20. Isaac

20

ISAAC

“Isaac,” a voice said, sounding far away and a bit distorted.

I made a weird harrumph noise as I slowly drifted out of sleep.

“Babe.”

Jamie?

“Hmmm?” I cracked one eye open, the veil of slumber lifting as I became aware of my surroundings.

Jamie and I were in his bed, only instead of being cuddled together like we had when we’d fallen asleep, I was lying on top of him like a cape, pinning him facedown on the bed.

Still half asleep, I rolled onto my back. The bed shifted as Jamie rolled over too. Then he was pressed up against my side, his big hand sifting through my hair.

“Mmmmm?” I asked, letting out a soft sigh as my eyes closed, the dark of slumber hovering over me.

“Go back to sleep if you want,” Jamie whispered in my ear.

“I’m up,” I mumbled groggily and tilted my face toward his. Soft lips brushed my forehead.

“Do you remember when I promised you a wake-up BJ on Saturday morning?” he asked, still running his fingers through my hair. “It’s Saturday. Do you still want one?”

I blinked my eyes open, the fog of sleep finally starting to lift. “Does the pope shit in the woods?”

Jamie laughed. “Pretty sure you mixed two sayings up there.”

“Probably,” I said, finally waking up enough to think clearly. “Morning,” I said softly, drinking him in.

Jamie always looked good but seeing him all sleepy and rumpled was beyond intimate.

He smiled tenderly and pressed a soft kiss against my lips. “Morning.”

“And just to circle back to your original question,” I said, my dick already rock hard thanks to morning wood and waking up with the man I was madly in love with. “But a wake-up BJ starts while the person is asleep. I’m fully awake now.”

“I know.” He propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at me. “But there are two issues with starting while you were asleep. One, I couldn’t get to your dick because you were on top of me. And two, I wanted to make sure it was okay. As hot as waking you up with a BJ sounds, it would be a real mood killer if it freaked you out because you didn’t want it or remember me promising you one.”

Lifting one hand, I brushed my fingertips over Jamie’s cheek, marveling at how his stubble rasped against my skin. “Babe, have I ever not wanted a BJ from you?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean you won’t in the future.”

“How about this? I give you blanket consent to do whatever you want to my dick when I’m sleeping.”

“Whatever I want?” His eyes glittered with mischief.

“Anything. I trust you.”

His features softened. “I trust you too. And same for you. Blanket consent to do whatever you want when I’m asleep.”

“I’m going to remember that,” I promised him.

“Good.” He looked down at the tent my dick was currently making in the sheets. “Too bad you’re awake now. Guess I’ll have to wait until the next time I happen to wake up first.”

I closed my eyes and let out a loud, fake snore.

Jamie laughed. “Nice try, babe.”

“Sorry, I’m sleeping and can’t hear you,” I said, my eyes still closed. “Sleeping so deep over here,” I added, then snored again.

Jamie huffed out a soft laugh and brushed his lips against my chest, right between my pecs.

I snored again, making it sound as fake as possible because I knew it would make Jamie laugh.

He did, his hot breaths tickling my skin as he continued to kiss his way down my chest. When he reached my stomach, he traced his tongue over my abs, then dipped it into the V of my Adonis belt and licked toward my dick.

This time, my snore sounded more like a nasally moan.

Instead of pulling the covers off me, Jamie slipped under them, kissing all around my cock and sliding between my legs.

I spread wide for him, pulling my knees up to give him better access. He kissed my inner thighs and nosed my balls, taking his time as he teased everywhere except where I needed him the most.

Giving up my pretense of being asleep, I relaxed, letting myself sink into the moment as snippets of last night in the shower came back to me.

Neither one of us had been able to come, but not for lack of trying. After we’d cleaned up in the shower, we stood face to face, jerking off and trying to seduce the other without words. I got close a few times, but three orgasms in less than two hours was too much for either of us, and we called it a draw.

Once we dried off, we went to Jamie’s room and crawled under the covers, cuddling naked until we drifted off to sleep.

I expected waking up with him would be like it was in the movies, where the couple was still all snuggled up together like they’d spent the entire night in each other’s arms.

