14. Ever

14

Ever

When Tracy told me we'd been invited to a New Year's Eve party hosted by his friend Josh's great-grandmother, a certain image formed in my mind. I pictured a sedate family gathering that would probably wrap up before ten p.m.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

This was obvious the moment the Lyft pulled up in front of our destination. The huge Victorian was lit up in multi-colored floodlights and painted top to bottom in an iridescent rainbow. Techno music was pulsing through hidden speakers, and maybe a dozen go-go boys in sexy outfits waved Pride flags and gyrated on a tiered stage in the small front yard.

As if all of that wasn't enough, the yard was framed by several chubby palm trees, whose trunks were wrapped in pink lights. Short strands of white lights fanned out on the leaves jutting upward from the trunk, so the trees looked exactly like big, fat, spurting cocks. Was that intentional?

Tracy and I stood on the sidewalk for a few moments, taking it all in. Finally, I asked, "Josh's great-grandmother lives here?"

He nodded. "I forgot you haven't met Stana Dombruso yet. She's a huge ally of the LGBTQ-plus community. She's also a cofounder of the shelter. She came by twice over the holidays with loads of gifts for the residents, but I guess you missed her."

"I can't believe she hired a bunch of go-go boys for the party." I'd brought Mrs. Dombruso a nice bottle of wine as a hostess gift. Maybe I should have brought a keg instead.

"Actually, she keeps them employed year-round. She's in an ongoing feud with the homophobic neighbor across the street, so none of this is unusual, including the décor."

"I like her already."

We wound our way through the party guests who were clustered outside and stepped into a huge foyer. I couldn't see much of it, apart from a giant chandelier and elegant twin staircases, because it was wall-to-wall people. The music was even louder in here, and a naked blow-up doll that looked like Burt Reynolds was crowd-surfing.

I pulled Tracy close and yelled over the noise, "You're going to hate this, aren't you?"

"Don't worry about me. This is a great opportunity for you to meet a lot of new people. I know that's something you've been wanting to do."

He was right, I did. I still only knew a handful of people in this city, and I hadn't been putting myself out there much. But I knew Tracy hated big crowds, and the last thing I wanted was for him to be uncomfortable.

Instead of letting me argue, he took my hand and towed me into the crowd. He stayed by my side for maybe half an hour, introducing me to people and chatting until we ran into Josh and Darwin, who'd invited us to the party.

Darwin hugged both of us in turn and exclaimed, "You made it! That's awesome. Come with us, and we'll introduce you to some people."

Tracy leaned in and told me, "Go have fun. I'm going to find a quiet corner." He slipped away before I could protest, and Josh distracted me by introducing his dads.

I met a lot of people over the next hour or so, but the absolute highlight was meeting our hostess. Stana Dombruso was a tiny little old lady dressed in a red sequined gown and track shoes, who insisted I call her Nana. She thanked me for the wine, and after Josh and Darwin were whisked away by some friends, she exclaimed, "Let me get a good look at you!" She circled all the way around me before grabbing one of my biceps with both hands. "So tall and handsome, with such big muscles! Tell me about yourself, cutie."

"Well, I'm new in town, and I'm opening a gym soon."

"Wonderful! I want to join!"

"But you don't know anything about it."

"I know your ass looks like you're smuggling two pumpkins in those slacks," she said. "Me? I got no ass at all. See?" She spun around and slapped her backside with both hands before turning to face me again. "You obviously know what you're doing, so I'm in! Maybe if I work out at your gym, I'll get an ass like yours. But even if I don't, I'll be there for the eye candy." She wiggled her brows, which made me chuckle.

"Well, you're certainly welcome at my gym any time," I told her.

"Excellent. Now let's get to the important stuff," she said. "Are you gay and single? If so, I know some boys you should meet!"

I started to say, "I am gay, but?—"

Before I could finish that sentence, she grabbed a gorgeous brunet out of the crowd and thrust him at me. "Bowen, this is Everett. Isn't he a hottie? You two should chat, I'll bet you have lots in common. Even if you don't, so what? He looks like he can crack walnuts with his butt cheeks. What more do you need?" Then she shouted delightedly and hurried across the kitchen to greet a pair of drag queens who'd just arrived.

Bowen looked as stunned as I did, but he recovered quickly. He flashed me a flirtatious smile and said, "She's right, you're hot. Are you single?"

"No, sorry, I'm not. I didn't have a chance to tell Nana that before she tried to pair us up."

He looked disappointed. "Figures. Guys like you are always taken. Where's your boyfriend?"

"He's around here somewhere. I should go find him."

Bowen wished me a happy New Year before disappearing back into the crowd. I was right beside a metal tub full of drinks on ice, so I picked out something for Tracy before going in search of him.

I made it out of the kitchen and halfway across the foyer before I stopped short and realized what had just happened.

