He slapped his hand to it before it shut and pushed it back open. “Give him these.” He handed me a folder of papers. “They’re from my attorney.”
I gave him an exasperated look. “Are you suing him or something? You have no standing if you try.”
“No, I’m not suing him,” William snapped, glaring at me. “They are release papers to get his consent for the book I’m writing. So I can use his name and all of that.”
“Hasn’t he already told you no?”
“Look, I’m just trying to be nice here,” he said, looking anything but nice. “You know, trying to let him be part of the process instead of just going behind his back. However, I will do it anyway: with or without his permission. My attorney said it’s something called public interest since he’s a celebrity of sorts, and lucky for me, gossip and smut is included in that category. Since he’s already come out, my book won’t be an invasion of privacy and won’t tell the public anything they don’t already know.”
William nodded to the file. “If he doesn’t sign those, I’ll just change his name in the book. Maybe call him Colton or something.”
The asshole turned and went back to his fancy car after that, and I slammed the door and walked into the kitchen.
I placed the file on the counter before starting another pot of coffee. Yeah, it was three in the afternoon, but I needed a pick me up after that freaking interaction. Since I didn’t like to drink much, coffee would have to do.
Corbin was going to be pissed when I told him about it later.
Once the coffee was finished brewing, I poured a cup and continued reading my book. With a distracted mind, however, I had to read the same paragraph several times before understanding it. Eventually, I settled with finding a TV show to binge.
Two hours later, Corbin came home from training, and I explained what happened with William.
Yep, just as I’d expected, the adorable grin on his face left just as quickly as it appeared once the demon ex-lover’s name was brought into the conversation.
“What the fuck did he say?” Corbin asked, tightening his hand into a fist at his side. “Did he give you any shit? I’ll kick his ass if he did.”
“Calm down, killer,” I said, holding my hand up. I motioned to the file. “He wants you to sign some release papers so he can write his book.”
“Fuck his stupid ass book,” Corbin retorted, making me laugh. His lips twitched as he focused on me. “This isn’t funny, babe.”
“Then why are you smiling?”
“Because.” He tugged me to his chest and brushed his bottom lip across the tip of my nose. The eye contact as he did it made me forget what we were even talking about. He was too freaking sexy for his own good.
I bit his bottom lip before sucking it into my mouth.
Corbin groaned and squeezed my ass through my jeans. “I want to fuck your brains out. But if I do, then we won’t make dinner.”
“You’re taking me to dinner?” I asked, smiling.
“Well, you can’t come to KC and not have KC barbecue at least once,” he responded before slapping me on the ass. “Now go get dressed for date night.”
I sneered at him before walking down the hall toward his bedroom. Inwardly, though, I was excited.
I’d been there for almost a week, and we’d gone to a few places together, but nothing big. I didn’t expect anything big. Spending time with him was enough for me. But it made me happy that he wanted to take me out. I guess a miniscule part of me still feared he was afraid of being seen with me as a couple, so every time he did something to combat that fear, my heart fluttered.
He is so getting laid tonight.
After I showered and changed into a nice shirt and jeans that didn’t have as many holes, I fixed my hair—which only took like two minutes—and then I was ready to go. Corbin had changed into a pair of jeans, a jersey, and still sported his hat. He had it on backward now, and for some reason, that just made him even hotter.
Before I could let my fantasies get carried away and tackle him on the hardwood floor, I asked, “Where are we going?”
He held out his hand and I took it. “You’ll find out.”
We got into his car and buckled up before he drove us through town. His quiet, expensive neighborhood was only a minute or so from the bustling part of the city. It really was an awesome place to live, and I wondered if he regretted his decision to leave it all behind. But then he weaved his fingers through mine as he drove, looking so fucking happy, and I got my answer.
I smiled, returning his hold.
About five minutes later, we pulled into a place called Jack Stack Barbeque. I’d heard about it before, but had never eaten there.
Right as we got out of the car and walked toward the entrance, my mouth watered at the amazing aroma coming from the restaurant. The place was packed with people, but apparently the local celebrity had leeway and we were led past all the waiting people and taken to a booth in the very back of the restaurant. It was beside a large window and near the bar.
The attention didn’t go to Corbin’s head I’d noticed. He smiled at the excited fans and stopped to take a few selfies, but when we were away from them, he seemed humble and touched by it all.
Over dinner, he told me about his day. Since it was still the offseason, the coach had given them all a detailed program that covered running and lifting, as well as a schedule that gave him a rest period to recover from the strenuous workout. Toward the end of July, he’d have to go to a summer training camp where they’d begin an even more vigorous workout, as well as start learning the drills for the next season.
Corbin explained that the summer camp usually included a lot of speed training, which was lateral and linear drills, plus a conditioning program that helped him with changing direction and increased his endurance. It also differed depending on the player’s position. As a quarterback, he’d do resistance training to help increase his lower body and core strength.
Honestly, it sounded like hell.
I’d been on the high school football team with him and had been a decent player, but pro-level ball was a whole other level of crazy.