Maybe it was just us, but that hadn’t happened. I’d woken up a few times during the night because of a wayward elbow or knee and had a vague memory of accidentally smacking Jamie in the face with the back of my hand at one point.

I didn’t remember rolling on top of him and using him as a body pillow, but that probably wasn’t the most comfortable way to wake up either.

Who knew sleeping with someone was a contact sport?

“Fuck,” I murmured as Jamie licked around my crown. Something about not being able to see what he was doing made every touch that much more intense.

Jamie moaned and pressed hot, open-mouthed kisses up and down my shaft as he rolled my balls in his big hand, taking his time as he explored what felt like every inch of my dick with his lips and tongue.

Just when I thought I was going to lose my mind, he drew me into his mouth and took long pulls on my dick.

The slow pace was incredible. I tried to hold back, but it was too good, and I came embarrassingly fast.

“Sorry,” I mumbled dazedly as Jamie crawled up my body and emerged from under the blankets, grinning like he’d just won some sort of prize.

“For what? That was hot.” He pressed his cock against my leg.

“I was quick,” I pointed out, reaching down to grip him in my hand. He was hard and hot and already slick with precum.

Jamie leaked more than me, and I found it incredibly hot.

“So? Do you know how much of a compliment it is that I can get you off that fast?”

“Glad you think so,” I said, stroking him once and letting go.

“Tease,” he grumbled, rubbing his cock against my thigh.

“You can do that to get off, or you can fuck my mouth,” I said, keeping my tone casual, like I was asking about the weather forecast.

Jamie’s eyes darkened, and he licked his lips.

“I mean, I’m just laying here all helpless.” I shifted my hands so they rested on the pillow next to my head. “It would be a shame if my boyfriend didn’t put his dick in my mouth so I could suck it.”

Jamie threw the blankets off us and scrambled to his knees so he could straddle my chest.

I parted my lips as he gripped the headboard and slipped his cock into my waiting mouth.

The blow job was fast and rough and so damn hot I was already half-hard again when he came, spilling down my throat and breathing my name like it was a prayer.

When he was spent, he stumbled back and collapsed on me in a heap.

I caught him and held him close as he enjoyed the afterglow.

“What are we going to do about telling people?” Jamie asked a few minutes later.

“Depends on who you mean.” I carded my fingers through his hair. “Everyone at work knows. I’ll probably just tell them on Monday so they don’t have to keep pretending like it’s a secret. I’ll tell my mom the next time I talk to her. Other than that, I don’t really have anyone I need to tell.”

“Are you worried about that? Telling your mom?”

“Nope. Knowing her, she’ll probably just ignore it like she does everything else. And if she does have a problem with it, then whatever. The only thing that’ll change is I won’t have to worry about calling her anymore.”

“Your parents are the worst.”

“Yup. But I’m used to it. Are you worried about telling your family?”

“No.” He nuzzled his cheek against my chest. “Emma probably already knows, and Laura won’t care.”

“What about your parents?” I asked, already dreading his answer.

I was close with Jamie’s family, especially Emma and her family, but also with Jamie’s parents. They’d invited me over for every holiday since we became friends, and they always included me in family celebrations.

They treated me better than my own parents, and the thought of losing them, of being the reason Jamie lost them, terrified me.

“They won’t care,” he assured me. “I’m sure it’ll take time for them to get used to it, but they’ve told us since we were teenagers that they didn’t care who we dated as long as the person treated us right.”

“And all I heard as a teenager was that I was on my own if I knocked someone up.” I paused. “Do you think the kids will be okay with it?”

“I’m sure they will. Emma and Mike have queer friends, so they’ve seen two men in a relationship. And it’s not like it really changes anything. You’ll still be Uncle Isaac. Now you’ll be Uncle Isaac my boyfriend instead of my best friend.”

“What about work?”

He propped himself up on his arms and looked down at me. “I’ll tell Delilah, but I don’t really give a fuck what anyone else thinks.”

“You’re worried about telling your friends,” I said softly.

“A little.” He pursed his lips, like he was stopping himself from saying more.

“What?”

