Nate
The past month has been absolutely incredible.
I decided the Christopher Street property was perfect, and we signed a full-year lease, with the option to extend in the future.
I’ve made serious progress on the cafe, including paying Carter and Mel toward the total investment and filling out the space.
I even splurged on an expensive espresso machine and coffee system.
Both can pump out drinks quickly and efficiently without sacrificing quality.
All I care about is serving future guests amazing coffee, well, during the day at least.
Carter, Mel, and I decided the cafe will transform into a relaxed BYOB wine-and-beer lounge at night. We’ll still serve coffee for anyone craving a late-night caffeine fix, but we’ll also offer a selection of pastries and sandwiches.
The idea is to create a cozy space where people can relax and listen to their peers sing during an open mic night or karaoke night.
Friday through Sunday will be open mic nights, while Wednesday and Thursday will be karaoke nights.
Mondays and Tuesdays will stay mellow, with no events, just good ambiance.
Obviously, all of this is subject to change depending on customer interest.
If all goes as planned, the cafe will be fully functional and ready to open by mid-July, which is right around the time the Hawks’ training camp starts.
I really hope Carter gets the extension he’s been waiting for.
He wants to stay in New York, but we’ve discussed doing long-distance if he ends up signing elsewhere.
I don’t want to think about that possibility; it would destroy me.
I’ve been letting Carter sleep in a bit longer over the past few days. His body’s been feeling the countless hits. His team has been playing incredible football, with a 10–5 record and just one game left. The Hawks clinched a division title for the first time in years last Sunday.
They partied all night, and he even brought me along, which was absolutely amazing.
His team is amazing, and I understand why he is obsessed with so many of them.
I even get what he sees in Jack Sawyer. The guy’s hot, I can’t lie.
I low-key think he’d be perfect for Mel, who’s literally obsessed with him, but I doubt that’ll ever happen.
Carter’s been thriving since coming out fully.
His team has handled everything fantastically: the reporters, the awful news articles, even the random a-holes who yell slurs mid-game.
He hasn’t signed a contract yet, but the GM and Coach keep saying it’s coming.
I know better than to get my hopes up, but I can’t curb his optimism.
I glance over. Carter finally stirs awake.
“Babe, what time is it?” he asks, voice groggy.
“It’s 11, bae,” I say. “It’s okay, though. It’s Christmas Eve, rest your little head.”
He sits up, rubbing his eyes. “We need to get everything ready for our families.”
He thought it would be a good idea to host Christmas Eve dinner at the cafe and have our families finally meet. I groan playfully. “I can’t believe you convinced me to do this. The cafe isn’t even ready!”
Carter reaches over and touches my thigh. “Bae, relax, we got this. You’ve got tables, which is all we need. Oh, and the contractor built that stage you’ve always wanted.”
He’s right. Tables are really all we need, and the stage doesn’t hurt. “You’re right,” I say, exhaling. “And I’m so grateful we’re close by. Your mom’s cooking everything, and will need to bring it all over when she’s done.”
Carter beams. “Isn’t my mom the best?”
I laugh. “Which of my siblings do you think she’s going to love the most? Minus Ian, obviously, since he can’t make it.”
Carter smirks. “You know my answer. Rachel.”
Of course, Carter’s obsessed with Rachel. They’ve been talking on the phone constantly all month. She was always there to listen, whether it was about a rumor about who he’s dating or about social media posts that made him anxious. I love that they’ve grown so close. It makes me so happy.
“I mean, she’s pretty awesome,” I say. “Wait, does your mom need us to pick up any ingredients?”
Carter grins. “My mom is a very specific person. She’s making a casserole, a ham dish, turkey, mashed potatoes, and several other dishes. She already ordered everything to be delivered.”
I gasp. “My god, that’s so much food! I’m making my siblings help.”
Carter laughs. “At worst, we’ll help cook. It just might come out…inedible.”
I snort. “We should probably get ready. Everyone’s coming sometime after one.”
Carter looks at me with a sly grin. “Want to shower together? You know…to save time, of course.”
I smile back and grab his hand, pulling him toward the bathroom. I turn the water on, holding my hand under the stream until it hits the perfect temperature. We strip down, and when we’re both naked, we glance at each other’s bodies, and yeah, we both clearly understand the plan.
Carter leans in, giving me a soft kiss on the lips, and whispers, “Let me.”
