“You’re right,” I tell Taylor. “But I will be when I marry him.”
“What the FUCK happened on that trip?” Taylor screeches before going off on an epic rant of word vomit. “D, you’regay? And I’m just now finding out? What the actual fuck, Fuckface? My whole life, you were always like, ‘Why do you have to make life so hard for yourself?’ and here you are, shoving your tongue down a man’s throat. You whore. You’re dead to me. Actually, wait. I take that back. We’ve already been there; it sucks. What I mean is, congratulations.” Taylor doesn’t take a breath this entire time, but Damon and I let him have this moment because he deserves it. He’s suffered a lot because of the two of us. “I mean, looking back, it makes sense,” he continues. “It makes alotof sense, actually. But how did this come about? Were you both drunk? You were skinny dipping in the hot tub, weren’t you? Everyone knows Liam wears clothes about as often as I do. Do you baby gays have any questions? I can give you all the tips. Ohmygod, I can’t wait until Knox gets home. He’s going to flip his shit. He was right, you know. He told me after Christmas that he thought D had the hots for you. You know, now that I think about it, you’re all he ever fucking talked about. How did I miss this?” Suddenly, his eyes go wide, and he flaps his free hand in the air like there’s a bug in his face. “Ohmygod, double date! Wait a second, Liam, you live in fucking Boston.” His face falls. “Godfuckingdammit, Damon. Ijustgot you back. Donottell me you’re moving to Boston.”
“I’m not moving to Boston,” Damon says, taking a seat on my thigh so Taylor can see us both. I slip my arm around his waist, thankful I can touch him whenever and however I want to these days.
“Thank fuck. Does this mean Liam’s coming home?”
I nod. “It does.”
Suddenly, Taylor grows serious. “Well, that wedding will be awkward as fuck, as will every holiday after it, but we’ll make it work.” Eyes now on his brother, he says, “I’m happy for you.”
Damon’s choking on tears. Hell, even my eyes are watering. Taylor has such a big heart, and I know Damon and I will spend a lot of time trying to make up for cutting him out the way we did.
“Love you, Bird,” Damon whispers, wiping his eyes.
“You too, D,” Taylor says before sighing dramatically. “But if either of you asshats overshadows my Gaga-themed wedding. It’ll be over between us. You got that?”
“Tay, you aren’t even engaged yet, and marriage hasneverappealed to you. You suddenly have it all planned out?”
A genuine smile spreads across Taylor’s face, and I know without a doubt he’s thinking about his boyfriend, a forty-five-year-old contractor and volunteer firefighter who worships the ground Taylor walks on, according to Damon.
“Shit changes.” Taylor eyes his brother with pursed lips. “You should know.”
“Fair point, but do I honestly strike you as wanting anything ‘Gaga-themed’at my wedding?” Damon asks.
“I’m just giving you plenty of warning.”
“No worries there, Tay. Gaga’s all yours,” Damon says with a serious face.
“In that case, congratulations, bitches. We’ll celebrate when you get home, and Iwillbe present when you tell Mom and Dad,” Taylor says with a grin, making Damon roll his eyes.
“How long are you going to gloat?”
“As long as I fucking want to, you cocksucker.” Tay smirks, obviously proud of himself for the insult that also happens to highlight Damon’s affinity for dick.
“Well, as much fun as this has been, my fiancé and I have twenty-two minutes left to defile this room.” Damon pauses before adding, “And put a Gaga playlist together for our reception.” Then, he ends the call without another word.
“He’s going to stress about that, you know,” I admonish Damon lightly. “I’m trying to get on his good side, not piss him off again.”
Damon laughs.
“Tay’s just being dramatic. He knows I’d never steal his thunder like that.”
I need to talk to my dad, but we decided that conversation should be done in person, so with the call to Taylor over, Damon moves to stand behind me and wraps his arms around my neck, bending down to kiss my cheek.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
We spend the next twenty minutes showing each other all that love in the small office, swallowing it down so as not to make a mess of each other before boarding our flight…but the tissues came in handy.
As we make our way to the gate, a scrolling news story catches my attention.
Scandal at the Winter Classic Games Results in Delay of Events.
I immediately think of Vox, and regardless of the rules, I hope he gets his man, because I’m thankful as hell for the role he played in helping me get mine.
“So, next year…” I start, looking at Damon as we pass gate after gate.
