Twenty-Nine
ZAK
Owen’s team won against Washington four out of five games. He flew in late last night after the win and will be here again until they’re called in for the next round. I think it might be the last one before the championship.
“No,” Gravity says as I repeat this. “The next round is the second round. Then there’s conference finals. Then the Stanley Cup.”
“I guess I don’t know the difference.”
“There are two conferences in hockey broken down pretty easily—Eastern and Western. Basically, you’re splitting the continent in half vertically.”
“Oh. That makes sense,” I say, because it actually does.
“Each of those halves is then broken into two—the Eastern conference has the Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions and the Western has Pacific and Central.”
“What are we in?”
“Metropolitan. Along with Washington DC, Philly, Carolina, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and the other New York team. Wait—” He taps his fingers as if he’s counting. “I’m missing one. Hold on.”
I grin as he mumbles under his breath.
“Oh, Columbus.”
“Aren’t there Canadian teams? Closer in the Northern part of this region?” I ask. “Why aren’t they in the same division? Why do we have Carolina instead of Canada?”
Gravity shrugs. “Dunno. Owen might be able to answer that. I know it seems counterintuitive, considering there’s even a third New York team that’s in the Atlantic division instead of Metropolitan with the other two.”
“Really? New York has three teams? That seems kind of greedy.”
He laughs. “The Gulls and Lights are in the city. Skidmoss is Buffalo.”
I frown at him. “What’s a skidmoss?”
Gravity cackles. “Dunno. I don’t think even Buffalo knows.”
Huh. I turn my attention back to the magazine in front of me. We’re spread across my new studio floor with a whole bunch of magazines Gravity brought over. Some are fashion and at least half are wedding. Not because there’s a wedding coming up, but because they have suits.
I spent the last week while Owen was hockey-ing it up trying to figure out what to do with these suits.
I’ve never felt this much pressure before.
Nothing has ever felt like such a challenge, but everything I come up with doesn’t feel big enough.
Grand enough. Usually I can look at something and immediately know how to make it better.
But I look at the suits and feel panic.
“How am I supposed to make such expensive fabric better?” I mutter to myself.
“They weren’t that expensive,” Owen calls as he walks by the room. I glance up in time to meet his eyes. His smile makes my heart race.
I sigh when he disappears from sight, my attention back on the magazine.
It’s not like wedding magazines ever show you anything but the traditional trash anyway.
I mean, a white wedding dress is overdone.
Considering it’s supposed to stand for purity and untouched, when I’d wager a guess that the vast majority of people wearing one these days are not the definition of either, it’s hypocritical and cliché.
These stupid magazines would have you believe the way to make a wedding trendier is to change up the groom’s attire. No longer a black suit but—gasp—perhaps a blue one. Or let’s get even more risqué—blush colored!
Then you can push the boundaries even more with a pop of color in the bouquet if you’re feeling truly daring.
The entire thing makes me sick. I shove the magazine away and pull a fashion one closer. I mean, I wouldn’t want to wear rubber tires all over me. It doesn’t matter who these people are, this isn’t fashion. No one wears this shit.
There needs to be a magazine for real people.
Sighing in frustration, I slap my forehead onto the magazine. Gravity chuckles.
“You know, you have access to the internet. I bet you can find better inspiration there.”
“Yeah?” I ask, picking up my head.
I hear the door buzzer and glance at the bedroom door. Were we expecting more company? It can’t be Linden or Menlo, since they live in the building and would have no need for the buzzer downstairs.
“Edgar or Clarinda?” Gravity asks.
Pushing myself onto my knees, I shrug. “I didn’t invite either of them over. Mostly because I knew Edgar had to work today, and Clarinda said she had something at the twins’ preschool.”
“Zak?” Owen calls.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe one of them showed up anyway. I’m kind of excited at the prospect. I have a place where my friends can drop in when they want to!
Pushing to my feet, I head out of the room with Gravity trailing behind me. Owen’s still at the door when I reach him. “Who is it?”
“My family just dropped in. You’d think because they live in California that drop-ins are uncommon, but once you meet my brother, you’ll understand why that’s not the case.”
Just like that, my anxiety picks up and my heart begins racing.
Glancing down, I see I’m in a pair of pants that Owen bought me and one of his hoodies.
