Seth getting all claim-y is hot. When he finally stops his caveman display and comes up for air, I step back with a smile on my face.
He’s panting a little. “I guess we both just came out.”
I never thought of it like that. “Sorry, I needed to kiss you. I didn’t think.”
“Let’s face it, we’re terrible at keeping a secret anyway.”
“And the last thing I want is for you to be my secret. You guys coming to McIntyre’s to celebrate?” I ask.
Seth says, “Yes,” at the same time Zach says, “No.”
My gaze darts between them.
“I’ll walk Zach back to his dorm and then come meet you, okay?”
Zach waves us off. “You don’t need to do that. Go have fun with your boyfriend.”
I throw my arm around Seth. “How about this. We’ll both walk you to your dorm, and then Seth and I will go out.”
“If … if you’re sure.” Zach sounds a little guilty, but it’s a ten-minute walk. It’s no big deal.
Seth looks up at me. “You’d do that for my friend?”
“Aren’t we all friends here? Friends look out for each other.”
I want to point out that if we work out in the long term, there’s a good chance we’ll all be brothers-in-law one day, but it’s probably too soon to fantasize about that kind of thing let alone say it out loud.
But the thoughts are there anyway.
25
Seth
I’ve seen Richie play countless times, but I’ve never actually watched him. Every Mountain Lion game, my focus was on Foster, occasionally Jacobs, and Richie was just the other guy on their line.
After tonight, he’s proved how wrong I was.
I couldn’t look away. His movements were so fluid, so confident, and when he scored that hat trick, I thought I was going to tear my throat screaming.
Of course, then Asher Dalton followed it up with a hat trick of his own, and I bet he was more than happy to be swamped in Richie’s arms.
I snuggle a little tighter into Richie’s side as we leave Zach’s building. He hasn’t stopped smiling since he found me waiting for him, and no matter how sure I am that Asher has a little thing for my boyfriend, I’m convinced Richie hasn’t looked twice at anyone since we got together.
Normally I’m suspicious and guarded, but I’ve already fallen so far into trust with him that I want to hold on tight with both hands. A voice rings in the back of my head that if I hold on too tightly, I’ll go into that headspace where I’m constantly checking if everything’s okay, wondering if it’s okay, and needing to make sure it’s okay. Richie doesn’t need that mess.
“Hey, Einstein. Your jealousy was showing,” he teases.
I sniff. “Don’t know what you mean.”
“Mhmm. You’re still suspicious of Asher, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know what’s worse. His obsession with Foster or his crush on you.”
Richie laughs. “You know I’m not interested, right?”
“I know.” I press into him, and his arm tightens around me. “Just making sure he knows it too.”
“After that, I think the whole team does.”
The way he walked right over and kissed me? I’ve never felt so wanted before. “Are you worried? About what the team thinks? That guy wasn’t exactly … thrilled with you kissing me like that.”
“Eh, Henrikson is an outlier. I’m old news. Everyone’s been teasing me since last summer about kissing Logan, and with Foster, Jacobs, and Beck all joining the D team, it’s not like I’m blazing any trails. I prefer it that way. I get to be with you without all the bullshit.”
As much as I love what he’s saying, I frown. “There will be bullshit though. You know that, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, our little pocket of the world is cool, and I assume your family will be fine with it because of Logan, but there will be assholes. There will be people who come for our rights, who argue that the way we feel isn’t okay and should be condemned. Queer people still get hurt, and stigmatized, and judged.” Since Foster came out to me when we were fifteen, I educated myself on LGBTQ rights and how backward some places are. I’d never thought any of it might apply to me one day.
“I … I know. I know I’m really lucky in that I don’t have to worry about my family or my friends. Rossi still has my back. I’ve gotten closer with Beck and Jacobs. Logan and I talk again. Those are all positives, but even if they weren’t …” Richie takes a long breath. “It’s not in me to hide. So I know there’re assholes, and I know I’m privileged enough to think this way, but I really don’t give a fuck about them.”
I don’t think it’s hit him that as good as things are for us now, there will be hard times ahead. Richie likes things straightforward and simple, so I’ll do my best to keep them that way for him.