“If summer camp doesn’t kill you, maybe we can get married next year in the fall,” I said after he’d told me more about his workouts.
“A fall wedding would be dope,” Corbin agreed, reaching across the table and taking my hand. He grinned, causing me to do the same. “Maybe we can even have it by the willow tree. The one we carved our initials into when we were kids.”
I gaped at him, surprised he remembered that place. It was a small clearing on his land, but the picturesque scenery would make for one hell of a beautiful ceremony for sure.
“I’d love that,” I said as my heart skipped a beat.
It didn’t matter if we were in the middle of a crowded restaurant or wrapped around each other in bed, when I was with Corbin, time seemed to react differently. The hands on the clock still moved, counting the seconds and minutes. However, the seconds could last for minutes, and those minutes…hours. When his fingers interlocked with mine, the warmth of his touch would expand time; draw it out as if we were moving in slow motion.
And when we kissed, the seconds would last a lifetime.
***
I woke up a few mornings later and smiled as I stretched, feeling sore from a long night of sex but loving it. A grayish light shone through the window in Corbin’s room, and thunder rolled in the distance. Knowing it was rainy and gloomy outside just made me want to lay in bed even longer and be lazy.
But then I stretched my arm toward Corbin and only felt a cool mattress. I looked at the digital clock on his nightstand and saw it was seven in the morning. He wasn’t working out that day, so he didn’t have to be up early. And Corbin was the kind of guy that liked to sleep.
Suddenly, the thought of staying in bed was no longer appealing, and I got up. Spotting my discarded pants on the floor, I pulled them on before leaving his room and going down the hall.
&nbs
p; Before I reached the living room, I heard him talking.
“I don’t really give a fuck what you want, Will,” Corbin growled into the phone. “I’m not signing those damn papers just so you can smear my name and talk about how I liked to fuck.” A pause followed before he said, “Too bad. I don’t condone you writing a book about us.” Another pause. “Oh? So you were fucking other closeted guys too? Wow. You’re a real piece of work, Will.”
Not wanting him to think I was purposefully eavesdropping, I moved into his line of sight and went toward the coffee machine. When we made eye contact, I gave him a tightlipped smile.
“I don’t care if the other guys signed the release forms,” Corbin continued, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Chapter nine will just have to be cut out of your book.”
After he hung up the phone, he stood up and came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and resting his head on my shoulder.
“You were chapter nine, huh?” I asked, closing the lid on the machine before hitting start. “How many chapters are there?”
“Twenty,” he answered, not moving from his spot on me. “And yep, before you ask, it’s a different guy per chapter.”
I turned in his arms to face him and looked up into his pale eyes. “You okay?”
He nodded and smoothed his thumb along my unshaven jaw. “I need to tell you something.”
Damn. My stomach coiled. His words seemed like the equivalent of we need to talk, which anyone in a relationship knows meant something huge was about to go down.
“Okay,” I said, leaning against the counter and crossing my arms. It was a defense mechanism to put some distance between me and the person confronting me.
“I got offered three more years,” Corbin said, cutting right to it. He stood a few feet from me and ran a hand through his hair in that nervous way he did.
Not again.
Things had been going great between us and we’d made plans for the near future. Plans that didn’t involve him being gone for half the year. For three more years. Once again, those plans we’d made would be thrown out the window.
However…it wasn’t about me. His passion was football and his dream career was to play it professionally. What kind of fiancé would I be if I denied him that? Sure, we’d have to postpone certain plans, but life was made up of unexpected moments that made you switch things up.
“Congrats!” I leapt forward and threw my arms around his neck. He gave a surprised grunt as he returned my embrace. “I’m happy for you, Cor.”
And I was. Beneath the slight disappointment and shock of the news, I was happy for him. Because I knew how much he wanted it. We would make it work.
“I told them no,” Corbin said, leaning back to look at me. “As much as I love playing football, I love you more, Hunt. I let go of you once for my career, and I won’t make that same mistake again.”
He pressed his head to mine and hugged my waist tighter. We kissed then, and conflicting emotions went through me: happiness that he said no, but also heaviness in my gut because I felt he’d regret that decision. It was the same struggle I’d faced the day I broke up with him.
I snuggled more against him, finding my favorite spot to rest in the crook of his neck.
“Is that what you want, though?” I asked. “I don’t want you giving up your dream for me.”
I could handle a lot of things in life, but having Corbin mad at me for something so selfish was not one of them. I refused to crush his dreams.
“I’m not doing it for you,” Corbin answered before kissing my forehead. “I can’t wait to go home with you and start building the life we’ve always talked about. I’m excited about coaching the high school guys and getting to know the kids better, but most importantly, I can’t wait to spend every day with you. That’s what I want. To love you with everything I have until my heart stops beating.”
“You should put that in your vows,” I said.
Corbin flashed his heart melting—boner inducing and probably panty dropping too—smile. “I still say we should go all Romeo and Juliet on that shit.”
“And do what? Drink poison and stab ourselves at the altar?”
He laughed. “Just the romantic part of it.”
I groaned and buried my face in his neck. “You do know that’s a tragedy, right? Pretty sure we’ve already been over this. A million times.”
