“We’llsee who has the upper hand.”Thedark look in his eyes warned thatIwould pay for teasing him.
Theparty couldn’t end soon enough.
17
KEVIN
Thenight had been a rousingsuccess.Thanksto some last-minute donations, we even had gift cards left over thatBillywould keep in his office for kids in need throughout the year.Iwas shocked when more than a few kids threw themselves into my arms, thanking me for helping give them aChristmasthey wouldn’t forget.Ihadn’t brought up the idea for accolades, but it did feel good to be acknowledged.
Oncethe last family was safely in their cars,Billylocked the door and turned back to the volunteers who had hung around to help clean up. “Greatjob, everyone!Ithink it’s safe to say the party was a hit with everyone who came through.AndIwant to especially thankKeithHoffmanfor running to the store in the middle of the party to pick up additional gift cards when it became clear we wouldn’t have enough gifts for everyone.Thanksto his generosity, we have a stash that will be available into the new year.”
Everyoneturned to thankKeith, who looked as though he wanted nothing more than to crawl into the woodwork.WhenIwasn’t viewing him through the lens of a man potentially interested in my mother,Icould admit he was a solid part of the local community.Andthat was enough to settle any lingering doubts about his intentions with my mom.
“Ijust pulled out my credit card,” he demurred.Helooked directly at me as he continued. “Thereal thanks belongs to those who brought the idea to life.I’mashamed to say we tend to focus on certain demographics within the community, which has led to a gap many of us didn’t even see.Myhope is this will be the start of a new direction forHarmonyGroveand the work theLangsfordshave done to build this welcoming safe space.”
Thosewho had cups in their hands lifted them in the air. “ToHarmonyHouse!”
Insteadof returning to drill-instructor mode,Ansonslid his hand into mine, leading me into the community room.Thatwas my favorite space in the building.Inanother life,Iimagined it was likely a parlor meant for entertaining.Therewas a large fireplace adorned with stockings and bows of holly along one wall.Inthe ornate front window stood aChristmastree, now empty underneath.Completingthis scene that could have been directly out of aRockwellpainting wasBart, sound asleep in front of the hearth.
Anson’sbrothers and their partners followed us into the room.Carsonserved cups of egg nog to everyone. “Iknow everyone’s probably ready to get home, butIwanted us to take a few moments to reflect on everything we accomplished today.”Again, all eyes turned to me. “Kevin,I’mnot sure any of us will ever understand the hold you have overAnson, but it’s no exaggeration to say none of this would have been possible without your vision.Sothank you for that.Andwhatever you’re doing to pull the stick out of his ass, please keep doing it.”
IfIhadn’t already been sitting on the couch atAnson’sside,Iwould have fallen flat on my ass.Therewere no questions aboutifsomething was happening between us.Carsonstated it as fact.Icouldn’t look atAnson.Ididn’t want to see the panic written all over his face.Carson’sgaze flitted between the two of us, waiting to see if either of us was going to dispute his statement.Iwasn’t.WhileI’dnever pushAnsonout of the closet for my sake,Ialso wouldn’t lie about us.
“There’sonly one stick getting pulled out of anyone’s ass, and you can’t be so sure it’s mine,”Ansonshot back.Myeyes widened and my jaw went slack asIlooked at him sitting next to me, smugly grinning at his brother.Heatcrept up my neck and face at the fact he’d just basically told the entire room that not only were we having sex, butIwas the one on the receiving end.Iwasn’t embarrassed about loving a strong man topping me, but that wasn’t really a common topic of conversation.BeforeIcould point this out to him, he continued, “Fine.Yes,KevinandIare seeing each other.Isthat what you wanted?Ididn’t say anything sooner becauseIdon’t want people giving me shit about it, but now you all know.”
Iplaced a hand on his forearm, hoping it would have the same calming effect it usually did.Hewas on the defensive here when no one was attacking him.Ifhe kept getting wound up, things would go south in a hurry and ruin what had been a nearly perfect day.Asit turned out,Ididn’t have to say a word becauseBillystepped up to his brothers’ defense.Yes, both of them.
“Anson, settle.Carsondidn’t mean anything by it other than trying to express how much happier you’ve seemed lately, excluding the past few seconds.”IknewBillyandAnsonweren’t as close as he andCarson, so my apprehension grew.Iwasn’t sure how he’d like being scolded by his brother.Thankgoodness those who had volunteered to help clean up the commons room didn’t seem aware of what was happening. “Noone’s going to think less of you for who you choose to spend time with.I’mpretty sure if the family was going to have an issue with any of us, it would be with me.”
