AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He’d somehow picked up on it though. A stolen kiss on a hiking trail? An arm that lingered too long? Hell, it didn’t even matter how Mikey had figured it out, because now he had the bigger problem on his hands of how to talk about this with his kids.
He’d have to come out to them.
He’d have to explain that sometimes people dated, but it wasn’t serious.
And that made it sound like this was all about sex, which it kind of was, but that wasn’t what his kids would think and…
Dana answered first. “Of course he is, stupid.”
James snapped back reflexively. “Don’t call your brother stupid.”
But then he didn’t know what to say.
Dana—aaaaah, Juniper—rolled their eyes at him. “Fine. But he is your boyfriend, right? You’re gonna date him for a while, and take us to museums and stuff, and then you’ll get married?”
Where was this narrative coming from?
“That’s what Mia’s parents did,” Juniper continued, answering the question for him. “Her dad got a new girlfriend, and then her mom got a new girlfriend, and they went to the aquarium and the trampoline park and the zoo and the mall, and now she has three moms and a dad, but they live in two houses, like a mom and a mom, and a mom and a dad.”
Sweet Jesus. But, uh, at least now he knew another family that had been divorced and had queer parents? He only had one of Mia’s moms in his contacts for playdates, and he didn’t even know which one it was.
It sounded like his kids were both cool with the gay thing though. Maybe they didn’t even realize it was a thing. He’d tried to make sure they knew families could look a lot of different ways, but he hadn’t known until right now that it had actually worked. His kids had just… accepted all of it, like it wasn’t even a concern.
Elio’s Pokémon and singing skills had probably helped quite a bit.
“It’s okay if we don’t go to the trampoline park,” Juniper advised. “I know you said Skyler’s birthday party was too wild. We can just go camping a lot. But I think Mikey would like the aquarium.”
“Yes! I want to go to the aquarium,” Mikey jumped in. “With Elio.” He gave his father a considering look. “And you. That’s how we make a new family?” He looked at his sibling for confirmation.
“Only if everybody likes it,” Juniper explained, with all the wisdom of a tween.
James looked at Elio helplessly.
Elio gave him an inquiring look—one of those natural you want me to handle this one? looks that parents usually shared—and James gave him a grateful nod.
“Your dad and I would have to talk about a lot of things first. But I’ll tell you right now, I really like you guys a lot. And I think we could manage a trip to the aquarium some time, if your dad says it’s okay.”
Good. That was good. Elio had this under control. One aquarium trip wasn’t an overcommitment.
“I also really like your daddy a lot.” Elio picked up James’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “But we would have to see how things work out for us before we commit to anything else.” He pulled their hands up and pressed a gentle kiss against James’s knuckles. His eyes held that same soft glow that they always had after sex, when he was being soppy and adoring.
But now it was very, very real.
James felt like his heart was about to burst.
He knew Elio too well to imagine that he would offer something like this to the children if he wasn’t serious about it himself.
Elio really wanted this. A relationship. James.
Inexplicably, Elio wanted him, and James couldn’t even figure out why.
But he was smart enough to take what was offered to him. Elio was… everything he hadn’t even dared to look for. Boyfriend. Dom. Maybe one day, partner and co-parent.
James couldn’t form words, but he nodded his head.
“That’s a yes?” Elio asked. His lips showed a smirk, but his eyes were almost shy, and he was clutching James’s hand tightly. Elio was actually nervous.
James gathered up his courage. This was crazy, but all he could feel was elation. “Yes. I’d like to see where this goes.”