He glided his hand up and down my spine before resting it on my lower back. Leaning closer, he whispered in my ear, “It’s a romance.”
I playfully shoved his chest and backed up. “You’re delusional.”
“And you’re adorkable,” he countered, striding forward and pulling me back against him.
Our lips were inches apart as he stared down into my eyes.
When it came to true love, fate, and happily ever after, I’d been a skeptic. Corbin was the exception to it all. He’d made me believe in soulmates; that there was one person in the world that completed you, like a puzzle finding its missing piece.
“Honestly, I don’t care if we have a Romeo and Juliet wedding, or if we get married down at the court house,” I said, staring into the gray depths of his eyes and feeling myself get lost in his gaze. “Just as long as you’re with me.”
Corbin smiled, causing the edges of his eyes to crinkle. So much love shown through those eyes.
“So,” he said, running his hand up my side. “Does this mean I need to order a dress instead of a tux? Because I call dibs on Juliet.”
I shook my head and looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
But I loved it—the way he made me laugh so easily, the warmth in his eyes as he held me in his arms, and the softness of his voice as he leaned in and whispered in my ear that he loved me. There were so many sides to him; the football star, the model, the carefree immature side followed by the one with in-depth thoughts and sharp wit, and then the sweet, romantic side that turned even the most disbelieving of people—me—into saps.
Our love story was far from a fairy tale, but it was ours. And it was real. I didn’t need a knight in shining armor; I just needed a dork with a dimpled smile and whose heart beat on the same frequency as mine.
Chapter 30
Corbin
One Year Later- October
So much had happened in the past year. The closing of one door, but the opening of so many others. My career in pro-football was over, and while it had been bittersweet at first, I was ready to turn the next page in the story of my life. I’d taken the necessary courses in the winter to get my coaching license, and I’d started coaching high school football that August.
I loved it even more than I thought I would.
Hunter had gone to most of my games for my last season of playing ball. I’d stood on the field with my teammates, hearing the crowd roaring around us, and somewhere in the stands, I knew he was watching. Cheering.
After the games, I’d tugged him to me, kissing him in front of everyone. We’d go out with my teammates afterward and party sometimes, and other times we’d choose to have a nice, quiet dinner out, but we always ended up in the same place—tangled up in each other in bed.
The Raptors had a great season, and although we lost some games, we’d also won some. But win or lose, I’d always played my hardest, giving it my all. I had cried after my final game, both afraid to let go of what I knew and excited to move forward.
That’s what I loved about life—the unexpected moments that led you from one path and to another.
And now that path was leading me down the aisle to marry the love of my life.
The smell of fall was all around us: which was fitting seeing as we were outside in a meadow, surrounded by trees in the midst of brightly changing leaves of orange, yellow, and red. It had rained the day before, so the air smelled damp and earthy as well as crisp. Someone had their fireplace going nearby, and the scent of wood smoke was carried with the light breeze.
The willow tree—mine and Hunter’s tree—was to my right, and its long bran
ches swayed with the wind. We’d wanted the wedding to be small, so only our closest friends and family were in attendance.
Veronica sat in the front row, on my side, with her boyfriend, Raoul. She wore a red gown that looked amazing with her subtly tan complexion and wavy blonde hair. A smoky gray eyeshadow covered her eyelids and made her blue eyes pop like sapphires.
“Don’t faint,” she mouthed.
I rolled my eyes, but smiled anyway.
With two grooms, it’d been tricky trying to plan the wedding ceremony. Did I come out first, and then him? Vice versa? Hunter and I’d researched how other gay couples had done it, and some had walked out together, from different directions, and then met in the middle. That had seemed like a good idea, but then I asked if he could walk down the aisle toward me.
Yeah, he had then made a quip about being the bride, but I explained to him my reasoning.
“I want you to choose me,” I had told him that night, after we’d made love and were holding each other in bed.
“I do choose you, Cor.”
“No, I mean…I want you to be the one to walk down the aisle,” I illuminated, grazing the tips of my fingers along his shoulder blade. “It’s hard to explain, but having you be the one to come to me, and then me taking your hand…I don’t know. It sounds stupid, but it’s like you’re making the choice to be with me. That even after all the heartache I’ve put you through, you forgive me and want to spend your life with me.”
“Don’t forget I played a huge role in all that heartache too,” he pointed out, staring up at me with inquisitive eyes. “Are you afraid I’ll change my mind?”
I shrugged, swallowing the lump in my throat. He’d hit the nail on the head.
“Okay,” he said before kissing my collarbone. “If it eases your mind, I’ll be Juliet.”
And just like that, the sadness was lifted and we laughed. Just as I hoped we’d spend the rest of our lives laughing.
At the memory, I teared up.
This is it.
More than twenty years of friendship, with seven of those years being filled with regret, and it all came down to this moment. I couldn’t see Hunter, but I felt him. I knew his heart was racing just as fast as mine as we waited in anticipation for the moment when he’d walk down the aisle. For the moment when we said our vows—promises to love each other through thick and thin.
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