Page 39 of Boy Toy Not Included

Kuba smiled and shook her hand. “I’m Kuba, Diesel’s boyfriend.”

The pride that slammed into Diesel nearly took him off his feet. That was right. Kuba was his.

Nova took Tory’s hand. The pair beamed. Nova nodded toward the restaurant. “We should probably head inside. It’s hot as hell out today.”

Diesel dipped his chin and motioned toward the door. “Ladies first.”

Kuba fell into step beside him as they made their way inside. He tried to ignore the way people pulled out their phones the moment they stepped inside. Kuba subtly shifted closer, as if proud to be with Diesel while people openly took photos and videos. A hint of nervousness set in. He hoped Kuba didn’t bolt over so many eyes on them. They had just gotten back together, and this was the first real test.

“It’s going to be about a twenty-minute wait. Are you okay with that? Or would you rather go somewhere else?” Tory’s question pulled Diesel from his growing worry. He glanced Kuba’s way.

Kuba shrugged. “We’re here.”

As a group, they shuffled toward the corner to get out of the way of the door.

Diesel leaned against the wall. “I guess we should’ve come in and secured a table when we got here.”

Kuba leaned his shoulder against Diesel’s chest like he was the wall. Diesel automatically wrapped his arms around Kuba’s waist.

Nova shrugged. “It’s no big deal. Unless you’re in a rush?”

“Nah. We don’t have anything else planned for the day,” Kuba answered for them both.

Tory smiled. “Good, us either.”

Diesel was curious as hell about her. “What do you do for a living? I don’t think Mom’s ever said.” He hated to start with that question, but he didn’t know what else to talk about.

“I’m a pediatrician. Your mom tells me you are a bodyguard and you’ve worked for some pretty famous names. Anyone I might know?”

Kuba and Diesel laughed.

Diesel couldn’t stop smiling as he responded. “Well, this one.” He pointed at Kuba.

Tory’s gaze moved to Kuba. “Oh. Nova said you were some sort of fighter or something.”

Diesel answered for him. “He’s the MMA middleweight champion.”

Her eyes widened. “Whoa. That’s amazing. You must’ve worked really hard to achieve that.”

Before Kuba could respond, a guy appeared from nowhere. “Could I get a selfie?”

Kuba straightened away from Diesel. “Sure.” They shook hands and exchanged a few pleasantries. Kuba leaned closer to the guy and smiled while pictures were snapped.

“Can we get one with your bodyguard too?”

Kuba looked his way with his eyebrows raised.

Diesel shrugged. “Sure.”

They got a few pics with the man between them. His mom took a few with the guy’s phone to get a better picture. She passed the phone back.

“Thanks. I really appreciate that. You guys have no idea how excited everyone was at Dugouts when the news broke you’re a couple. We don’t have enough representation in pro sports. Your willingness to be open will help a lot of people feel less alone, and maybe we’ll see more athletes do the same.”

Diesel was moved and taken aback. Dugouts was a sports bar in the gayborhood that was always packed. Diesel had been there once on a date. The place had been too loud for him, but lotsof big games and fights had watch parties there. It sounded like Kuba’s fight had been one.

Kuba looked as if he took every word to heart. “I’d love to see it. People shouldn’t have to live in fear.”

They shook hands again as their name was called for their table. Kuba took his hand as they made their way to the back. Diesel fought a smile at the sight of Kuba in front of him with his hand behind his back, refusing to release Diesel’s hand. He swore Kuba stood a little taller and held himself with pride. It was obvious he had needed exactly that to happen. There were people out there who felt alone, unseen, and unrepresented. It was important that teens saw being gay wouldn’t stop them in life, no matter how big their dreams were. Part of the reason Diesel had always been out and proud as an adult was due to all the major celebrities he had worked with who had paved the way for people like Kuba. His career would be fine.