8. Adam
CHAPTER 8
ADAM
“Cock-a-doodle-doo! Hello! Hello! Hello! This is your number one favorite queer fireman Rooster Crows, coming at you live from—weirdly enough—a wedding!” I turn the camera on my phone around to show viewers the rows of seats filling up with wedding guests in anticipation of the big event. Bringing the camera back to me, I wrap my arm around Drew’s shoulders, tugging him into the shot with me as I rave about him. “Can you believe it? My boy here is getting hitched! I could not be more happy for him and his lovely lady, and I promised them I wouldn’t stream the entire ceremony, so I’ll be popping in from time to time to share my warm, fuzzy feelings tonight. Be sure to like, follow, and comment with your well wishes for our favorite groom. Ciao, my brood!”
I plant a kiss on Drew’s cheek, and he laughs as he flattens his palm over my phone camera. “Okay, okay. Enough of that. I’ve got places to be.”
I chuckle as I end the video and slip my phone into my pocket, turning my focus entirely on Drew for his big day. The guy is practically shaking with nerves. He keeps adjusting his tie, leaving it more askew each time. I push his hands away.
“I don’t understand why you post so much of yourself on social media,” Drew says as I fuss, getting the knot of his tie just right before adjusting his badge on the left breast of his jacket and straightening the medals on his right. “I could never be that open with strangers online.”
I shrug. I’ve never been able to explain to myself or anyone else why I like to stream. It started out many years ago as a video diary, a place to share my thoughts about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as a queer man in small-town Texas. Perhaps I was looking for my people, seeking a community going through the same drama I was. And hot damn, did I find that community. I have over two hundred thousand followers on my social channels, and views have been growing by leaps and bounds lately too. I’ve posted everything from videos of me cooking breakfast to late night confessional musings to my workouts. My workout videos are the crowd favorites. But the feedback I’ve received regarding my frank insights into life as a gay man in a conservative place have been the most meaningful.
Hearing from young men that I’ve helped them navigate their own challenges is what keeps me sharing. So I guess it’s my contribution, my way to connect with a community that is so much larger than this small town. But instead of telling Drew all of that, I just go with, “It’s therapeutic.”
“For you or your viewers?”
I shrug again. “Both?”
He sniffs out a laugh, because my response doesn’t answer a damn thing. But I change the subject when I clap my hands on his shoulders and ask a much better question: “You ready to get married?”
His expression turns serious as he takes a deep breath in and lets it out before answering, “Yes. Very ready.”
I set Drew’s Pershing cap on his head, then put my own on and lead the way out to the altar.
Drew and Chloe’s backyard is dazzling. The sunlight sparkles as it sinks to the horizon in a spray of orange and gold. Twinkle lights are strewn through the trees and clusters of candles flicker atop boulders and rocks, giving this place an intimate feel despite the dozens of guests filling every square inch of available space.
I remember when this little hill was the location of the oldest homestead in the county, the old Krause family farm. When Chloe’s grandma died and bequeathed it to her, she only planned to fix it up and sell it.
That was before everything changed, though. Before Chloe met Drew and the two of them became one, a unit. And it was before Chloe’s piece-of-shit father burned the old house down with her still inside.
Fortunately, her dad only managed to kill himself with that fire, and from those ashes, Drew and Chloe built something truly beautiful—a rock-solid relationship as well as an exquisite house and this stunning backyard.
Chloe—a newly graduated architect with a degree from the University of Texas—designed it, and she and Drew brought in County Sons Construction to build it. The house is made of native stone and designed to complement the landscape rather than scar it. Plus, there’s this stunning view of the hill country undulating in violet waves as the sun sets on a fine Saturday evening.
The arbor we built for the ceremony stands atop a small outcropping of limestone. It’s draped with twinkle lights, giving it a warm glow as evening approaches. This is where Drew and I come to stand as we smile at the assembled crowd and wait for the blushing bride to make her entrance.
Chief Watson—who will officiate today—is the picture of patience, while the groom and I fidget. Drew fiddles with his jacket cuffs, like he needs something to hold onto until his bride finally joins him and he can clasp her hands.
