I hurried them down the hall and then into the small room we had used as a combination office, storage area, and occasional guest bedroom. By reorganizing and tossing junk, however, as well as investing in a couple of choice pieces of furniture from the antique store around the corner, we’d transformed into something much more suitable.
“Another bedroom?” Grayson asked, confused as he gestured to the small bed, armchair, and the TV we had relocated. “What’s this?”
“My idea,” I said brightly. “Demir and I were talking about having you here, and we both wanted you in our bed—”
“Assuming that’s what you want,” Demir interrupted.
“Right,” I continued. “And it sounds like exactly what we both want. But we also know that sometimes a person needs a little alone time.”
“It’s a chill-out room,” Demir finished for me. “If any one of us ever wants a little peace and quiet, we can sneak in here and veg out with a movie.”
I studied Grayson face, trying to read his reaction. “Like how we all get time one-on-one with each other,” he said slowly. “I can have time with just myself, too.”
“Exactly,” I said happily. “Inspired by the way you take Sundays to yourself.” I had figured he would love the idea, but it was still a relief to watch him nodding and smiling at the room.
“This is amazing,” he said. “I can’t believe you did all this, just to invite me to move in.”
Demir leaned against the doorway, then crossed his arms over his chest. “That sounds like a yes?”
“Of course,” Grayson agreed. “One hundred percent, yes.”
“Champagne?” Demir asked.
“We’ll have to send a picture to Alex and Sasha,” I joked. “They’re out dancing at The Forty-Eight tonight to celebrate Sasha’s promotion.”
I turned to walk back to the kitchen, but Grayson caught me with his hand. “Wait a second.” He grabbed Demir’s arm too. “Would you both want to go dancing?”
“Dancing?” Demir asked. “I’ve never heard you want to go dancing before.”
Grayson smiled to himself with a shrug. “I mean, going to the club is your work. I just kind of figured you would prefer other recreation when you weren’t on the clock. But if your friends are going out, and you were up for it…” He rubbed the back of his head. “Sounds kind of fun.”
I looked to Demir, and he had a big grin on his face. “Sounds good to me,” he said.
“Just so long as we get to celebrate back at home later…” I added, pushing my finger against Grayson’s chest. “Sounds like a perfect night.”
GRAYSON
I guess it’s not totally true that I never thought about being a parent before. For the longest time when I was growing up, I had this vision in my head. It was of a guy in his thirties, dancing with a baby in his arms. I could never see the baby, and the guy was kind of fuzzy, too. But I’d think about it a lot, especially when I was falling asleep at night. It seemed like a weird thing to fixate on, but I just figured it was because I wanted a father who loved me, the way the father I imagined loved his child.
Back before I realized I was a man, I never saw myself as a parent because I never saw myself as a mother. But many years later, dancing with Demir and Marco and their friends at the club, I realized something.
I wasn’t the baby in that image. I was the father.
Marco held his hands above his head and threw his hips side to side. Thursday meant dance music but no large crowd, and we all had plenty of space as we spun around each other and laughed and as Demir refilled the tiny glasses of bubbling champagne. Alex had a full face of makeup and a long dress on as he bounced to the music, and the purple and blue lights spun down on all of us.
I laughed and threw my arms over Demir’s shoulders. He grinded up against me for a bit, and we pushed our hips together as we exchanged a few kisses. A pair of arms came from behind, tracing down my side as I felt breath warm on my neck, and I knew Marco was joining us, too.
“We’re going to live together,” I said, needing to hear it again, to keep saying it so it stayed true.
“And maybe,” Marco purred, “one day, we’ll all raise kids together.”
A thrill went along my skin as we danced, our hips and hands touching and parting, lips on each other’s necks.
“The happy triad,” Alex said, appearing beside us in his long green dress. “Glad to see you all out and enjoying the evening!”
“Every now and then,” Marco teased. “We remember to have fun.”
Marco and Alex started dancing together, and the music switched to something even more upbeat, with electronic beats firing across a deep bass and a singer belting out the chorus from a pop song over and over. When I turned to the front, I spotted Alyssa and Zach heading to the bar, surprising me by responding to my text and showing up.