I'd called Tracy my boyfriend, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And even though that guy back there had been beautiful, I didn't have the slightest interest in chatting him up… because the only man I wanted was Tracy.

All this time, we'd been trying to call ourselves friends with benefits, but that was bullshit. We were so much more than that, even though we'd both started out saying we didn't want a relationship.

But did we have to label this, or try to define it? Calling it a relationship might change things. It might make Tracy pull back.

I didn't want to stir things up. Not when this was going so well.

Or maybe that was an excuse, and the truth was that I needed a little time to process this. Maybe I'd just let things continue the way they'd been for now, while I tried to make sense of what was happening between us.

I looked around, trying to find Tracy in the crowd. Like me, he literally stood out, so he should have been easy to spot. Instead, I spotted two of my friends from the Pink Victorian, and I joined them and said, "So, you know Nana, too."

"Everyone knows Nana," Embry told me. "She's like, the patron saint of San Francisco's gay community."

We chatted for a minute or two, and then I asked, "Have you seen Tracy?"

Hal nodded and pointed to the twin staircases at the back of the foyer. "I saw him heading upstairs maybe fifteen minutes ago."

I said, "Thanks, guys. Happy New Year," and went in search of my favorite recluse.

There was some type of mechanical confetti cannon at the top of the stairs, poking through the railing and aimed at the crowd below. Behind it was a pet gate, spanning the start of a long hallway. I went through the gate and clicked it shut behind me.

Tracy was sitting on the floor at the far end of the hallway, with his glasses on and a paperback in his hand. That made me smile. Of course he'd brought a book to a party. And of course, he'd found Nana's pets—or they'd found him. A tiny beige chihuahua in a red sweater sat on his lap, and a big, hairy dog in a red bowtie was curled up right beside him.

I sat down on Tracy's left, opposite the Wookie dog, and handed him the beer. He thanked me for the drink and said, "You should be downstairs, enjoying the party."

"I did enjoy it. I met a lot of interesting people." I told him about some of the people I'd met while we shared the beer, and then I asked, "Can we go home now?"

"You don't have to leave early on my account. I'm perfectly fine up here, with my book and the dogs." He scratched the chihuahua's ears as he said that, and the dog panted happily.

"I'm not just saying it for your sake. I want to go home, too."

Tracy looked skeptical. "There's no way you've ever left a New Year's party before midnight. Don't you want to celebrate when the clock strikes twelve?"

"Yes. With you, in our apartment." He was so adorable that I just couldn't resist—I leaned in and kissed him, which made the chihuahua on his lap raise its hackles and growl.

Both of us chuckled at that. I got up as he pocketed his book and glasses and moved the little dog onto the floor. After I helped him up, I kissed him again. That really pissed off the chihuahua, who growled and tried to lunge at me.

Tracy had to run interference while I escaped down the hall and through the pet gate. When he joined me a minute later, I said, "It's hard to compete with such a cute rival for your attention."

He nodded in mock-seriousness. "I'm pretty sure the chihuahua and the big dog are involved, so if you hadn't found me, I would have become part of a puppy throuple. A pupple. A thruppy…"

I laughed at that as I lightly pinned him to the railing at the edge of the landing. Then I planted another kiss on him and started to step back, but he pulled me close again and deepened the kiss.

Somehow, I managed to bump the device next to us, which went off with a loud pop. The crowd below us in the foyer gasped in surprise, then cheered as gold confetti rained down on them. Tracy grinned at me and teased, "A bit premature, don't you think?"

"That never happens to me," I joked. "Well, rarely. As sexy as you are though, it's no wonder I popped off."

I pulled him to me again and kissed his smirk. It didn't occur to me that we had an audience until everyone in the foyer started whooping and applauding. Tracy turned red, and I gave the crowd a wave before the two of us hurried down the stairs and out the front door.

On the way to the curb, I texted Josh and Darwin to let them know we were leaving, and to apologize for the glitter cannon. Just as we reached the street, a cab pulled up. A pair of gorgeous drag queens climbed out, and we took their place and gave the driver our address.

Fifteen minutes later, we were back in our apartment. "Let's change into something more comfortable and meet on the couch," I said, and Tracy and I went off in opposite directions.

When we reconvened in the living room, both of us were dressed in cozy sweats. I'd brought a tray with a bottle of wine and some snacks, and Tracy had brought us a warm blanket. I filled two glasses while he turned on one of the New Year's countdown shows, prerecorded in New York, where midnight had already come and gone.

We curled up together under the blanket, and I kissed him again. Phil jumped onto my lap and tucked his legs under himself, and Tracy put his head on my shoulder. Both of them fell asleep within minutes.

A sense of calm and contentment settled over me as I held Tracy securely and thought to myself, I could get used to this.