Page 66 of Snapping the Ice
“What, the part about you wanting to get fucked?” Evan chortled and dunked a slice of sushi into his sauce.
“No, well, yeah, but the boyfriend part.” He slid his hand across the table and covered mine. “Ezra, can I call you that? I mean, shit, I think we’re past any dating stages, and I sure don’t want to date anyone else.”
Evan held a new sushi piece to his face and stared at me, then at Lucas. “You’re supposed to do this in private, bro.”
“Ssh.” Lucas hissed at Evan and then focused on me. “Well?”
“Uh, yeah, there’s no one else I want to date.” And hell, look at everything he’d done for me and wanted to take on? I twisted my hand and squeezed his.
“Good.” He freed my hand. “Then tomorrow, we’ll stop by your place and grab enough for you to stay another week.”
The next morning, after breakfast, I waited on Lucas’s bed for him to shower. We’d spent a nice evening in watching an action movie with Evan and then spooned all night in bed after another round of blowjobs. I’d never spent time with any of Tate’s friends like this. Did Tate even have friends? Or maybe he never wanted them around me.
I rolled my phone in my hands. I should call Maddy and give her a quick update. After dialing her number, the phone rang a few times. Maybe she was busy with the kids. It was Sunday, after all.
The call clicked. “Hello? Ezra? Is everything all right?” She panted.
“Yes, I’m fine.” Why was she out of breath? “What are you doing?” I glanced at the window next to the bed, the long black curtains on either side and the bright sunshine beyond.
“I’m at the playground with the kiddos. West just tumbled down the slide, ass over teakettle. I swear, that boy can’t wait for his first broken bone.” She chuckled.
I tipped my head, an ache fluttering through my chest. It would be so nice to go home and see them. I’d never even met them in person. But I knew my sister told them all about me. “Anyway, I’m still at Lucas’s house and we’re…” I smiled as warmth wrapped around my heart. “We’re boyfriends.”
“Damn, boy. You move fast.”
“I know. Is it too fast?” I teased the hem of my tie-died shirt. I craved a splash of color for once. Did Lucas have anything to do with it?
“Nothing’s too fast if you’re ready for it. Are you ready?”
“I am. I think I’ve been waiting for a man like Lucas Hopkins to come along my whole life, Maddy. He’s different. He’s a good man. He’s not love bombing, like Tate did.” I pressed my lips together. “From the start with Tate, I always sensed something untrustworthy beneath the surface. I could never give myself fully to him. I always guarded my heart, no matter what he did.”
“Well, you sure sound different. You sound…happy.” She laughed. “Has Tate left you alone since you filed the order of protection?”
“Not really. Lucas wants me to stay at his place for anotherweek.” I freed a heavy sigh. “And if I see him, I’m going to call the police. At some point, he’s got to stop, right?” I fisted the hem of my shirt. Even if jailed, he would bail himself out and hire the best lawyer. Would I have to face him in court? A knot formed in my gut.
“I think that’s a good plan,” she said. “What jobs have you got this week?”
“I’m editing some wedding photos, and then a few more families with babies are coming in.” I had a pretty full calendar. What would Lucas’s schedule look like? We hadn’t discussed it yet. “I need to take more shots for stock photos, too.” Selling photos on the stock sites didn’t make as much money as individual shoots, but it helped.
“If Tate shows up while a family is in the studio, what will you do?”
“I…I don’t know.” I’d escaped that scenario for now. It would be so embarrassing. “I guess I’d have to tell them the truth and call the cops.” I rubbed my temple. “Hopefully it won’t tarnish my reputation.”
“As long as you give them great photos, I’m sure they’ll forgive it, and I know you can do that.” She chuckled softly.
Stella’s conversation swept through my mind. Shit, I’d almost forgotten. “Maddy, I have something to ask you.”
“Sure.”
“Do you know what PFLAG is?” I tapped my index finger on my thigh and glanced at the closed door to Lucas’s bathroom. The water had shut off, so he would probably be ready soon.
“Uh, no. What is it?”
I inhaled deeply. “It stands for Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. It’s a support group where allies and parents of queer people can meet to talk about their experiences. I thought maybe?—”
“I could go to it with Mom?” she asked. “Hell yes, I’ll drag her ass there.”
With a soft snicker, I said, “No, don’t drag her. If she’s willing, then take her. I’m not sure it’ll help to force her.” Knowing my mom, you didn’t force things on her. She could be stubborn.
