Epilogue 1 — Preston #2
As I hit Send, thick arms wrap around me from behind as soft lips brush my throat. “Mmm. I missed you.”
His voice rumbles deep, and my pulse stutters in response.
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how quiet it is in my head when he touches me. He doesn’t even have to do much—just his hands on me bring on a sense of peace I never thought I’d experience.
“You smell like locker room,” he murmurs. “What were you doing around naked guys, Preston?”
“Checking out alternatives?”
He slides his hand up my chest and lifts my jaw so that he’s staring down at me. “You have no alternatives but me, you hear me?”
“Relax. I was just consoling them. You know how they can’t function without me.”
“Is that so?”
“If I were on the ice, you wouldn’t be limping out of that arena with a win. I’d have kicked your ass six ways to hell, Osborn.”
“Cute. You think you’d survive ten seconds with me right now?”
I grab a handful of his hair, leaning close until my lips are a breath from his. “How about you?”
“How about me?”
“You can’t survive me for even a second. You’d fold the moment I touch you.”
“No argument here.” He closes the distance, sealing his lips to mine, sucking on the lower one before thrusting his tongue in, licking the inside of my mouth.
It’s a hungry kiss that leaves me breathless, and he feels it when I moan in his mouth.
The taste of him floods my head, then spills down my spine in a slow shiver.
God. I could kiss him all day, every day.
How the hell did I even survive without kissing him before?
How could I bear to stay away from him when I’m so in love with him?
That will never happen again. I also promised him that from now on, he’ll be the first to know when the voices in my head get too loud.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
My eyes flash open as Marcus is ripped away from me by none other than Jude.
Fuck me sideways.
Marcus doesn’t resist. He seems really, truly annoyed that he was interrupted mid-kiss.
Kane stands to the side, his hands in his pockets, his gaze sharp and calculating, but at least he’s not being a raging bull like Jude.
“Preston, step back from this asshole,” he says. “He forced you, didn’t he?”
“No.” With a sigh, I stand beside Marcus. “He kissed me, and I kissed him back. That’s how kissing works, big man.”
His lips part, and he looks to be on the verge of having an aneurysm. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Yes, diagnosed. Any other obvious questions?”
“This asshole—” Jude’s about to hit Marcus, but Kane pulls him back.
“Enough, Jude. It’s not what you think it is,” Kane says.
“You…” Jude stares at him. “You knew?”
“I had an idea since Dahlia told me Marcus was skating with Miley and Preston.”
Fucking Dorothy and her big mouth.
“Wait…” I say. “You knew?”
“Not entirely.” He holds Jude by the nape. “Just bits and pieces here and there. Nothing too concrete. I mostly confirmed it after Osborn went on a revenge spree for you.”
“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” Marcus tells me with that small smile that makes me melt.
“I would do the same.” I interlace my fingers with his and face my best friends. “Jude, Kane. Meet the love of my life, and you better fucking like him.”
“No. No, he’s not the love of your life,” Jude says. “Find a different love.”
“How about I tell you to find someone other than Vee, asshole?”
He purses his lips but says nothing. There’s a sort of tension in the air as Jude’s frown deepens, and even Kane looks a bit tense.
Marcus slides his fingers from mine. “I’ll give you a moment.”
He’s aware I’m apprehensive about telling them since I’ve yapped about it for weeks, so he knows this is a big moment for me and he’s giving me the chance to face my best friends on my own terms.
God, what have I done to deserve this man?
I nod once. “Don’t go too far.”
“Never.” He strokes my cheek, then walks away, rounding the corner and disappearing out of sight.
My heart kind of aches at the absence of him, and I have to breathe deeply to try and dispel the pain.
“Care to explain what the fuck is going on, Pres?” Jude barks. “This can’t be what I think it is, right?”
“It is.” I release a puff of air, peeking at him. “Can you stop looking so tense? It’s making this harder than it should be, asshole.”
Jude sucks in a sharp breath. “Well, I’m sorry I’m not overjoyed at the idea of you with Osborn, of all people. I thought you hated each other.”
“I thought so too, but you know, hate is a fine line from love and all that poetic stuff.”
