6. Chapter 6 #2
“I swear, it was so fun,” Eli says, a grin on his face.
“I bet,” Roman says, his fingers drawing mindless patterns on my thigh, as the three of us sit in the living room .
Eli laughs, so hard that it makes me want to laugh too. “I still can’t believe she threw up, though.”
I gesture toward Roman. “He doesn’t throw up, but he’s a big chicken about rides.”
Eli leans forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “Really?”
Roman nods. “Yeah, I really am. I don’t get sick, thankfully. But I’m not a fan. Rode the Ferris wheel with this one a single time, and that was enough for me. Never again.”
If I recall, he actually had a lot of fun on the Ferris wheel with me, although it probably had more to do with our first fumbling kiss than it did the actual ride. “I think it was successful at any rate.”
Eli looks back and forth between the two of us. “How long have you two been together? ”
The normal, stabbing pain I get when I think about all the time we missed out on is nowhere to be found.
I’ve noticed it happening less and less lately.
It still sucks, but it’s not as bad as it used to be.
I’m mostly just thankful to have what I do now.
No point in crying over a past we can’t change, so I simply smile.
“Almost three years now. But we dated for a while when we were eighteen.”
Eli hums. “That’s cool.”
Roman gives my thigh a little squeeze. He’s almost always touching me when we’re together and I love it. After going so long without him and his touch, I will always take his needy little touches.
Before either of us can answer, there’s a knock at the door. “Ah, that’ll be Julian and Hold.”
I hop up to open the door. The second it swings open, Julian steps inside and gives me a huge hug.
“I’m happy for you,” he whispers before releasing me.
Of everyone around us, Julian is the only one I suspect picked up on how much I was longing to become a parent.
His eyes were always a little too knowing.
He always shared his kids with me a little more willingly than Holden, like he knew I needed it.
I’m far too choked up to say anything back to him, so I don’t. I just give him a wobbly smile and step back so they can come in.
Holden walks in behind Julian and gives me a little smirk. He’s such a shit. “Eli,” I hear Roman say. “This is Holden, the one I talked to you about last night, and his boyfriend, Julian.”
Holden turns to Eli and offers his hand. “Holden.”
Eli blinks up at him, but doesn’t take his hand.
He just blinks and blinks and blinks some more.
I can tell it’s making Holden feel uncomfortable, but he doesn’t say anything.
He just smiles and drops his hand. Julian introduces himself as well, but Eli barely acknowledges him, choosing instead to watch Holden.
Holden shrugs his coat off and tosses it over the back of the couch before sitting down beside Roman.
I glance back at Eli to find him still looking at Holden.
I mean, I don’t think he’s homophobic. He obviously knows Roman and I are together.
Hell, we talked to him about our wedding earlier.
So, I’m not really understanding his issue.
I’m bracing for an argument when Eli sighs.
“Wow. You’re, like, the prettiest person I’ve ever seen in my entire life. ”
Holden looks around before pointing a finger at himself. “Me?”
Eli swallows hard, nodding. Uh-oh. This could go sideways quickly. Everyone in the room is dead silent, and Holden cocks his head to the side. “Thank you?”
Like he just realized what he said, Eli flushes bright red.
“I just… I mean… Not in like a…” He groans, covering his face.
In seconds, he’s jumping up and running off toward his room.
Kassie immediately notices his distress and jumps up from her spot in front of the couch, taking off after him with a whine.
“Wait!” Holden basically yells, panic splashed across his face. I, for one, am stunned into silence because what the fuck is happening right now? “Come back, Eli. ”
Eli pauses at the entrance to the hallway, his shoulders up around his ears.
Finally, they slump, and he turns around, his eyes never leaving the ground.
He digs his toe into the floor and sighs.
Kassie sits down at his feet, and his hand finds its way into her fur.
“I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.
It’s just that… I really like your makeup.
I didn’t know boys could dress like that. ”
I glance at Holden. He’s nodding to himself like he clocked that before any of the rest of us did. Lip gloss. He got kicked out over wearing lip gloss. Fuck . I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection. “I can teach you how to do yours too, if you want,” Holden says, offering Eli a small grin.
Eli’s head snaps up, and he stares at Holden with wide eyes. “Really?”
“Of course.”
Eli looks between Roman and me. “You guys wouldn’t care?”
I try hard to keep my face from doing anything crazy because that feels like an absurd question to me. “Of course not,” I say at the same time Roman manages, “Not at all.”