At least I’m keeping it consistent. He seems to like me in his hoodies as much as I enjoy wearing them.
Even when they’re just freshly laundered, they still smell like him.
On the days he’s away, I especially appreciate the reminder.
“I should warn you now, it’s a big family. They’re polyamorous and there’s three kids too,” Owen says.
Oh great. Chills break out over my body. Not just meeting a brother and maybe a partner, but an entire household. All at once.
Gravity’s hand grips my wrist for a minute, reminding me he’s there. I’m okay.
I am okay. I will be okay. This is fine. I can meet people. Just because I’m not the kind of person I feel someone would be proud to bring home to their family when just last month I was living on the streets, doesn’t mean Owen feels that way. It’s been a conversation several times now.
The knock on the door makes me jump and I stare with wide, slightly horrified eyes. Oh, god, this is happening! Owen kisses my cheek and whispers, “Take a breath. Nothing to be nervous about. Promise.”
Right. Nothing at all.
He opens the door and immediately a little girl barrels into him, shouting, “Uncle Owen!”
Owen scoops her up and hugs her tightly. “Hey, pretty girl. You need to stop growing.”
She laughs and then her eyes spot me and Gravity. Her head tilts to the side. “There are people in your house.”
Gravity snorts.
“There are,” Owen agrees and moves out of the door so the entire herd of them can enter. Goddamn, there are a lot of people!
“Ready for roll call?” Owen teases. The girl rolls her eyes.
“This is my niece, Jasmine.” He shifts to touch the head of another girl, this one much younger.
“Niece Coraline. Nephew Destin. My brother Orson, his husband Luca, and their collective boyfriends, Zvi, Wren, and Vulcan.” He touched each man’s shoulder as he introduced them.
However, I’m stuck on looking between Orson and Owen. Which everyone picks up on and laughs quietly.
“Stepbrother,” Orson says. “I’m shocked you don’t think we look alike.”
“You couldn’t look more different,” one of the men says. I think that’s Luca. Would it be wrong to ask for name tags?
Owen sets Jasmine down and reaches for me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my temple. “My boyfriend Zak and his best friend Gravity.”
I give them an awkward wave, feeling the way my cheeks flame.
Way too much attention. This is different from being one of many in a crowd.
Even if they’re all looking at you, you don’t necessarily know that because you’re just one of dozens of people.
Maybe one in a hundred. Right now, there are eight people staring at me. Me!
“Can we spend the night?” Jasmine asks.
“Jazzy, we’re barely in the door,” Luca says, running his fingers through her hair.
Owen chuckles. “Still don’t have a bed big enough for all your dads, baby girl.”
“No more room,” the other little girl says from somewhere in the condo. I hear her voice. It’s adorable. Reminds me of Clarinda’s little sisters. Though I don’t remember her sneaking by.
We follow her voice as a group and I find her standing in front of my open studio door. The other two kids join her.
“Where did the bed go?” Jasmine asks, turning to look at Owen. He still has me in my arms, but I suddenly feel fucking sick. He gave up their room to me! Ohmygod, they’re going to hate me.
“There’s a mess on the floor,” Destin says, throwing a frown at Owen.
“Go sit,” Orson says, steering them away from the door and closing it. He gives Owen an apologetic look. “Guess maybe we should have called first. Sorry.”
Owen shakes his head. “No, not at all. You know you can stop by any time.”
Orson looks at me, giving me a smile. It looks genuine. Kind. But I feel sick. Owen gave their room to me.
“We’re going to get some drinks for the kids,” Owen says. “Be right back.”
Orson nods and Owen brings me into the kitchen. It’s a wide-open place so if we’re talking loud enough, everyone will hear us, but with so many people, our conversation isn’t likely to carry. Even though they’re not being particularly loud.
He cups my face, bringing my eyes to meet his. “What happened?”
“You gave me their room,” I whisper.
Owen kisses me. It’s gentle and slow. Then he feathers kisses all over my face until I’m laughing.
“I didn’t give you their room. I gave you a room that hasn’t been used in well over a year.
When it was just Orson, Luca, and Wren, they could squeeze on the bed and the kids would sleep in the living room.
But when Zvi joined their home over a year ago, it became clear that three men was the limit on the queen bed.
They’ve rented a hotel suite ever since. ”
“The kids didn’t sleep in there?” I ask.
