23. McKinley
I smile as Presley stretches her arms overhead, her eyes still closed as she wakes up.
“Good morning, pretty girl.” I lean in and press my lips against her cheek. “I forgot how adorable you are when you wake up.”
She groans, and buries her face in my chest. “Don’t look at me.”
I chuckle as I wrap myself around her warm body. “I love looking at you with your crazy hair, and your eye boogers.”
“Don’t forget the drool on her chin,” Chance mumbles from the other side of the bed, his arm thrown over his eyes to shield himself from the sunlight streaming through the open curtains.
“Ew.” Presley whines again. “You realize you guys could be waking up next to models instead of the tired, old mom, right?”
I slide my palm down her back and cup her ass. “I’d choose to wake up next to this MILF any day of the week. Besides, you think models don’t drool in their sleep? They have bedhead just like everyone else.”
Her head pops up and she hits me with a glare. “I don’t want to know how you know that.”
“No, no you don’t.”
Her eyes narrow into slits. “I will castrate you in your sleep.”
“You two are doing way too much talking for the morning.” Chance rolls over and sandwiches her between us, burying his face in her neck. “No castration talk before noon.”
“No castration talk at all.” I roll my morning wood against Presley. “You should be thanking Big Mac for last night instead of threatening him.”
Presley coughs out a laugh. “Of course you named your dick Big Mac.”
I grin with pride. “It’s perfect, isn’t it?”
“What’s perfect is this bed,” Chance murmurs. “Way better than the bed in our dorm room.”
Presley hums as she rests her head back against Chances shoulder. “God, my body is so sore from the both of you. It’s been so long since I’ve been fucked like that.”
“Want me to fill up the bath for you?” Chance asks. “I’ll cook us breakfast while you’re soaking.”
I smirk. “And I’ll make you come while he’s cooking.”
She smiles. “A girl could get used to waking up like this.”
I steal a chaste kiss before she can shove me back. “You’re going to wake up like this every morning, pretty girl.”
She pouts. “I wish.”
My hands freeze along their exploration of her body. “You don’t have to wish.” I glance at Chance, who’s watching me with a steady gaze. “We’re here. We’re together.”
Presley leans up on her elbow, fully alert and awake now. “Well, not when the kids are here.”
My chin jerks back. “Why not?”
“Because they can’t know that we’re sleeping together.”
“Maybe not at first, but after some time, sure. That’s what couples do.”
“But we’re not a couple.” Presley scoots herself up and sits against the headboard. “We’re...I don’t know what we are. We got a little carried away last night.”
Carried away?
Unease seeps into my gut as I sit up to face her. “Last night wasn’t us getting carried away, or the result of too much alcohol. We’re not strangers who had a one-night-stand. We’re more than that.”
Presley reaches out and clasps my hand. “I know that. I didn’t mean to make it sound cheap. But we can’t just throw ourselves into a relationship as if we’re picking back up where we left off four years ago. Things are different now.”
“Avery and Alyssa already love us. I don’t see what the problem is here.”
She wrings her hands in her lap. “I know they do, but...it’s more than that. It’s?—”
“You’re worried about what people will think of you,” Chance finishes.
Presley’s chin drops as she stares at the comforter.
She doesn’t deny it.
What?
Presley was never one to shy away from her desires. She was outgoing and secure in who she was; it was one of the things that attracted me to her in the beginning. Chance was the one who had a tough time with societal views on our relationship, and that was understandable with the way he was raised.
But never Presley.
I tip her chin and bring her eyes back to mine. “You don’t want people to know that we’re together?”
“I work in an elementary school where parents make comments about my tattoos. Imagine what they’d say if they found out I was in a relationship with two men. And even if that wasn’t a problem, I don’t want Avery and Alyssa to be affected by my decisions. You’ve seen how cruel kids can be. I don’t want to make their lives any harder than it already has been.”
My heart sinks. “So, what then? We’re together in private, and pretend like we’re single to the rest of the world? Stay in hiding and let all the uptight, close-minded people win? Because that’s not what I’m about. That’s not what I stand for.”
“I have to put the kids first, Stephen.” Presley’s eyebrows pinch together. “And we’re not in college anymore. I’m a grown adult with adult responsibilities. I don’t have the kind of lifestyle you guys do. You travel, you’re in the spotlight, and you have more money than you know what to do with. You have people who handle your schedule, and drivers who take you wherever you need to go. I don’t have that kind of life.”
“But you can. You know we’d take care of you and the kids. They’re important to you, so of course they’re important to us. I’m not trying to take you out of your life, or change it in any way. I just want to be with you, and help you with anything you need.” I swallow around the lump in my throat. “I just want to love you.”
Tears well in her eyes. “You make it sound so simple.”
“Because to me, it is that simple.” I suck in a breath, knowing I’m not only trying to convince Presley, but Chance. “As long as we’re together, we can handle anything that comes our way. Fuck anyone who doesn’t stand with us. There will always be people with their anti-gay campaigns; people who get off on tearing others down; people who spread hate instead of love. But that doesn’t mean we have to mold our lives around their beliefs. Look at Jason, Celeste, and Kourtney. They came out and took a stand, and changed the world of hockey. We can show the world that love looks different for everyone, and be happy together—the five of us.”
“I don’t know if the kids and I are ready for all that.” Tears well in Presley’s eyes. “And even if I was, we know Chance isn’t ready for it either.”
“I am.”
Both of our heads snap to Chance.
“I understand why you’re worried, and I agree that it won’t be easy on the kids,” he continues. “And if you need time, I’m willing to give you however long you need. You want the kids to be a little older? Done. You want to wait until they go off to college? Fine. You want us to sleep in separate rooms? I’ll build an addition off the side of this fucking house. But I need you to know—” he pauses to look directly at me, “I’m ready to come out.”
Presley and I are quiet. I think we’re frozen. Stunned.
I never thought I’d hear those words from his mouth.
Presley slips her hand into his. “Are you serious?”
His jaw works under his skin as his coal eyes flick between the both of us. “Being around Avery has made me realize that I don’t want to feel ashamed of who I am anymore. I don’t want him to feel that way, so I should be able to lead by example, and show him that he deserves to love himself and feel confident in who he is. And so do I.”
Tears stream down Presley’s face as she throws her arms around his neck. “I’m so proud of you.”
Emotion strangles me, making it nearly impossible to speak as I blink back my own tears.
Chance arches a brow. “I never thought I’d see the day when Stephen McKinley is speechless.”
I chuckle, and tug him closer to me. “There’s nothing I could say that would top the words that just came out of your mouth.”
Chance holds each of us in his arms, and I let out a long breath of relief. If this is what he wants, then we’ll both show Presley how possible our relationship is.
“What do you say, pretty girl?” I pull back and cup her face in my hands. “Are you willing to give this a try? You can set the pace. You make the rules. Just tell us that you want this, and we’ll take care of you and the kids for the rest of our lives.”
Another tear rolls down her cheek as she nods. “Of course I want this. I just don’t know how it’s going to look, or how to navigate it.”
“We navigate it together,” Chance whispers. “You’re not doing this alone anymore.”
Presley’s shoulders shake as she sobs, and we hold her, letting her fall apart after years of holding it together for the kids.
And the three of us kiss, with morning breath and crust in our eyes, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
This is the best day of my life.
It’s finally my turn.
Our turn.
Forever finally starts now .