43. Huckslee

Huckslee

T aylor is freaking out. I can tell.

He was silent the entire time we showered, those ocean eyes distant as if lost inside his head. And now, as we stand before the French doors of the guest house, he's gnawing his lip while his fingers twist the bottom of my jersey nervously. The sight of him wearing my college number, combined with the knowledge that my cum is in his ass, has my cock half-hard, and I have to adjust it before throwing open the doors.

"What's going on up there?" I ask, tapping the side of his temple, and his apprehensive gaze flicks up to mine.

"I'm just...I'm not really the ‘bring home to mom and dad' type," he says anxiously, making my heart lurch.

"Do you not want to meet them?"

His response is quick. "I do. Of course, I do. I'm just not so sure they' d want to meet me ."

"They'll love you as much as I do." Taking his face between my palms, I give him a chaste kiss, feeling his smirk against my lips.

"You saying you love me?"

That makes me lift a brow. "You know the answer to that. Do I need to say it out loud?"

"Maybe." His smirk turns into a shy smile as he tries to duck his head, but I hold him in place so he can't hide from me.

"Taylor, I love you. I'd be a fool not to."

He searches my gaze for several seconds before grinning widely. "I am quite the catch, huh?"

"Damn straight. Now, come on."

Grabbing his hand, I go to pull him outside, but he tugs me back.

"I love you, too, Huck."

"I know."

He's loved me for a long time, and all I've done so far is put doubts in his head about how I feel. So now I need to ensure that my man believes our feelings are aligned, starting with this.

We make our way out into the backyard, hot California sun already baking the pavement. There's not a cloud in sight, miles of blue sky as far as the eye can see, and a slight breeze rustles the palm trees. Perfect surfing day, if I ever saw one.

"Nice pool," Taylor comments as we pass it, and I glance at the rippling water thoughtfully.

"I've never been in it."

But maybe that's something we can rectify…

Later. Definitely later.

When we reach the sliding glass door under the back porch, he tries to free his hand from mine, but I hold fast, not letting him get away. I know my grandparents are right on the other side because my grandma texted me this morning about breakfast. Sliding open the door, I pull him into a cozy kitchen with hardwood floors and yellow-painted cabinets.

My grandma stands at a gas stove, her back turned to us as she cooks and jokes about something with my gramps, who's sitting at a round table watching the news. Both are already dressed in their Sunday best, having been to church hours ago. I've always been thankful that they've never forced me to attend while I stayed with them.

Gramps is the first to notice us, his eyes widening when they drop to where Taylor's sweaty palm clasps mine.

"Well, hello," he says lightly, salt and pepper mustache twitching as he sits back in his chair. "What do we have here?"

His tone causes Grandma to turn around, and she freezes momentarily before a warm smile lights up her fair complexion.

"Good morning, you two. Breakfast is almost ready, please have a seat."

There's a knowing spark in her green eyes, so different from the dark ones that Mom shared with Gramps and I. Honestly, the only trait I share with my Grandma is the light hair, which I also get from Dad. Even my skin tone is deeper, though not as dark as Gramps and Moms.

"Grandma, Gramps." Drawing their attention, I pull Taylor in front of me. "I'd like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Taylor. "

They know who he is, though they've never met him. Back in high school, I'd phoned them multiple times about the bully who never gave me a break. Recently, I'd informed of his past with his dad, to some extent, though I didn't go into detail about a lot of things, like what he'd done at prom or the fact that we're dating.

Raising a shaking hand, Taylor waves awkwardly. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, sweet boy." Grandma wipes her hands on the apron she's wearing and crosses the small kitchen, pulling Taylor in for a hug. "It's so nice to finally meet. Huckslee's told us so much about you."

Gramps rises to his full height of six foot seven, towering over everyone as he reaches out to shake my boyfriend's hand. "This is long overdue, but welcome to the family, son."

Taylor's back stiffens for a second before he relaxes, arms slowly coming up to return my grandma's hug, and I have to clear my throat at the emotion swelling from the sight. I will always love my dad and be thankful for everything he did for me, but no one in the family has ever been as supportive as my mom's parents. They understand discrimination themselves, having been an interracial couple in the nineteen-sixties, and they welcomed me with open arms when I fled Utah after coming out. Taylor asked me earlier who I had in my corner. I can easily say without a doubt that Grandma and Gramps are there for me one hundred percent.

We sit at the table as Grandma goes back to cooking, shaking her head at me when I ask if she needs any help, and Tay's hand finds mine again. I squeeze it, flashing him a smirk when he squirms on the chair, no doubt due to the plug. A gorgeous pink blooms on his face as he kicks my leg under the table and avoids my gaze.

We spend the morning chatting and eating massive amounts of pancakes while they engage him in conversation about motocross. And they're actually interested, not just pretending for my sake, because they were the ones who bought me my first dirt bike. Gramps used to race back in the day, though far from the professional level.

Grandma tells the story of how they met; Gramps, the bad boy next door, rode a motorcycle that her parents disapproved of. When she gushes about how hot he was as a teen, Taylor bursts into laughter, the darkness in his eyes slowly dissipating. I can't help but lean in to kiss his cheeks, which puff up with every smile.