“It’s weird. I care about how they’ll react, but at the same time, I don’t.” He shrugged helplessly. “Most of them are my friends because we’ve always been friends. I won’t be devastated if they have issues with me being with a guy. Not all of them, at least.

“Andy should be okay with it. And Johnny too, considering he’s bi and has been out for years. Some of the others could go either way because we played hockey together for so long.” He shrugged helplessly. “It’s hard to say. But one thing I can guarantee is that everyone will gossip about us until the next big and exciting thing happens. And they’re going to watch us like hawks until the novelty wears off.” He dropped his forehead on my chest. “I know I shouldn’t care about any of that, but I do.”

“We don’t have to tell them right away if you don’t want,” I offered. “We can wait a bit for the dust to settle with everyone else first.”

He lifted his head. “No. I meant what I said. I don’t want to hide us or how I feel about you. I’m proud to be with you, and anyone who has a problem with that can fuck themselves with a cactus, as you so eloquently said last night.”

I tugged him down for a kiss, realizing I hadn’t done that yet this morning.

He let out a happy-sounding sigh and kissed me back.

“I have an idea,” I said between kisses.

“What’s that?”

“We should do a weekend in. Just you and me.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“How about we add no going out unless we need to get something, and no answering the phone or texts unless it’s an emergency. Just block out the rest of the world for a few days.”

“I really like the sound of that.”

“And no clothes.”

“No clothes?” He lifted his head and grinned at me.

“None. We’ll spend the whole weekend naked and getting each other off.”

“Counteroffer. We spend the whole weekend getting each other off and blocking out the world, but we put clothes on in between because eating and cooking naked isn’t exactly sanitary. And I can’t even remember the last time we cleaned the couch. I really don’t want to put our bare butts on there, or any other surfaces, for long periods of time before we’ve had a chance to scrub them clean.”

“Fine.” I heaved a sigh. “We can wear clothes when we’re not getting each other off.” I paused. “How many more times do you think you can come today?”

“No clue.” He huffed out a laugh. “At least a few. Why?”

“I have a wager for you to make things more interesting.”

“I’m listening.”

“Whoever comes the least amount of times has to clean the apartment tonight so we can do naked Sunday instead of naked Saturday.”

“Why do I feel like there’s more to this bet?” Jamie asked with a smile.

“Because it’s me you’re talking to, so of course there’s more. Loser also has to do it wearing their plug, and in the outfit of the winner’s choice.”

“And what does the winner get?”

“Besides the joy of getting to watch the loser clean the places we’re going to fuck with his plug in? How about we toss in that the winner also gets to…” I searched for something to add.

“They get to pick where we go for our next date,” Jamie suggested.

“Deal.”

He leaned down to peck a kiss against my lips. “We should get up.”

“Yeah. I’m getting hungry.” Almost on cue, my stomach grumbled loudly.

Jamie laughed and slid off me. “Come on. I’ll make us some breakfast, then we can get started on our weekend in.”

It didn’t take long for us to get up and throw on some sweats before heading into the kitchen.

“Um, Z?” Jamie asked, staring into the fridge.

“Yeah?”

“Did you pick up groceries yesterday?”

“Dammit.” I facepalmed myself. “I knew I forgot something. I was so focused on our date that I totally blanked after work.”

“It’s fine.” He closed the fridge. “Do you want to go grab something from the store or maybe hit up The Finer Diner?” he asked, mentioning the diner near my work that we liked to go to.

“This kinda kills the whole stay in the apartment and block out the world plan.” I patted my stomach. “But we gotta eat. How about we grab some breakfast at the diner, and I’ll order the groceries when we get home? Then we can start our weekend of sex and isolation.”

“Sounds good.” Jamie crossed the kitchen and gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll go put my outside clothes on.”

“Meet you at the front door in a few.”

The smell of grease, coffee, and lemon cleaner greeted us as we entered The Finer Diner.

It was a hole-in-the-wall place that was known for its massive portions and classic diner fare, especially their breakfast platters. Which was exactly what we looked for in a place.

“Where do you want to sit?” I asked Jamie as the door closed behind us, the bell chiming obnoxiously.

“How about…” he trailed off.

I followed his stunned gaze.

