“Good,” Russell answered.
“You want to tell us about that talk with your mom?” I asked. “Everything okay?”
Casey stepped back. “Yeah, I think everything is okay, actually. I just needed to let her know that I wasn’t going to end up like her, that I wasn’t going to abandon the people I’m supposed to care about.” His voice caught, and I knew he was thinking of me and Russell. “But maybe we could talk about it later, when we’re someplace warm?”
Russell smiled. “Back home, maybe?”
Pride rushed through me. Hearing him call the house hishomewas deeply satisfying. “Back home works for me.”
Casey hesitated, then started talking fast. “Guys. I just have to say. This thing. What we’re doing together. If the two of you…” He trailed off, hurt in his voice. “If the two of you want, or need…”
And before I could say anything, Russell jumped in. “The two of us want this to keep going,” he said. His hand reached out, taking mine and Casey’s both, and I felt something stirring behind my chest. “Real, not casual.”
Casey blinked as he looked down at his hand, held in Russell’s. “Real, you and Blake, and—"
“And you,” I said.
Casey stared between us. “You came all the way here, back to West Creek, and you want to be in… in a relationship with me? But you’re both family people. Like ‘white picket fence, one true love’ commitment types. You’re good for each other, but why would you want me?”
“Because you’re Casey,” I said definitively. “That’s why we want you.”
“And this isn’t about one true love,” Russell added. “It’s about two.”
Casey rubbed his beard again, and I could see the tears in his eyes. “Fuck,” he said under his breath. “What am I supposed to say to that?”
“You don’t have to say anything now,” Russell said, speaking quick and easy while I was lost for words, my heartbeat thrumming. “We have a lot more talking to do before we figure out anything like family and commitments. But right now, I know I want to try to make it work, and I really hope you do, too.”
Casey sucked in a breath. “Yeah, I want to make it work,” he said. “Of course I do.”
I smiled, happy as hell to hear him say that. “Might as well make this thing official, then. Unless you need to keep messing around, having fun with other people.”
“No,” Casey said quickly, then slammed his mouth against mine with a laugh. “Fuck no. Let’s do that. Let’s be boyfriends.”
I pulled Russell in, too, then met both men in a kiss. The wind was cool on my skin, and I listened as cars passed, but I didn’t care about any of that.
Whatever problems we still had to face, we’d all face them together, and our touch was like proof that things were going to be okay.
“Blake? Blake Serrano?”
I froze, my guys rutted up against me, and turned. Standing at the entrance to the motel, Melissa Ritter gawked at the three of us. Back in high school, she had been the most popular girl in our class, and she still looked gorgeous in a puffy pink jacket and high-heeled snow boots.
“And Russell Young? Casey?”
For a second, I had no idea what to do. As far as anyone in West Creek knew, I was straight, and Russell was still in the process of sharing his new self with his family. Melissa Ritter was a relentless gossip in high school, and I couldn’t imagine that had changed now that we were older.
Russell slid back, pulling his arms from me and Casey, and the pain of his touch ending snapped me out of my shock. Without thinking, I grabbed his hand and squeezed as I leaned back against Casey. “Hi, Melissa,” I said evenly. “How’s it going?”
She looked totally shocked, and when I heard a buried giggle escape from Russell, Casey and I both started chuckling. The three of us stood there, trying not crack up, while Melissa Ritter mumbled something about her babysitter and how long it’s been since high school and then rushed away, flustered.
“Holy shit,” Casey gasped, then pushed his finger against my chest. “You know she’s already on the phone with one of her girlfriends.”
I rubbed the back of my head. “I guess I better call my parents pretty soon. Tell them the right way. And Peyton, too.”
Russell laughed warmly and jumped up, surprising me with a kiss on the cheek. “You’re always thinking about other people,” he said. “You feel okay, Blake? It’s okay to feel awkward if you get outed.”
I thought about it for a second. With everything else going on, I hadn’t really given myself much time to think about that. Coming out felt like such a big deal, like it was some official thing I needed to do. An event, or whatever. And I guess I did need to have some conversations and figure out what this meant for me, but that all seemed pretty insignificant, considering what I had in my hands.
“Well,” I told the guys, “since everyone in West Creek is going to know that we’re fucking anyway, we might as well at least get home and do it.”
