Page 61 of Fate in Motion
Carter’s eyes go wide with surprise, but not with anger. “Holy shit! I haven’t seen those guys since I was traded.”
“Do you still talk to them?” I ask. “You bring them up sometimes, but we don’t really talk about your old team.”
“I’m still close with them,” he says. “They’re probably my best guy friends, besides Marcus. And now Josh Miller. Even Paul’s creeping up there. It’ll be great to catch up with those two.”
I hesitate. “Should I be your friend tomorrow? One of your brother’s friends?”
Before I can look up, Carter grabs my thigh, cups the back of my neck, and kisses me.
“You’ll be my boyfriend tomorrow,” he says. “I’m sick of caring what people think. And those two are my boys. They’ll be fine, or at least they will get over it quickly.”
“How do you know?” I mumble.
“I just do,” he says. “I played with them for three full years. They’ve always had my back. No homophobic crap. They’ll love you, and they’ll love me for who I am.”
I pull him in for another kiss. “I fucking love you. Also, I love your family.”
Carter grins. “Okay, be honest. What’d you think of my mom’s cooking, now that she’s not here?”
“I wasn’t lying. It’s amazing.”
He beams, and I go on. “Seriously. Your dad’s a sweetheart. Your mom’s hilarious. I’m so jealous you grew up with parents like them.”
“I know,” he says. “I take them for granted sometimes. But they’ve always had my back. Even my brothers have always been there for me.”
I nod slowly. “Okay, one more thing. My God, I cannot keep secrets from you. Your mom’s planning to talk to you tomorrow…about coming out.”
Carter sighs. “Yeah. I had a feeling. She tried earlier, but I cut her off. That’s typical mom for ya.”
“Just hear her out,” I say. “She’s got wisdom.”
“Oh, I know. But she also thinks she knows what’s best for everyone.”
We both laugh in agreement, then head to the hallway bathroom. After our regular, quick five-minute routine, which consists of brushing our teeth, washing our faces, and loading our faces with CeraVe nighttime moisturizer, we change into pajamas and climb into bed.
We look at each other and say “I love you” at the exact same time.
Carter claps twice, and the lights click off.
I can’t help but laugh. Of course, Carter has clap-activated lights. He is so lazy, but I love it.
He smirks, then closes his eyes and passes out.
I watch him for a moment, heart happy. I’m nervous for tomorrow, but mostly, I just feel happy. His family accepted me completely. I feel at home here, and it’s only been a few hours. I feel like I belong here. I doze off to the sound of cicadas outside, thinking about the excitement of tomorrow.
Carter
It’s 10 a.m. when I slowly open my eyes, the sun beaming directly on my face. It’s blinding, which is one of the reasons I’ve always hated this room. It gets full sun every morning, and I get blasted with intense sunshine. Now that I’m older, I know I should’ve gotten blackout curtains, but when I was a kid, my parents just assumed I’d be fine or eventually get over it.
I squint through the light and look over at Nate, still fast asleep, which surprises me since the sun’s smacking him in the face, too. But then I remember…the eye mask. That damn eye mask he wears every night. One point for Nate, zero for me. He’s always told me to get one, but I can’t stand the rough fabric on my face. I like to sleep with my face totally free.
I lean over and kiss him softly on the lips, which startles him awake.
“What was that?” he mumbles, blinking, and then sees me and relaxes. “What time is it? I passed the fuck out.”
“It’s ten. We slept in and it was amazing,” I say.
Nate stretches and groans, “Right? And I didn’t even get up once to pee.”