Jesse sat at a booth about a dozen paces away with Sebastian and two men I didn’t recognize since their backs were to us.

Jesse looked up at the same instant, and after a brief pause, he lifted his hand in greeting.

The two men sitting with him to us turned as we came up to their table. I instantly recognized them as Jesse’s brothers, Adam and Quinn.

I waved back and glanced at Jamie when Jesse motioned for us to come over to their table.

“Do you want to go say hi?” I asked. “We don’t have to tell them anything. I mean, I’m positive he already knows, but we can just pretend we’re friends for another day if that’ll be easier.”

Jamie shook his head and slipped his hand into mine.

Pride and something I couldn’t quite place rippled through me. This was the first time we got to act like a couple in public, and it felt nice to hold Jamie’s hand and walk through the diner with him.

Jesse, for his part, did an admirable job of ignoring our joined hands and pretending it was completely normal to see us like this.

“Hey,” he greeted as we approached.

“Hey,” I said, upnodding all four men. “How’s it going?”

“Good.” Jesse leaned against the spot where Sebastian had his arm thrown over the back of their booth. “Bas had a show last night, and we needed diner food to combat the beer we drank.”

“I know that feeling,” I said sympathetically. “How was the show?” I asked.

Sebastian had been a successful musician and songwriter before he moved back to town earlier this year. I didn’t know too much about why he’d left the music industry other than he was burned out from years of touring and traveling with his band.

Bas was incredibly talented. His older music was heavier than what I usually listened to, but I had a bunch of his band’s songs on my workout playlists and listened to them whenever we went to the gym.

“Good enough.” Sebastian shrugged. “No one booed, and they asked me to come back, so I’m calling it a win.”

“He’s so modest,” Adam said. “The show was amazing and everyone loved him.”

Sebastian shrugged again, but the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile. “It was pretty good.”

“What brings you guys here?” Jesse asked, his eyes flicking to our hands.

“I’m a dumbass and forgot to buy groceries yesterday after work, and we didn’t notice we had no food until we tried to make breakfast,” I said.

“I’ve done that so many times.” Adam snickered. “Hannah keeps a stash of snacks in the linen closet so we don’t starve when I forget to pick stuff up.”

“I should do that for Z,” Jamie mused. “I just wouldn’t tell him where I stashed them because he’d eat them, and we’d be shit out of luck in an emergency.”

“Hannah keeps some granola bars in her purse in case Adam does that.” Jesse grinned. “She calls them her emergency Adam stash.”

“My sister is the only reason you’re alive right now, isn’t she?” Sebastian asked Adam.

“Pretty much.” Adam grinned.

“What do you think, Z? Should I start carrying granola bars around for you as a backup?” Jamie asked with a grin.

“I’d never say no to emergency snacks, just saying.” I shot him a cheesy grin. “Why do you think I like hanging out with Emma so much? The kids get snacks, we get snacks. Win-win.”

“You really are just overgrown toddlers, aren’t you?” Jesse asked with a smirk.

“You know it.” I flicked my gaze to Quinn. “How have you been?”

I didn’t know him as well as Adam, but he was a fun guy, and he’d lived a crazy life, which was always fun to hear about.

“Good,” Quinn said. “Busy with work and life. You know how it is.”

“Are we all just going to pretend like that’s not a thing?” Adam pointed to where Jamie and I were still holding hands. “I mean, I know you guys are tight, but this is screaming brojob over bromance.”

“Brojob?” Jamie asked as I let out a snort of laughter.

“Yeah, you know. When you and your bro help each other out when you’re in a dry spell.” He looked around the table. “You’ve never heard of that?”

“I’m so calling our BJs brojobs from now on,” I whispered to Jamie.

“Same, that’s gold,” he agreed.

“Can’t say I have,” Bas said to Adam.

Jesse shook his head.

“No, but that’s a good one,” Quinn said.

“But anyway, back to this.” Adam waved his hand at us. “Are you bros who blow?”

“Yes.” I gave Jamie’s hand a little squeeze. “But we call it being boyfriends.”

All four men froze.

“Really?” Adam asked, recovering first. “Did you know about this?” he asked Jesse.

Jesse nodded, barely concealing his grin.

