“Because I want us to live here. Together. Openly.” He took another step closer. “I told my dad about us. About everything.”
My eyes widened. “You what?”
“I told him I’m in love with you. That we’ve been together. That I’m not ashamed of it anymore.” Kent’s voice was steady, but I could see the cost of that confession in his eyes. “He disowned me, just like we expected.”
“Kent...” I didn’t know what to say. This was the last thing I’d expected when Mom had dragged me all the way across Seattle to look at a townhouse.
“I joined an LGBT support group,” he continued. “Been going twice a week. It’s helping me figure out how to... how to be okay with who I am. With us.”
I swallowed hard, trying to process everything he was saying. “What about Brittany?”
“Over. Completely over. I walked out the same day I left your apartment. I couldn’t do it, James. I couldn’t pretend anymore.” He took another step toward me, close enough now that I could smell his cologne. “I’m so fucking sorry for what I did. For suggesting that... thatarrangement. You were right to kick me out. To be disgusted with me.”
“I wasn’t disgusted with you,” I said quietly. “I was hurt. I thought I wasn’t enough for you.”
“You’re everything to me,” he said, his voice breaking. “Everything. And I’ve spent the last two weeks trying to prove that I deserve another chance with you.”
I looked down at the lease in my hands, then back up at him. “This is a big step.”
“I know. And if it’s too much, too soon, I understand. We can tear up the lease, start smaller. But I wanted to show you that I’m all in this time.” He reached for my hand, and when I didn’t pull away, he took it in his. “I love you, James. It’s that simple.”
Simple. Nothing about this had ever been simple. And yet, standing here with Kent’s hand in mine, looking into those eyesthat had once held so much contempt for me and now held nothing but love... maybe it could be.
“I don’t know if I can trust you again,” I admitted, the words painful but necessary. “You hurt me, Kent. Badly.”
“I know. And I’ll spend every day making it up to you, if you’ll let me.” His thumb traced circles on the back of my hand. “All I’m asking for is a chance to try.”
I looked around the room,our room, potentially, taking in the space that could be the beginning of something new. Something real. The anger and hurt were still there, but beneath them was something else. Something that felt a lot like hope.
“Your dad really disowned you?” I asked.
Kent nodded, a sad smile crossing his face. “Told me to never contact him again. But you know what? It hurt less than I thought it would. Because I finally stood up for something that matters to me. Someone who matters.”
I felt tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”
“I didn’t do it for you,” he said, squeezing my hand. “I did it for myself. I couldn’t live a lie anymore, James. Not after knowing what it feels like to be honest about who I am. Who I love.”
The sincerity in his voice, the vulnerability in his eyes broke something loose in me. I’d been holding onto my anger like a shield, afraid to let myself be vulnerable with him again. But standing here, seeing the effort he’d made, the risks he’d taken... it was hard to keep that shield up.
“I love you too,” I confessed, the words coming out before I could stop them. “I tried not to. I tried to hate you these past two weeks. But I couldn’t.”
Relief washed over Kent’s face, and he stepped closer, his free hand coming up to cup my cheek. “I don’t deserve you,” he murmured. “I never have.”
“No, you don’t,” I agreed, but there was no bite to my words. “But for some stupid reason, I want you anyway.”
His thumb brushed against my cheekbone, and I leaned into his touch despite myself. Two weeks of missing him, of aching for his presence, made even this small contact feel like coming home.
“The townhouse is just a place,” Kent said softly. “We can live wherever you want. Your apartment, somewhere else entirely. I just want to be with you.”
I looked down at the lease again, tracing our names printed side by side. Kent Gallagher and James Bennet. Not stepbrothers anymore. Just two people who had somehow found their way to each other despite everything.
“I like this place,” I said finally. “It feels like... a fresh start.”
Hope flickered in Kent’s eyes. “Is that a yes? You’ll give me another chance?”
“It’s a maybe,” I clarified. “I need time, Kent. I can’t just forget what happened.”
“I understand,” he nodded, disappointment visible on his face though he tried to hide it. “I’ll wait as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere this time.”