He drops to his knees and wraps his mouth around my entire length, taking me deep. As one of his hands wraps around my shaft, I start to thrust forward slowly.
“Hey, too much!” he coughs out dramatically.
I smirk, glancing down, but don’t slow down. My hips keep a steady rhythm, and within a minute, that telltale build rises fast. I start to pull out, but Carter grabs my hips and holds me in place, swallowing every bit as I finish with a long, shuddering exhale.
“That was fucking incredible,” I breathe. “Let me do you.”
He stands up, kisses my cheek, and shakes his head. “Too late, babe.”
I glance down and see the mess he’s made, which is dripping toward the drain.
“I couldn’t help myself,” he says, grinning. “I was jerking off while you were in my mouth.”
I laugh and roll my eyes. “You bitch. Fine, less work for me.”
We both crack up and quickly finish the rest of our shower, and clean everything, knowing Carter’s mom is going to show up, point out everything out of place, and find ten flaws that need to be fixed.
At 1:30 on the dot, it’s as if both families have coordinated together because everyone shows up at the apartment door at the same time.
Carter giggles. “I pre-approved everyone with Henry, so I can’t even be mad.”
I laugh and say, “Good. Henry deserves a raise.”
Carter opens the door with slight hesitation, already bracing for what’s about to happen. One by one, both of our families squeeze through the apartment door, looking like they’ve been chatting with each other while waiting outside.
Carter’s mom immediately turns to him and says, “I just got to know your sister Rachel while walking over here. She told me you two have been talking a lot. I’m obsessed with her. Actually obsessed.”
I look at Carter and grin. He just won the bet, because he knew they’d hit it off instantly.
Bex seems to be entertaining both of Carter’s brothers, who are glued to their phones, doing who knows what. Evan’s already deep in conversation with Carter’s dad. Everyone looks happy, as if they all fit together perfectly, like puzzle pieces finally clicking into place.
Henry, who’s actually doing his job for once, gives Carter a call and says there’s a bunch of food waiting for him downstairs. All the guys head down to help, and when we arrive at the front entrance, we see bag after bag of ingredients and meats stacked, as if we’re hosting a wedding.
I glance at Carter. “What the fuck? We’re not feeding a hundred people.”
Carter shrugs. “Have you not learned anything? We eat a lot.”
His brothers nod in unison. “He’s right.”
We haul everything upstairs and hand it over to Debi, who immediately takes control. The whole group starts prepping, chopping, stirring, seasoning, like we’re all contestants on a chaotic family cooking show.
Carter nudges me. “Come here, I got you a little gift.”
I arch a brow. “I thought we agreed. No gifts.”
“We did,” he says. “But I thought this one would be nice, simple, and sweet. You can return it if you want, I promise I won’t be mad.”
I follow him into his room, where he hands me a thin, colorful, printed-out photo. I pull it up to my face and slowly, and when I finally see it clearly, I pause. It’s a picture of a glowing sign. Beautiful, modern, and bold. It says: Fated Grounds.
I stare at it, with amazement. “Babe, what is this?”
Carter’s eyes are full of love. “I know you’ve been mulling over names for the cafe, and I wanted to surprise you. I thought it was perfect. I mean…‘fated,’ like fate brought us together, and ‘grounds’ for the coffee. I don’t know, I just thought it sounded like us.”
I stare at the sign, speechless for a second. It is perfect. Way better than anything I’ve come up with. I run my fingers over the photo and look at him.
I say, “This is better than anything I could’ve expected. I fucking love you.”
“Let’s hang it together,” he says, smiling.
I laugh. “We’re gonna need to hire someone for that.” I pause, then raise a brow. “For a second, I thought you were going to surprise me by trying to force me to move in with you permanently.”
Carter gives me a knowing look. “I know, I know. I’m gonna stop pushing. I get it, you want to move out for a bit. Give us space so we don’t ruin what we have.”
I tilt my head. “God, now you make me sound ridiculous.”
Carter smiles and takes my hand. “Well, you are being ridiculous. I get it, though.”
He pulls me gently toward the door. “Come on, let’s get back out there.”
We make our way into the kitchen without anyone even noticing we’ve been gone.
Instantly, I hear Debi say, “Scott, look at this place, I could do so much work here. So much organizing needs to be done.”
Scott just shakes his head silently, and I can’t help but smile. It looks like Rachel’s helping the most with the cooking, and it's evident that she and Debi are basically best friends already.
