“It’s stupid,” he continued, “but when I saw the two of you arguing, I wished I had a family like that to yell at.” He let out a quiet chuckle. “Damn. It sounds like I think having a family just means having someone to yell at.”
“I understand where you’re coming from, Alex. If that helps.”
“It does,” he said, finally looking at me again.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him. “When we first met at the reunion, you told me about your mom right away. You talked about her like she didn’t matter anymore—like you were fine living your life alone. Not that you said that, but it felt like you were trying to convince yourself so you wouldn’t have to face the reality of it.” I hesitated. “I have to admit… when I went to blow out my candle, I was thinking about you.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. Not because I felt bad for you, but because I liked you so much even after that short time.” I put on a smile. “That night, I wished for you to have a family and… I think that wish has already come true.”
The light outside dimmed, probably from a passing cloud, but a second later, the sun broke through again, flooding the whole room with a soft beige glow through the newspapers on the windows.
“You’re part of the Drapers now, even if you don’t share our last name. My parents care about you. My sister was so angry with me when she thought I was being mean to you becauseshecares so much about you. And to me, you’re the first person I’ve ever met that I want to call family. And isn’t that the most important part of what makes a family? That we care about each other?”
Alex put his hand on the bar, only realizing how dirty it was the moment he touched it. His fingers lingered in the dust longer than they probably should have before he pulled his hand back and wiped it on the back of his pants.
“You know what’s funny?” he said, a shy smile tugging at his lips. “At the reunion, you welcomed me to the Drapers, said we were bound by the ritual now.”
“Because it’s true.”
“I guess it is.” He stepped around to my side, hesitated for a second, then pulled me into a hug. “Thank you,” he whispered. “For saying all that. I really needed to hear it.”
His mouth grazed mine in the softest kiss. For a few moments, we forgot about everything. His hair kept falling between us, but it only made us chuckle and move on to a hug. Minutes passed as we held each other close, resting our chins on each other’s collarbones.
“There’s something I want to do when we get back home, but only if you’re okay with it,” I said. “I don’t want to hide anymore. I want to tell my parents we are more than friends.”
With so little time left before I had to leave again, I couldn’t let us part ways without him knowing how serious I was.
“So you don’t want to be just trial boyfriends anymore?”
“It was never a trial to me.”
We both leaned back, our hips still touching, so we could look at each other.
“I can’t deny I’m a little scared of their reaction,” Alex admitted. “But it’s better to put all the cards on the table.”
Just then, a loose strip of newspaper peeled away from the window with a soft crackle, letting in a sharp beam of sunlight that cut across the bar.
Startled, we both snapped our heads to the sound, our heartbeats picking up.
“If that wasn’t a sign,” I said with a chuckle.
“Yeah,” he breathed.
Nothing ahead of us was going to be easy: not the talk with my parents, not the distance, not spreading the word about our music, not finishing my degree, and certainly not being unable to touch him whenever I wanted. But it was worth enduring all of it. I wanted to spend my life with him—whether we ended up in a music studio, on a stage, or in an apartment in Seastone. As longas we figured out a way to be together, I knew we were bound to find happiness.