It hits me then, this sense of rightness in the moment. How normal it feels to have him here, sharing a meal with my grandparents like the last eight years were nothing more than a fever dream. And maybe they were. Because I'm finally awake for the first time in what feels like forever. I've come home.

We're in the Audi heading back to pick up his truck a few hours later, and Taylor faces me thoughtfully.

"Your grandparents are cool. I think they like me, but honestly, they aren't what I expected. I thought they'd be, like, super rich."

"They aren't millionaires or anything, but I know they have money." My hand reaches for his as I switch lanes, not even caring that I'm being clingy. "Gramps is retired from the state, and my grandma still trains horses at her ranch just like my mom did. "

He hums, running a thumb over my knuckle absently. "And you never brought a guy over to meet them before?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

Lifting a shoulder, I glance at him sideways, weighing my words carefully. "Nobody ever felt permanent enough to bother. If that makes sense."

"It does, I think. Like, I get it. Why go through all the effort of introducing someone to your family if you aren't even sure they'll be around long enough to really appreciate them?"

"Exactly." My heart warms as I take an exit toward the coastline. "So, I have an idea for today. How about we get your truck later, and I can show you some of my favorite things about the city instead?"

A grin spreads across his features, flashing that crooked incisor and brightening those blue-green eyes. "Fuck, yeah. I'd love that."

So I take him everywhere—or at least try to, with the hours we have left in the day. He's here for the week, and I know we have time, but I try to stuff as much as I can into our minutes together, regardless.

We visit my favorite coffee spot, which has a perfect view of the Bay. Sitting in my usual spot, I order him the best raspberry cream latte he's ever had, guaranteed.

Next is the bar I worked at, although I was initially unsure about bringing him inside. But we had a conversation about trusting one another that made me realize I can't treat him any differently just because he relapsed. Just like I hated being treated differently after I overdosed. He proves my point further by turning down the free shots one of my old co-workers offers us, but thanks her anyway.

There's a surf shop Shawn owns with his dad that I drag him to if only to set the record straight that Greg is, in fact, my ex. Despite the confusion, the two hit it off and Shawn offers to give Tay some surfing lessons later in the week. It's nice of him, but if anyone is teaching my boyfriend how to surf, it'll be me, though I'm not all that great at it.

Finally, I show him the little cantina just off the beach that serves the most delicious tacos al pastor—which, of course, aren't as good as Christian's mom's—and we end the day by sitting in the sand, watching the sunset. It's his first time seeing the ocean, and I want to make it memorable for him.

There's so much more I want to show him, but we have time. I have to keep reminding myself of that. We still have two more months.

The thought hits me as I wrap my arms around him, pulling his back to my chest while the waves lap at our feet. When all of this started, I wasn't sure how we could make it work with so much bad blood between us, but now...now, that's all I want to do. Make sure that this works so I can keep him, even if we'll be separated again in August.

"So, what's the plan for the rest of the week?" He asks, grabbing a handful of sand before letting it slip through his fingers.

"Well, the graduation ceremony is in a few days, and I have a few things to prepare for. I'm packing up the rest of my stuff so that..." I trail off but clear my throat to continue. "So that once I find a place in Baltimore, my grandparents can ship everything to me. "

He goes still, tensing slightly. "Have you started looking?"

"Here and there, yeah. My new agent has been sending me some listings, but I don't need to make a final decision until next month."

A few of the players on my new team have also been helping out to break the ice. So far, they seem nice and easy to get along with, and they send me suggestions on which areas are good and which I should avoid.

Taylor grows quiet, eyes on the setting sun reflecting over glittering waves. I wish I could crawl inside his head and look around.

Grabbing his chin, I tilt his face up to mine. "What are you thinking?"

"I can come visit you whenever I want, right? And we'll still video call as much as we can?"

"Yeah. Of course." I give him a small smile, knowing it doesn't reach my eyes. "I just wish we'd had more than one summer."

Tick, tick, tick.

"We'll make it work. You'll have plenty of free time in the off-season, and I can fly to games. It'll be fine."

Nodding, I press my lips to his, noticing how he shuts his eyes to hide his thoughts from me. Like he's hearing his words but doesn't truly believe them. And as much as I want to accept them, I'm also worried that I'll give him empty promises if I agree. It'll take both of us putting in the effort for this to work, but what if he can't? What if he doesn't want to?

What if I just gave my heart to someone who broke it once before already ?

"Hey." Taylor turns slightly, trailing kisses down my jaw. "I can tell we're both in our heads about this, so let's get out of them. Show me something else you like."

My arms tighten around him involuntarily as I stare at the rolling waves. "You want to go for a swim?"

He eyes the ocean suspiciously, eyes narrowed. "I'm good."

"You afraid of the ocean, baby?" I grin at how adorable that is, my self-proclaimed badass afraid of a bit of water. It's a complete juxtaposition to the guy from high school who laughed in my face and called me a sissy for being scared of spiders.

"Hell yeah, I'm afraid. Literally, everything out there can and will eat me."

Pressing my lips to his ear, I sweep my tongue against the lobe. "Why don't we go back to the house and swim in the pool so I can eat you instead?"

I've never seen him run to the car so fast in my life.