Debi raises a finger. “Everyone, listen up! Food will be ready in three hours. It’s a lot to cook. So, make yourselves at home and just chill.”
Carter jumps in. “I have an idea, everyone. Let me put Harry Potter on.” Surprisingly, everyone claps.
“Put on the third!” someone yells, probably Dustin.
Everyone else agrees in unison. “Yes, the third is the best one!”
Debi rolls her eyes fondly. “Fine, you go do that. Rachel and I have the kitchen covered.”
Everyone scatters to the living room, and Carter puts the movie on, but before he can get comfortable on the couch, I grab his hand and pull him back toward his room.
He raises an eyebrow. “Babe, I thought we already got all this horniness out of our systems.”
I smirk. “You reminded me of what my present to you is.”
I reach under the bed and hand him the seventh Harry Potter book.
Carter’s eyes widen. “I literally forgot I even begged you to read this.”
“I finished the whole thing,” I say. “It was fucking amazing.”
He looks at me like a kid on Christmas morning, with eyes wide, soft, and shining. “I can’t believe you actually finished. Now we can watch the last two movies together. Should I go turn it on? Please, let me turn it on!”
I shake my head. “Nah. Let them have their fun. We can watch together another time, I promise.”
What he doesn’t realize is that I actually finished the book weeks ago, but I completely forgot to tell him. He’s obsessed with Harry Potter, so I knew he’d love this.
Three hours later, we all start packing up the food, each of us taking one dish, and begin the short half-mile walk to the cafe. We make it to the cafe, squeeze through the front door, and everyone starts looking around, with wide eyes.
One by one, the compliments roll in: “This place is literally amazing,” and “Seriously, this is way better than I expected.”
Debi looks especially enchanted. She glances down and sees the glowing Fated Grounds sign, Carter bought me. “Wait, is this the name of your cafe? I thought you hadn’t picked one yet.”
I look at Carter and smile. “We picked Fated Grounds together. It’s really sentimental for us…and honestly, it’s a pretty catchy name.”
One of Carter’s brothers chimes in. “I’d definitely come here,” and the other says. “I love coffee.” “BYOB? Hell yeah,” the other adds. “Cheap booze? I’m in.” Everyone laughs.
For the next few hours, we all sit around the available tables, eating, drinking, and talking.
We discuss our lives, all ask each other questions, and introduce ourselves properly.
Our families really start getting to know each other, with this quiet, shared understanding that Carter and I aren’t just dating.
We’re something more, something real. And that means these people will be in each other’s lives for a long time.
I can’t help but look around at everyone, with so much love, I feel like I could burst.
Around 7 p.m., I look around the cafe and see everyone looking stuffed, slouched in their chairs, sipping water, and rubbing their stomachs. I stand up and clear my throat.
“I have a surprise for everyone,” I announce. That gets their attention. Heads turn with curious eyes.
“I know you’re all staying in hotels tonight, which means you can all Uber back.” Now they’re all looking at me with intrigue.
I walk toward the office area and return with a large cardboard box in my hands. I place it gently on the counter and pull out seven bottles of wine. Both red and white.
Eyes widen. Jaws drop. “I think seven bottles will be enough for ten of us,” I say, grinning.
Evan raises his glass and says, “I could probably handle two by myself.”
I laugh. “I don’t doubt you.”
I start passing bottles around, and we all pour ourselves a glass. The mood lifts instantly, and chatter picks up again, as laughter grows louder. Then Carter disappears for a moment and returns, wheeling out a karaoke machine from the back.
That’s when the place really lights up. Everyone cheers, except Scott, who clearly looks like he’d rather do literally anything else than sing in public.
Carter pulls the microphone off the machine, turns it on, and walks it over to me with a smirk. “Here you go, babe. All yours.”
The group starts clapping, cheering me on. I walk toward the tiny stage, the one we had built just last week, and take a deep breath.
I raise the mic. “I can’t help but look around right now and feel…so full. Not just from the food.” Everyone looks at me smiling. “I’m so hopeful for this cafe. I’m so hopeful for this family. And I’m so hopeful for this relationship.”
I meet Carter’s eyes, and he gives me the softest look, the kind that hits me square in the chest.
Then someone yells, “Now sing something already!” and everyone laughs again, glasses raised, the night just getting started.