“You wanna know something?” his voice low but steady.
“What?”
“I didn’t book Costa Rica because it’s private.”
He looks at Zaria now.
“I booked it because I want you both relaxed and free enough to believe me when I say I don’t care who’s watching.”
He grips my hips firmly.
“I’ve spent the last however many months of my life dismantling the rules of a dead man that was afraid to live in his own truth,” he continues. “You think I’m about to let strangers dictate who I love?”
Zaria’s breath shifts.
“You sure about that?” she asks quietly. “Because loving a transwoman out loud is a different level of owning your truth.”
His gaze locks onto hers.
“No different than you two loving a man who’s famously wealthy father was killed by his second wife after putting with so much abuse she was afraid to eat in front of him,” the pain in his voice is evident. “I’m the one grateful that two women as beautiful as you both would take a chance on me when the world knows my family’s dirty laundry.”
The tension thickens—not sexual this time, but societal. Real. Understanding that the outside world is cruel.
“People stare,” she says. “They ask questions. They make assumptions.”
“Let them,” he replies.
“And Lena’s father?” she presses gently.
I laugh before responding. “The Pastor knows about everything. He and my mama said I was hiding in a closet that never had doors. The adore both you and Calil.”
I expect to see relief written on his face but there is none. He was never worried about making his intentions known to those it mattered to.
“I will still look that man in his eye and tell him I love his daughter and I love you. And I’m not ashamed of either.”
My heart rate speeds up at his admission.
“That simple?” I ask.
“No,” he says honestly. “Not simple.”
He shifts forward slightly, intensity rising.
“But purposeful.”
Zaria studies him carefully.
“You understand,” she says slowly, “that loving me means loving every part of me.”
“I know exactly what it means,” he replies.
“And you still?—”
“Yes,” he responds firm and unwavering.
I swallow as the energy in the cabin shifts again—deeper now. More than just arousal. Conviction. He looks between us.
“You don’t get hidden,” he says to Zaria.
