“You’re not badat this,” Ashley said as the song ended, out of breath and grinning so wide itmademyface hurt just looking at him.
My leg wastelling me about how many times I’d moved sideways or put too much weighton it, but the dull ache wasn’t enough to care about. Not in comparison to theway I could feel blood pumping through my veins, or the way it felt as thoughmy chest had opened up for the first time in years.
The way Ashleylooked at me told me it showed on my face, too.
Shit, I was sohappy.Right now, in this moment, I was having an incredible time.
All thanks toAshley.
“You’reincredible,” I said, and I meant it as a compliment to his dancing, but it cameout as a whole lot more.
Hewasincredible. Brave and earnest and sweet and he had the prettiest eyes and bestass I’d ever seen.
Gabe had beenright about that. It was afantasticass.
Ashley smiled atme. Not another one of his broad, easy grins, but a small smile that came witha pink flush high on his cheeks. He lowered his gaze, glancing at me under hiseyelashes.
Shy.
Because helikedme, too. Maybe I wasn’t just a hookup to him, either.
“We should dothis again sometime,” he said. “I need a break.”
He glanced at myleg, so I knew he was thinking about me, and I thought the idea thatheneeded a break was probably bullshit. But Ididneed one.
And he waswilling to take one for my sake.
Another time, Imight have been hurt. Insulted. Or worse, depressed that I couldn’tkeep up.
But Ashley didn’tmake me feel that way. He made it okay for me to need to sit down, to pacemyself, to take a handful of painkillers every six hours.
Not because hedidn’tcare, but because he did.
How could anyonewant to hurt him? I’d wondered before, but now I could only picture anactual monster being okay with making him suffer.
Whoever it was…they’d be lucky if I never caught up with them.
“Come on,”Ashley held out his hand again. “Let’s stop stealing the show.”
I took itwithout having to think for a second. “Lead the way.”
***
By the time the wedding waswinding down, I was dead on my feet.
Ashley, on the other hand,had more energy than I’d ever seen him with, hugging Quinn and Milesgoodbye enthusiastically and promising to like all their selfies.
I wasn’t sure what thatmeant, but they’d giggled and grinned at him and then fallen in with Gray andFox to go home.
Fox waved goodbye as he leftthe marquee, and I blew him a kiss. I could hear him laughing all the way tothe parking lot.
Acceptance was nice. Nowthat I was getting the hang of it, it feltgood.
Like I’d thought lastnight, something just… clicked. Something that’d always been out of place, onemis-sized cog that’d never quite fit right.
My whole understanding ofmyself had changed, and it worked better than ever. I hadn’t noticed I wasoff-kilter until I straightened out.
… or gayed up, for that matter.Gay didn’t seem like the right word. Bi, maybe?
