Noah
My hands are shaking.
I hate that my damn hands are shaking, and it’s not from the frigid January cold. We had a great Christmas. LeAnn and Daniel stayed until New Year’s Day, then they went home to prepare for the next semester.
And we go back to school next week, so now is the time to do this.
“We don’t have to do this,” Chance says as he stands by my side, and we both look at the little diner on Main Street. “We don’t.”
I take his hand in mine, feeling just how cold it is. “Yes, we do. I want to do this. I’ve wanted to for a long damn time.”
“We could do it on a smaller scale.”
I want to laugh because it’s just a small-town diner, but we both know a lot of the town is in there. Honestly, it wouldn’t matter if only one person was there. The news will make the rounds, no matter what.
“This is perfect. They have good biscuits and gravy.”
“Yours are better,” he says instantly. I turn to face him, and he follows suit, doing the same, his hand still in mine.
I kiss him softly and slowly, my heart beating like crazy in my chest. No doubt, it’ll gain some attention through the diner window. And I don’t care.
Because I love this man.
I want this man.
I want to go to all the community events together in the same vehicle and hold hands and laugh as we walk around. I want to leave together and drive to our house that we share.
“I want to do this. I’m fully in,” I say as I pull back enough to look into his eyes, my breath visible between us as I speak.
He just nods but looks incredibly nervous.
“Are you okay with this?” I have to check because he looks a little pale.
“Yes. I’m more than okay with this. This”—he gestures toward the diner and then at me—“is all I ever wanted and never thought I’d have.”
That makes me smile. “Okay. Then let’s go get it.”
He nods and squeezes my hand confidently as we walk toward the diner, and I open the door for him to walk in first. He does, and I follow. All eyes are on us. Not one pair of eyes isn’t trained on us.
But I keep my head up high as Ralph, one of the owners, greets us with a tight, worried smile. “Booth or counter?”
“Counter, please,” I answer, and he leads us to the front counter, placing two menus in front of us and walking away.
My hands are still shaking as I pick up the menu, which is more of a distraction than anything else because I know what I’ll order—the same thing I’ve had here for breakfast for the past two decades.
But still.
“You okay?” Chance’s voice is low as I turn to take him in. He’s so damn beautiful, it nearly takes my breath away for a whole new reason other than being nervous as hell.
“Yeah.” I take his hand in mine and place them both on the counter. “I’m more than okay.”
He smiles and picks up the menu with his other hand. He peruses it, just as our waitress approaches. She’s LeAnn’s age, although I can’t quite remember her name.
I think she dated one of my players at one point. Her eyes find our entwined hands, and her mouth drops open. “Coach.”
Kennedy. That’s her name. The kid was friends with LeAnn for a while. Never really liked her though. I was pretty glad when they went their separate ways.
“Hello.” I nod to her. “I think my boyfriend and I are ready to order.”
Her jaw drops even further, and I don’t miss the look of disgust on her face. “B-boyfriend?” she stutters.
Chance shifts in his seat a little, but I hold his hand firm. “Yup. I’ll take biscuits and gravy with a black coffee,” I order.
“Same,” Chance supplies for the girl who’s still gaping at us.
“Uh . . . okay.” She flips her hair over her shoulder and takes our menus, heading into the kitchen.
Chance grins at me, and I smile back, but my eyes are carefully looking around the diner to watch for any hint of trouble.
There are definitely some good ole boys in here today and even a couple who look like they might stand up to come over.
But before anyone can do that, a man I recognize as Oakley Easton’s father walks up to us.
Shit. I really like Oakley. I don’t want to get into it with his dad.
I clear my throat, turning to look at him but not releasing Chance’s hand. “Mr. Easton.”
I’m surprised when the man smiles at me and slaps me on the shoulder happily before taking the seat next to mine. “Coach. Been a while.”
I nod, kind of frozen because he seems friendly. Though it could be the calm before the storm. “It has.”
He nods his head in the direction of Chance. “You’re the assistant coach, right?”
Chance nods. “I am.”
“I was sad to see you guys didn’t go to state this year, but it was damn close.” He sounds happy, and his smile has only gotten wider.
“Yeah, it was close,” I mimic.
He seems to settle into his seat, his eyes sending a challenge to anyone else, and that’s when I realize what he’s doing.
He’s backup.
Holy shit.
Kennedy brings our food and coffee out, still looking annoyed with us being here, but she doesn’t say anything else. Mr. Easton asks for a refill on his coffee, and she fills his cup before she takes off.
I can hear the quiet whispers all around us, but Oakley’s father is pretty loud when he says, “Yeah, my boy and his boyfriend came over for dinner the other night. You, of course, came up.” He chuckles. “I mean, football always comes up. So we talked about the game. I think he misses playing.”
“How is Oakley?” Wait. Did he just say boyfriend?
“He’s good. Real good. The boy actually followed in my footsteps, if you can believe that.
” Easton Landscaping is the only landscaping business within a twenty-mile radius, and it’s well-known.
“Well, sort of. He focuses more on fancy shit, like porch swings and fire pits, but he still does landscaping too. Hired his own crew and everything in Hayes.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” I say with a smile. “And um . . .” I can’t help lowering my voice a little. “You said he has a boyfriend?”
The man is beaming proudly now, and my heart squeezes tightly in my chest. “Yup. Travis Wyatt.” He’s grinning wide. “My son wore him down.”
A surprised laugh comes from me because I never saw that coming. “Um . . . wow. That’s great.”
“Isn’t it? Crazy how unsure my boy was whether the town would be okay with it.” He squeezes my shoulder. “As if they have a say in who anyone loves around here.”
My eyes meet his, and I thank him silently for the comforting message and nod my head. I’m not sure what to say to him, but I’m grateful.
It seems like everyone else has moved on to other topics as we finish up our breakfast and chat a little more with Oakley’s dad. I pay the check, and we head out to my truck.
Once inside, Chance grabs my face and kisses me hard like he’s on the same high I am. It was fine.
I mean, sure, there’ll be some consequences from this. No doubt. The news will spread, and not everyone will be as kind and as accepting as Mr. Easton, but it doesn’t matter.
Because there will be some who’ll have our backs.
And we’ll stand up to anything that comes our way.
Together.