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My chest aches, heart thumping wildly. Lily is grinning, clapping as the ringing in my ears fades. Holden, Freddy, Paloma, Bennett—hell, even Rhys and Sadie—they’re all clapping and whistling, celebrating me.

“That’s your cue, drama king,” Paloma says, elbowing my side.

I stand then, walking slowly, like in a brightly lit dream, to stand at Harris’s side and take the little trophy from Sahara’s hands. She reaches up and I lean down, letting her hold me lightly, before kissing my cheek with a bright smile.

Harris grips me tight in a hug, pressing a hard kiss to the side of my head.

“My son,” he says, emotion overflowing his voice. “We couldn’t ask for a better kid. So proud of you, Toren.”

Maybe, for the first time, I’m proud of me, too.

• • •

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

I slam my hand on the doorbell again, then knock.

“Too late,” Freddy mumbles to Rhys. “He’s already done it.”

We’re outside of the Hockey House—which, last time I saw it, was half empty. It is currently playing host to a slumber party thrown by Ro Shariff for the girls. It’s Lily’s and Paloma’s first ever slumber party, as I was informed, though Lily quietly told me later not to be upset about not being included, and that she considered all the times we stayed up late reading comics and Van Gogh books to be sleepovers every night.

“I just don’t want to hurt Paloma’s feelings,” she’d muttered solemnly.

I was fine with it, enjoying the evening at the Koteskiys’ house playing video games with Oliver and Liam, the latter who was mostly sat in my lap just talking to me about Nightwing—until I got a text from Lily asking if I’d ever sent a nude.

“Toren—”

“Look,” I snap, turning toward the entire group. Rhys, Freddy, and Holden are huddled around me, Bennett stoically behind them, arms crossed.

“Brown is a menace on her best behavior—”

“Watch it,” Rhys warns.

“I don’t trust your girlfriend.” I point to Rhys. “Or yours,” I add, pointing to Bennett. “Especially with Lily.”

Bennett smiles slightly, face screaming Yeah right.

“Well,” Freddy says, stepping up next to me. “Since my girlfriend is a perfect princess, I think Lily is fine. She’s with Rosalie. Nothing is gonna happen.”

I roll my eyes. “This is my wife. I don’t play around like you little losers with your ‘girlfriends.’ My actual wife is in there and I don’t trust it.”

I spin around again to knock, only to realize the door is open and four girls are standing with their arms crossed, glaring at us.

“You know,” Paloma smarts off first. “This is supposed to be Lily’s bachelorette night. Since you two freaks got married without telling anyone. And now you’re crashing it.”

“Fine by me.” I step forward without invitation and scoop my little wife up and over my shoulder, smacking her ass as I carry her into the house. Everything then is a mess of yelling, but all I can hear is Lily’s bright giggle. I stand her on her feet in the living room on the pillowed pallet they’ve created.

Everyone comes in, all talking loudly, the boys trying to explain something. Paloma corners me, pushing me away from Lily as she says something, but I don’t listen.

Freddy smiles and says something to Lily. Lily taps at her ear and shakes her head, and Freddy nods, leaning to speak in her other ear. She’d told them all in a very quiet, “It’s not a big deal” way that she can’t hear out of her right ear. And it wasn’t a big deal, never has been. What was a big deal was that she’d willingly told everyone. Her friends.

Something was healing by being a part of this group, in both of us.

Lily steps back over to me. I hear the girls complaining over the music still playing from a speaker on the ground, but the only thing I see is the bright excitement plainly on Lily’s face just at the sight of me.

“You’re here,” she says, grinning and rocking on her heels.

And for just a moment, I can see her as a kid, standing brightly in front of me, eyes wide with a bandage for me. Asking me to play. Waiting for me in her backyard.