“No. They never have. Look at me, Zak.” I raise my eyes to his, not remembering looking away. “Even if that had been a guest room they used frequently, it’s your room now. This is our home. All right? You and me. We live here all the time. We will use the space as best meets our needs. Okay?”
I take a breath and nod. “Yeah. Okay.”
“I love you. So damn much.”
A smile spreads across my face because I simply can’t help it. Whenever he tells me he loves me, I feel so damn giddy. “Love you too.”
“Ready to come meet my family?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
Owen kisses my forehead and then lets me go. He hands me an armload of drinks and smacks my ass to get me moving to the living room. I might have glared, but I love when he touches me anywhere in any way. I especially love the attention he gives my ass. He can smack it all he wants.
Setting the drinks on the table, I sink into the chair with Gravity. Owen follows, adding more drinks to the table and then sits on the floor in front of me, leaning against my legs.
The kids grab drinks. I watch as Destin punctures a hole in the juice pouch for Coraline before getting his own drink. But then everyone is looking at me. Even the littlest girl.
Gravity squeezes my hand.
“So…” Orson says, looking between me and Owen. “How long has this been going on?”
“First of the year,” Owen says.
My heart jumps as I bow my head.
“We met at a party and serendipity or fate or whatever weird shit looks down at us kept making our paths cross in this giant city. I decided I was kidnapping him and bringing him home.”
The thing I love about this story is that it’s entirely true. Every word of it. And yet, it doesn’t at all reveal the parts I’m most embarrassed about. I touch the back of his head, letting my fingers slide into his hair. Owen leans his head back a little.
Feeling braver, I raise my eyes. Most of them are smiling. The kids aren’t.
I took their room.
“I’m new too,” the biggest guy says. He’s a giant. And pink. I instantly adore everything about him. He gives me a shy smile. “It’s scary meeting this many people at once, isn’t it?”
Taking a breath, I nod. “Yeah, a little.”
He gives me a smile. “It’s okay. They’re not at all scary. They’re the sweetest people I’ve ever met.”
His voice is so earnest, his words so genuine that I can’t help the smile that they pull from me. Much less the way every single one of those men turns adoring smiles on him. Like he’s the best thing they’ve ever seen.
Conversation is easier after that. Even the kids warm up.
Jasmine gets super excited about what we changed the guest room to.
Between her and Vulcan, I have a very long conversation about clothes.
Gravity even brings his jacket in from the entry to show everyone the kind of clothes I make.
Thankfully, it’s a piece I actually really like.
Owen pretty much brags about the suits I’m going to make for us, which makes my stomach roll with nerves, but… unlike this morning, I don’t feel dread anymore. I can almost see what I want to do now.
The group leaves around dinner time. They’re going to a medieval show with horses and a tournament where they get to eat their entire meal with their hands. I admit, it sounds like a lot of fun.
When Owen follows them to the door and sees them out, Gravity leans into me. “That one guy is a porn star,” he says, his voice hushed.
I frown at him.
“No, really. I’ve followed his ShareIt account for ages. Look.” He pulls out his phone and taps away until he comes to a feed that… yeah, that looks like Zvi. My eyes widen.
“Do you think they know?” I ask. Because, oh my god!
“Yeah, I’m sure they do. This guy is always very clear about his relationship with his boyfriend and that he has the support of his family.
There were even a few clips a while ago where his mother was there and they had these little skits.
Though I’m not sure they were skits so much as funny conversations about Collin’s chosen profession. ”
“Collin is his name or Zvi?”
Gravity shrugs. “I’m guessing Zvi is his real name. Online, he’s Collin Fox. I’ll see if I can find those clips. Honestly, every gay boy needs a mama like this.”
“I see you found Collin Fox, huh?” Owen’s voice makes me jump and I turn wide eyes on him. He chuckles. “I’m going to make dinner. Enjoy staring at my brother-in-law’s package.”
“They’re married?” I ask.
“No. But I have a feeling that’s only because polyamory isn’t legal in the US. I would prefer to refer to them as my in-laws because it confirms to them that I think of them as family.”
“You’re just… amazing,” I say, momentarily forgetting Gravity is there.
Owen grins. He bends to kiss me. “Any requests for dinner?”
I shake my head. But I sure as fuck have a request for dessert.