“That’s awesome. Congrats.” Adam picked up his coffee and took a sip.

“Thanks.” I glanced at Jesse. “How long have you known?”

“Do you remember when we went to the bar, the night you had to cut Jamie out of that stupid shirt you made him wear?”

I nodded.

“That’s when I knew for sure.”

“That was before we knew.” I blinked at him.

Jesse shrugged innocently.

“You and Asa are annoyingly observant,” I grumbled.

“Or you’re just obliviously oblivious.” Adam glanced at Quinn. “Does that make sense?”

“Like Isaac’s so oblivious he doesn’t realize that he is?” Quinn asked.

“Yeah.” Adam flicked his attention back to us. “You’re that.”

“You’re not wrong,” I agreed. “The whole garage knows, don’t they?” I asked Jesse.

“Pretty sure they do,” he confirmed. “Even Cass.”

“Cass?” I let out a little groan. If our front-end worker, who also happened to be Nate’s eldest daughter, had figured it out, then there was no chance we’d managed to fool anyone. “I really am obliviously oblivious.”

“You really are.” Jesse grinned.

“We should probably find a place to sit,” Jamie said, stepping closer to the table so a server could pass behind him. “And get some food before Isaac gets hangry.”

“Enjoy your breakfast,” Jesse said with a knowing grin.

“See ya,” Adam said with a wave.

“Catch ya later,” I said to the guys.

Quinn and Sebastian upnodded us, and Jamie tugged me away from their table.

“Where do you want to sit? Back corner?” he asked.

“Yeah, sounds good.”

I followed Jamie to the far corner, and we slid into the booth.

“How do you feel about that?” he asked when we were settled.

“Fine. Still not over the brojob thing, but everything else was good. How are you feeling about it?” I asked, putting my hand on his where it rested on the table.

“Same.” He took my hand and held it. “It was probably easier because he already knew, but it wasn’t scary or weird or anything.”

“I’m glad. We’re totally rocking this boyfriends thing.”

He grinned. “We totally are.”

“I knew we would,” I boasted. “We’re awesome.”

“We are.” Jamie rubbed my thumb over my knuckles. “I think we should celebrate with some brojobs when we get home and start the official tally for our bet.”

“Agreed.” Movement to our left caught my attention, and I turned from Jamie to see a server walking toward us with menus in her hands.

I waited to see if Jamie would pull his hand from mine as she approached.

He just smiled as she passed us our menus, went over the specials, and took our drink orders.

“Totally nailing it,” Jamie said when our server left.

“We rock.”

“We do,” Jamie agreed, but something was off. He looked distracted.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing.” He scraped his teeth over his bottom lip. “But I think I want to tell Andy and Johnny about us.”

“Of course.” I squeezed his hand. “We’ll tell them whenever you want.”

Out of all of his friends, Jamie was closest with them. They’d all played hockey together from the time they were five, and they were two of the only people who’d kept in touch with him while they were all away at school and didn’t just catch up when they all happened to be home at the same time.

“Maybe today?” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I know it kills the whole block out the world weekend, but I’d rather not wait. Get it over with, you know?”

I let go of his hand so he could text. “I get it. Why don’t you see when they’re free, and we’ll go from there.”

Nodding, Jamie started typing on his phone.

He’d just put the phone down when it beeped.

“That was quick,” he said, checking his screen. He read something off it, then started typing again.

“What did they say?” I asked when he slipped his phone into his pocket.

“They can meet in an hour.” He chewed on his lower lip. “I don’t know why I’m nervous.”

“Because it’s a big deal.”

“It shouldn’t be. We’ve been friends for twenty years. Out of everyone, they’re the two I’m not worried about. This shouldn’t be so hard.”

I took his hand in mine again. “The first time you say it out loud to someone is hard. It’s scary, even when you know it’ll be okay.”

He sighed and picked up his menu with his free hand. “We should order so we’re not late.”

“Where are we meeting them?” I asked, picking up my menu as well.

“Andy’s. They crashed there after they went out last night.”

Andy only lived about a mile from the diner. We should have plenty of time to eat and get there before the hour was up.