WhileIwasn’t sure of all the details aboutBilly’srelationship,Ansonhad mentioned that their youngest brother,Danny, used to be withMichaeland things had ended badly.Thatwas a level of complexityIdidn’t wish on anyone, but ifDannywas cool with it, no one else had a right to say anything.
“And,Carson, we’ve seriously got to talk about your timing.Yourwords were all the right ones, butAnsonshould have had the same right as the rest of us to tell us when he was ready.”Bothbrothers looked properly put in their place. “Howwould you have felt if he’d asked you about you andEzrain front of everyone before you were ready to talk about it?”
Carsonshrunk into himself even more.Whenhe tried ducking behind his much-smaller boyfriend to hide,Ezrasimply shifted to the side, obviously not letting him off the hook so easily. “Shit.I’msorry, man.Ireally wasn’t trying to call you out or be a dick.I’mhappy for the two of you.Now, who’s going to tellMomshe’s not getting a daughter-in-law after raising four boys?”
Thatmanaged to break the tension in the room.Everyonelaughed and the brothers all raced to touch their fingers to their noses like little kids saying they weren’t going to be the one.Fromthe littleI’dinteracted withEleanorandRandall,Ididn’t view them as the type who would be upset about that for long.Sure, there might not be any pregnant daughters walking around any time soon, but that didn’t mean no one would have kids for them to dote on.
Wehung out a bit longer, with everyone chatting about plans for the rest of the holiday season.Everyonelooked to me expectantly whenDannyasked ifI’dbe joining them for their family celebration.Itstill felt too soon for a major holiday, but ifIwas invited,I’dfind a way to make it work.Thatseemed to be a good enough explanation for them.
Ansonseemed much more open about showing affection now that it was just the people he trusted most in the world and our relationship was no longer a secret.Herose from the couch, turning to offer me a hand.WhenIstood, he pulled me against his chest. “You’vedone more than enough work to make sure today turned out perfect.Whatdo you say we go home and let these guys finish up?”
“Itwon’t take that long,”Iprotested.Ididn’t feel right leaving when there was still work to be done.Mymom andKeithhad insisted on helping, and if they were still here,Ishould be too.
“Itwasn’t really a question.”Heturned to his brothers. “It’sbeen fun, butI’mtakingKevinhome now.Youguys don’t need us, right?”
Therewas a chorus of “No” and “Getthe hell out of here,” as well as catcalls.Therewas zero doubt about what they thought we were going home to do.Theywere probably right, butIdidn’t need them thinking about my sex life.Iburied my face in the crook ofAnson’sneck. “Canwe get out of here before you say anything else?”
Oneof the brothers chuckled, butIwasn’t sure which one.Iwaved over my shoulder asAnsonguided me out of the room.Aquick peek in the commons room showed that my mom andKeithhad already left.Goodfor them.Havinghad the opportunity to watch how the two of them interacted without worrying about being scrutinized,Ihoped things worked out for her.She’dgiven up so much for my happiness.Now, it was her turn.
Bartjumped to his feet whenAnsonwhistled for him.Ipulled the leash out of my pocket and clipped it to his collar.Thenight’s events and the constant string of people wanting to love on him must have worn the poor guy out.Wepractically had to drag him to the front door.
Afresh blanket of snow was falling when we stepped ontoMainStreet.Itwas the sort of sceneI’dalways associated with the holidays: leaving a party with a manIcould see myself falling in love with eventually, a hugeChristmastree glowing from the front window, and beautiful snowflakes falling through the beam of the streetlights.Ilooped my arm throughAnson’sand leaned my head on his shoulder.Nowthat he’d told his brothers about us,Ididn’t want to hide anymore.Iwanted people to know we were a thing.
“Ididn’t upset you tonight, didI?”Ansonmust have used his remote start at some point because the windows on the truck were clear.Heclicked the button to unlock the doors and opened mine, steadying me asIclimbed in afterBart.Meltingsnow on the seat would leave wet spots on my backside, butIdidn’t mind.Ansondidn’t close the door immediately, instead moving closer to my side, resting his hand on my thigh. “IknowIsaid some things that were out of pocket.I’dlike to blame the egg nog, but really, it was a panic reaction.Iwas put on the spot and had zero clue how to respond.AndI’msorry for that.”
Icurled my fingers around his.WhenIsqueezed, he looked up at me.Withmy free hand,Ireached over to cup his cheek. “You’rehuman,Anson.Wasit an ideal reaction?Notby a long shot.ButI’llsurvive.Wewill survive.Theworst that’s going to happen is if we’re together for decades,Iget the impression your brothers will never let us live it down.”
Hehuffed out something that could have been mistaken for laughter before resting his head on my leg. “Inmy defense,Iwarned youI’mshit at relationships.”
