Sebastian’s mouth curved into a wry smile. “Will isvery persistent.” He took a sip of his wine, winking at me over the rim of his glass. “I was almost starting to feel bad for him.”
I turned to lean against the railing beside him, making sure to keep several inches between us, while also being close enough that the outer edge of my shoe touched the outer edge of his. It wasn’t much, but it felt like something.
“I fucking hate this,” I said.
He glanced down at our feet, then back up at me. “I know you do.”
“You just came out to my teammate like it was nothing, and I’m standing here mentally measuring how much distance is considered appropriate between two guys who are only supposed to be friends.”
He bumped lightly against my arm.
“For what it’s worth, it wasn’t nothing,” he said quietly. “It just wasn’t as hard as I spent all these years thinking it would be.” He stared straight ahead at the party that was carrying on without us.
I followed his line of sight. Lavoie was serving himself another heaping plate from the appetizer table. Monroe was pointing at the TV and arguing with Ryan about the game. The rookies had graduated from sneaking beers to openly cracking open new ones, apparently deciding they no longer cared about being caught.
They weren't the only ones.
I’d spent months telling myself I was staying quiet for Sebastian’s sake, but in the last few weeks, he’d come out to two different groups. I was running out of reasons not to do the same.
“I want to tell them,” I whispered.
“About you, or about us?” He spun to face me, bringing us closer together.
“Both, if you’re okay with it.”
His throat moved as he swallowed, his attention flicking to the house and then back to me. “Right now?”
I nodded, chewing on my lip, and sliding my hand along the railing toward him. The tips of our fingers touched.
Just then, the back door opened, and Will slipped out onto the deck.
Sebastian and I both immediately straightened, though neither of us made a move to step back.
“Hey, Sebastian, I—” Will’s brows pulled together, then cut briefly to our hands, then the door, and back to us again. “Wait. Are you guys together?”
I looked at Sebastian. Sebastian looked at me, his expression soft. Accepting. Encouraging.
“Yeah,” I said, reaching to take his hand and lifting it to my mouth where I pressed a kiss into his palm.
He looped his arm around my back, and I stepped into his side.
Will stared at us for a full three seconds, then he let out a huff of surprise, and then pointed at me. “Okay, first of all, Ineverpicked up on you at all. That’s fucking embarrassing. My radar is normally impeccable.”
“But you picked up on me?” Sebastian asked.
“Pretty much immediately.” Will chuckled and gave him a look. “Why else would I have been hitting on you all afternoon?”
“About that,” Sebastian began. “You, uh, might want to work on your subtlety a bit.”
Will’s "Are you fucking kidding me with this bullshit right now?" expression was so much like Ethan’s in that moment that I had to bite back a laugh.
“You’re hot, and I wanted to fuck you.” He shifted his attention to me. “No offense, dude.”
I shook my head. This fucking kid. “None taken.”
Will glanced over his shoulder, then back to us. “And none of them know?”
“Your uncles do.”
