looked over to Dean at the kitchen island and smiled.
Coach Shepherd noticed. “Is Dean with you?”
“Yeah, Coach.”
“Can I talk to him?”
Dean joined Colton on the sofa and waved at the camera. “Hi, Coach.”
“Hi, Dean.” Coach Shepherd paused and swallowed. “Look, I want you both to know I’m proud of you. What you did took some serious balls. I couldn’t be prouder if you were my own kids.”
Both Dean and Colton struggled to contain themselves and squeaked out, “Thanks, Coach.”
Luckily, before they completely unraveled in their emotions, Coach Shepherd ended the call with a wave and a smile.
Colton dropped his phone and stared straight ahead. Dean squeezed his hand. “That went well, yeah?”
Colton met his gaze with a slight smile. “Yeah. Much better than I could have imagined.” He grinned bigger now. “I’m still on the team!”
Dean shrugged with a smirk. “Well, Ihateto say I told you so, but…”
“Shut up.” Colton dragged him into a kiss as they giggled.
Dean ended the kiss with a little peck on his nose. “I am so proud of you. Coach is right, that took some serious balls. But do you think you should talk to your mom?”
Colton pulled him tight to his chest. “Yes. But not right now. I want to enjoy our little happiness bubble for a little longer.”
“I can go with you, if that will help,” Dean whispered into his neck.
“No, I’ll be fine.” Colton kissed his temple. “You’ve got a show in L.A. You can’t disappoint your fans.”
Dean sighed. “Okay, fine. But I’ll cancel in a second if you need me.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before the calm was broken by the sound of Dean’s phone. He grabbed it and turned it so Colton could see who was calling. “Well, I wonder why Taylor’s calling?”
He chuckled and opened FaceTime. “What the hell doyouwant?” he answered with a grin.
The sound of Taylor cackling filled the space. “Bitch! You trying to steal my thunder?!”
Dean hooted, “Always! Bitch, you can’t haveallthe fun!”
Taylor laughed again and her eyes softened. “No, but I’m really happy for you. I had no idea. How could you keep such a secret from me?!” She fake pouted and Dean smiled sheepishly.
“I couldn’t tell anyone. I was protecting Colton. We had to be sure he was ready.”
Taylor nodded with a hum. “I get it. Hi, Colton.” She waved into the camera. “Helluva way to break the news though. You guys went ultra big!”
Dean laughed and shook his head. “Well, it wasn’t planned. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you over lunch one day soon.”
“You got a deal!” Taylor’s smile filled the small screen. “I really am so happy for you. You deserve this, so much!”
“Thanks, hon. I’ll see you soon.” Dean ended the call and dropped his head onto Colton’s shoulder.
“Everything’s really going to be Okay.”
Colton sighed. “Yep. There’s just one last thing I need to do.”