The uniform chafes me, too, but I stand stoic as I set my hand on Drew’s shoulder and whisper, “You’ve got this, Catman. No need to be nervous.”
He chuckles a little. “Is it that obvious?”
The guy is practically shivering with anticipation, but pointing that out probably won’t help. Watts comes to the rescue, leaning in to whisper some fatherly wisdom. “It’s natural to be anxious, but trust me, the moment you see your bride walking down that aisle, you’ll forget the rest of us are even here.”
While Watts is talking to Drew, I take his wisdom to heart, too, and steal a glance at the reason I’m so nervous up here. Sitting on the left, about five rows back, Markus sports a slim-fit, charcoal-grey suit with black shirt and tie, and, God, he sports it well . With his hair combed neatly into a dark wave that highlights the sharp line of his jaw, and his light eyes shielded from the sun behind a pair of dark glasses, he is the very definition of debonair.
I can’t stop stealing glances at him, but it’s not fair that I can’t see where he’s looking behind those tinted lenses. Fortunately, the ceremony music starts, and everyone turns their attention toward the house.
Dee steps from the doorway in a satiny blue dress. I’ve never seen her in a dress before today. She looks like a 1940s bombshell with her blond hair down and curling around her shoulders. The wedding photographer—aka her fiancé, Rico— takes a whole lot of photos of her making her way to the altar to stand with us.
Now, it’s time for everyone to turn their attention to the bride. We look to the back of the house, where a wall of windows glow with candles lit inside the living room. That’s where Chloe takes the arm of her hero, retired Fire Chief Big Mac McKenna. The two of them step outside, and I think everyone here sighs a little at the sweet image of them. He first met Chloe when he rescued her as a child from a car accident, and since her return to Krause, he’s become something of a father figure to her. It’s only natural that he would walk her down the aisle.
But I didn’t truly prepare myself for the sight of them—Big Mac in his dress blues, his chest covered in the medals of his many years of fire service, looking down so sweetly at the woman marrying into our fire family today.
Beside me, I hear Drew’s breath hitch in his lungs at the sight of Chloe in her wedding dress. She’s stunning in a soft chiffon sheath gown. The fabric flows around her like water as she and Big Mac start their walk up the aisle.
I glance over at our groom. His eyes are shining with unshed tears, and the sight brings a little tear to my own eyes. Drew, like Chloe, is an orphan. Our family is all he’s ever had; except now, he has Chloe, and she has him, and damn there goes another tear. I’ve been lucky in my life to have a loving family, for the most part, a family who accepts me for who I am, and I rejoice in seeing this new family as it takes shape.
When Big Mac and Chloe reach the altar, he gives her hand to Drew and presses a sweet kiss to her forehead as he steps back to take a seat. And, now Chloe’s eyes are wet with tears too.
Watts comes forward to start the proceedings. He’s a deacon in his church, so they asked him to handle the wedding—even though it’s not a religious ceremony—and Watts works his magic over the guests and the bride and groom. He tells a few funny stories of how the two met, how Drew fell so hard for her, and how we all had the privilege of watching.
When it comes time for the exchange of rings, Inez—Dee’s future mother-in-law and Chloe and Drew’s next door neighbor—herds Drew and Chloe’s cats up from the front. Bodhi and Utah were chilling pretty comfortably as people gave them attention before the ceremony, but now they have an important job to do. Everyone coos and giggles over the cats in their adorable little bow ties, which Chloe and Drew bend down to untie so they can retrieve their wedding rings.
It’s so freaking cute.
With a very sweet, tear-soaked exchange of vows, and some R-rated kissing, the deed is done. Our brother Drew is a married man, a husband to an amazing wife, and with that revelation, their kiss turns a little toward NC-17 as he scoops Chloe into his arms and devours her. Their guests hoot and holler.
As we, the wedding party, turn to the seated guests to join them in celebration, my focus zeros in on Markus. He took his sunglasses off for the ceremony, so finally I can follow his gaze. To my delight, his gaze is focused squarely on me.