Page 55 of Where the River Meets the Skye

River narrowed his eyes and stuck out his tongue. “Fine, I’ll never make anything for you again.”

Skye grinned. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you.” He slid his arm around River’s waist and pulled him close enough that their bodies were pressed together, River’s hands resting on his chest. His smile widened. “Now, kiss me, and get out of my kitchen.”

River grinned, and obeyed, slapping Skye on the ass on his way out.

CHAPTER 26

Skye

“Hey, River?” Skye said, when he got home from work a couple of weeks later. He’d stayed later for parent teacher conferences so he was home a few minutes after River usually was.

“In the kitchen,” River called back. “And don’t worry, I didn’t cook,” he added with a smirk when Skye entered.

“Take out,” Skye said.

“Yeah, I figured you’d be pretty beat today and I didn’t want you to have to cook. And since I’ve been banned from the kitchen…”

“It’s for everyone’s safety, angel,” Skye said with a grin, stroking River’s back and planting a kiss on his temple. “Thank you.”

River kissed him and smiled. “How was work?” he asked as he dished their food and handed Skye his plate.

“Good,” Skye said, taking a bite of food. “A couple of them came to talk to me at the end of the day, and they had a really sweet idea, but they wanted to run it by me first, and I said I would talk to you.”

“Oh,” River said, his curiosity piqued. “What is it?”

Skye swallowed his food and then spoke again. “They want to throw a wedding reception for us at the school.”

River’s eyes went wide. “Really? Wow. That’s really sweet of them. These are sixth graders?”

Skye nodded. “It was all their idea. They said they ran it by Mr. Richards already, so if we’re up for it, they wanna do it. We can invite whoever we want.”

River smiled. “Your students really like you, Skye. That’s special. You’re really making a difference in their lives.”

Skye shrugged.

“Come on, Skye, give yourself some credit. They found out you got married and want to give you a party. Students don’t do that for just any teacher. You’re special.”

“Either that or it’s an excuse to meet you,” Skye said with a grin. “The cute boyfriend with the flowers.”

“What?” River said, tilting his head to the side.

“That’s how they refer to you.”

River chuckled. “Oh, right. Valentine’s Day. Well, either way, we’re gonna do it, right? I’d like to meet your students. And I’m sure Jenna and Nick would like to come, and we could invite your mom, and Jaden and Chloe. I don’t know if they’d be able to make it, but…”

“No, we definitely should,” Skye said. “My coworkers too, although I haven’t really come out at work yet, River. So far the only ones who know I am gay are Mr. Richards and this one class. If we announce this, the cat’s really gonna be out of the bag.”

“Is that okay?” River asked. “I mean, I’ve been talking about my boyfriend slash husband for months now at work so everyone there already knows, but if you aren’t ready, it’s a much bigger populace for you, Skye. An entire school. I’d understand. I think your students would too.”

Skye took a deep breath and let it out, running his fingers through his hair. “I want to do it, River. For us, and for my students. If I back out because I’m afraid or nervous about what other people will think, then I’m teaching all of the other queer students to do the same thing. And that’s not the message that I want to send them. I want them to love who they are, and be proud of who they are. And if this—if we—can help them do that, I think we should.”

River smiled and closed the space between them with a kiss. “You’re amazing, Skyler Mckenzie,” he said. “I love you.”

River beamed when they walked into the school gymnasium the following weekend and saw it decorated with balloons and streamers, tables laid out with punch bowls and desserts, and Taylor Swift’s Love Story playing in the background.

“Wow, they really went all out,” he said, looking around, his hand clasped with Skye’s.

They had arrived a few minutes before the rest of the crowd was scheduled to show up and were the only ones there at the moment. And Skye took the opportunity to steal a kiss from his husband.

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