“Love?” Jude says, his eyes on the verge of bulging out. “Did you just say love?”
“Yeah, love, you know, like how you feel about Vee. Normal fucking feelings. Honestly, stop pissing me off, Jude, or I’ll punch you.” I whip my head to the side toward Kane. “And you! Are you going to add anything to this merry conversation?”
“How long has this been going on?”
“Some time.”
“Since when?”
“Since our game against the Wolves?” I end it with a question, grinning awkwardly.
“Wow. Fucking months?” Jude gawks. “And you haven’t told me anything?”
“Well, I teleported to the future, witnessed your reaction from now, and vehemently decided against it, asshole.”
“You could’ve told me,” Kane says, his voice grounded, and I sigh.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you.
It’s that I couldn’t accept it myself until recently, so I couldn’t exactly disclose it.
I guess I needed time to come to terms with it first before I talked to you guys about it.
And believe me, it took a lot of fighting my demons and my very soul to come to terms with how much I love being with Marcus.
He…he quiets my mind, you know. He makes me feel safe and is so patient with me and always gives me everything selflessly, and I need that.
He’s part of the reason I want to get better, really better, so that I can be myself and be with him.
So maybe don’t be dicks about it. Yes, I’m talking to you, Jude.
You’re making this coming-out sesh lackluster as fuck. ”
Jude stares at me for one long, furious, helpless second. “I’m not judging your sexuality. You know I’d support you whether you love a man or a woman or anything in between. It’s just the choice of the particular man you went with. Osborn? Really, Pres?”
My throat tightens, but I manage a nod. “Yeah, really. I’d be dead if he wasn’t in my life, and I’m not saying that lightly.”
“You’re choosing him,” Kane says.
“I am,” I say, even though it’s not a question.
“Then we’ll adapt.”
“Adapt?” Jude glares at him. “That’s your genius plan?”
“Yes, we will adapt, Jude.” Kane squeezes my shoulder. “Knowing Pres and what happened to him, he must’ve gone through it to be able to accept it, and if he says he loves him, that’s not easy for him to admit, isn’t that right?”
Something stupid burns in my eyes, my chest feeling so full and tight. “Do you have any idea how many meltdowns I experienced on the fucking regular?”
Kane smiles. “I can only imagine.”
“You bitches need to hear me yap all about it, because shit was so fucking real. Like what do you mean I play for the same team now? Also, who made Marcus’s dick so appealing?”
“Jesus Christ.” Jude releases a breath. “I totally do not want to hear about Marcus’s dick.”
“Yes, you will, bestie!” I put him in a headlock. “Will be having popcorn and staying up until four in the morning hearing me out.”
“Oh God,” Jude sounds horrified, but he straightens and ruffles my hair. “I’m glad to have you back, Pres. Really.”
I grin wide. “Does that mean you accept Marcus?”
“I will try,” he grumbles. “Though I wonder if he can be disposed of…”
“I doubt Marcus is going away,” Kane says.
“I’m not,” Marcus says, walking toward us. He really didn’t go far, did he?
Stalker.
I’m smiling as he stands beside me and lifts my hand to kiss the back of it, at which Jude gawks, which is pure comedy at this point.
“Here comes the boyfriend drama,” Kane says.
“Excuse you,” Marcus says, and I laugh. What? It is funny.
Jude releases a long sigh as he glares at Marcus. “I don’t trust you. I don’t like you, but I can tolerate you for Preston’s sake. But mark my words, Osborn. You hurt him in any way, and I’ll take you apart.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Marcus says with similar aggression. That’s because he’s a jealous bitch over Jude. He even said it the other day. It should’ve been me by your side since we were young, not fucking Callahan.
His words, not mine.
“I have a question,” Kane says, tilting his head to the side. “How did you manage to make someone who’s as allergic to monogamy as Preston is love you, Marcus?”
“Simple.” He smiles. “I just refused to give up on him.”
I can’t help it. I really can’t.
With a smile, I kiss him.
Right in front of Kane and Jude.
They’ll have to get used to it.
From now on, he’s part of our family.