Jamie looked like he was trying to decide whether he wanted to throw up or bolt as he pressed the buzzer to Andy’s apartment.

“Yeah?” Andy asked, answering on the second ring.

“It’s us,” Jamie said.

The intercom shut off, and a loud buzz filled the air as the security door unlocked.

Jamie pulled it open, and we made our way to Andy’s apartment, taking the stairs instead of the ancient elevator.

Andy’s door swung open before Jamie could knock.

“Yo,” Andy greeted.

“Hey,” Jamie croaked.

“What’s wrong?” Andy asked, stepping back so we could come into the apartment.

“Nothing.” Jamie looked around. “Is Johnny here?”

“Present,” a voice said from the living room.

“He’s having a rough morning.” Andy waved for us to follow him.

We found Johnny on the couch in nothing but a tee and a pair of boxer briefs. Two empty sports drink bottles and a plate of what looked like the remnants of eggs and toast sat on the coffee table in front of him.

“Someone had a good night,” I said, hoping to lighten the mood and take the focus off Jamie and how he looked like he was about to pass out.

“Apparently I did. Not that I remember,” Johnny said.

“He was the life of the party until he tried to pick a fight with his reflection in the mirror and I had to drag his ass here to sleep it off.” Andy dropped on the couch next to Johnny, making the cushions bounce.

Johnny let out a little groan. “Dude,” he complained.

“What?” Andy asked, leaning close and talking right next to Johnny’s ear. “Not feeling good after downing a mickey of vodka?”

“It wasn’t that much. Just a few shots.”

“More like a few dozen shots.” Andy handed Johnny a bottle of water. “Drink.”

“I’m gonna piss all over your couch if I drink anymore.” He took the bottle and unscrewed the cap.

“That’s why bathrooms exist.” Andy waved a hand at him. “Now stop your bitching. Jamie has something he needs to tell us.”

Johnny fixed his gaze on Jamie and took a sip of the water. “Why do you look worse than me? Are you hungover too?”

“No. I’m just stressed about something.”

“What?” Andy asked, all traces of joking gone. “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

“No, nothing like that. I’m fine. Just…” He shot me a helpless look.

I smiled encouragingly. As much as I wanted to step in and help him, he needed to do this on his own.

“I’m not straight,” Jamie blurted.

Andy and Johnny exchanged a look.

“At least I don’t think I am,” Jamie added.

“You’re not?” Andy asked, his tone soft.

Jamie shook his head. “It’s complicated, but I’m kind of dating a guy.”

Both men swung their gazes to me.

“Hi, I’m the guy.” I waved, not sure what else to do.

“So, yeah. That’s what I wanted to say,” Jamie mumbled, looking at the floor. “I know it’s probably a shock, and you might need some time to get used to it?—”

Andy stood and walked up to Jamie, who braced like he was waiting for Andy to deck him.

Instead of hitting him, Andy pulled Jamie into a hug.

Jamie froze. Andy whispered something to him I couldn’t hear, and Jamie relaxed.

He hugged Andy back, sagging in his arms like all the tension had bled out of him in an instant.

Johnny staggered to his feet and lumbered over to them. Without saying a word, he threw his arms around both men and hugged them tight, squishing Andy between him and Jamie.

I stood there, not sure what was happening, but grateful his friends were taking it so well.

“Thanks for telling us,” Andy said, his voice muffled by the group hug. “Getting hard to breathe here,” he added.

“Oops.” Johnny let go and stepped back from their hug so Andy could too. “Sorry, bro.”

“All good.” Andy kept his focus on Jamie. “Are you okay?”

Jamie laughed and scrubbed his hand through his hair. “Yeah. I’m great.”

“So, how long has this been going on?” Andy asked as Johnny went back to the couch and flopped down on it.

“Officially, since last night.” Jamie glanced at me. “But unofficially for a few months.”

“Only?” Johnny asked, flicking his attention to Andy. “You were right.”

“Right about what?” Jamie and I asked together.

“About you being into each other,” Andy said simply. “I called it years ago.”

“What?” we said at the same time.

“He did,” Johnny confirmed. “Hell, he knew about me years before I figured it out. He called it like, three months after you met.”

“Really?” Jamie gaped at Andy.

He shrugged. “I’ve got good instincts for that kind of thing. I’m almost never wrong.”

“It’s true,” Johnny said. “I didn’t see it until about a year ago, but I’m a dumbass who tried to fight a mirror last night, so that’s not really saying much.”

“Jesus.” Jamie shot me a horrified look. “Does everyone know?”

“Doubt it,” Andy said. “No one’s said anything, and you know they’d talk if they did.”

“Yeah.” Jamie grimaced. “But you didn’t say anything.”

“Not my place to.” Andy shrugged and looked between Jamie and Johnny. “And it’s not like it matters. You’re still you. Liking dick doesn’t change that. I figured you’d both tell me when you were ready, and you did.”

“That’s… Thanks.” Jamie laughed, more of his stress leaving him in a rush.

“We won’t tell anyone,” Johnny promised from the couch.

“We’re not going to keep it a secret anymore.” Jamie glanced at me. “But I’m still working on how to tell everyone else.”

“Just do what I did and make out with a guy the next time we all go out.” Johnny grinned and toasted us with his water bottle. “Less ambiguity that way.”

“I’m down for that,” I said to Jamie.

“Of course you are.” He shot me an affectionate smile.

I smiled back.

“Or you could just look at each other like that,” Andy suggested. “I’m getting a contact boner just from being in the same room as you guys right now.”

“Mood,” Johnny said.

I snickered. “Contact boner. That’s a good one.”

“Do you guys have anywhere to be?” Andy asked. “As much fun as standing in my living room is, we could always sit and hang out for a bit if you have time.”

Jamie shot me a curious look.

“We’ve got nothing but time,” I said.

We could start our weekend later. Hanging out with our friends was way more important than a bet.

“I need more coffee,” Johnny said as Andy sat beside him again.

“You know where the kitchen is,” Andy said pointedly.

“Ugh, fine. I’ll get it myself.” Johnny stood. “You suck as a host.”

“You weren’t saying that last night when I was feeding you water and pouring your ass into bed. Or when I was making you breakfast this morning.”

“Fine, you’re a good host,” Johnny conceded. “And a good friend,” he added, his voice as serious as I’d ever heard.

They locked eyes for a moment, and Andy nodded.

Jamie and I exchanged a look as Johnny went into the kitchen.

“How was Prism?” I asked, settling on the loveseat next to Jamie.

Andy shrugged. “It was fine. Same as always.”

“Do you ever get bored with it?” Jamie asked. “Going to the same places, doing the same things?”

Andy nodded. “For a while now. But what else are we supposed to do? Clubs, bars, and parties are really the only places we can hang out as a group. It’s not like there are a ton of options out there. Not unless we spend a fuck ton of money or leave the city.”

“Yeah,” Jamie agreed. “It sucks there are no third spaces anymore.”

“Third spaces?” Johnny asked, coming back into the living room with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.

“Places you can meet people or hang out that’s free and easily accessible to everyone,” Andy explained.

“Why is it called a third space?”

“Because home and work are considered your first and second spaces. A third space is somewhere you don’t work or live.”

“Makes sense.” Johnny sipped his coffee. “And yeah, it sucks those don’t exist anymore. It would be nice to have places to go where getting drunk wasn’t the endgame.”

“Yeah,” Andy agreed. “But at least you keep us entertained when it is.”

“Speaking of drunken entertainment, I need to hear more about Johnny trying to fight his reflection,” I said.

Andy immediately launched into the story, and Jamie and I relaxed on the loveseat, laughing as he told us more details.

Jamie’s hand, which had been resting on the cushions between us, slowly slid over until he was loosely holding my thigh.

Neither Andy nor Johnny noticed, or if they did, they politely ignored it.

I put my hand over his, relief and elation filling me.

We’d told people, and the world hadn’t ended.

I wasn’t so naive to think everyone would be okay with our relationship, but the important people knew, or would know soon, and we’d be okay as long as we had each other.

Jamie wasn’t just my best friend. He was my partner, my rock, and the person I loved more than anyone else in the world. He’d always been those things, but now he was also the man I was madly in love with and the man I was going to keep on loving for the rest of our lives.