Page 40 of Pippin & Nacho

“Same here. It sounds corny, but I feel… complete now.”

“Exactly! That’s how I feel, like something was missing from my life. I was missing your kisses and touch. How could I miss something I never had until now? God, to have your love… no one has ever loved me before. Not my parents, not my foster parents… I’d felt so alone for so long until you came. Conversion therapy tried to break…”

“Shhh, I know. We just need to promise each other that we’ll stick together, no matter what, forever.”

“I promise… forever.”

I pulled Sam back into a sweet and too short of a kiss. “We should go before we’re late.”

We skated the rest of the way to work, holding hands like a vow never to let go.

As Sam got the bar ready for the night, I headed back to the employee lounge to put away our boards and coats. Stone was there doing the same thing when he turned around to face me.

“‘Sup?” he said.

“Hey.” I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the need to thank him for his help the other day. “So, ah, thanks and all for your advice.”

His face turned blotchy red, and he nodded. “Sure.”

“Thanks for what? And why does my boyfriend look like he’s about to incinerate?” Stix asked as soon as he walked in.

“Nothin’,” Stone and I said at the same time and a little too quickly.

Stix raised a brow and folded his arms. “Why do I get the sense you two are hiding something?”

Stone clenched his jaw and looked as if he was trying to climb into his locker to hide. It was one of the funniest things I’d seen in a while. How was this huge man so shy and wanting to cower away from his boyfriend’s irritation? I burst out laughing and shook my head.

“Relax, Stone. I got this.” I shrugged at Stix. “He just helped me out with some advice about Sam. You weren’t at home, so he was sweet enough to help me.”

Stone’s face grew even more red. “I am not sweet.”

Stix snorted a laugh. “Please, beneath all that stone exterior, you’re a marshmallow inside.”

“Anyway, please don’t say anything yet. It’s not a secret, but I don’t want all our friends to overwhelm Sam. I’ll tell them soon. So, ah, Sam and I are… together.”

Stix’s eyes popped out of his head, and his jaw dropped. “Are you fucking kidding me? How? When? What happened? Holy shit… I can’t believe it. Finally! Give me all the fucking deets… stat! And what the hell does Stone have to do with this?”

Stone rolled his eyes and huffed. “Leave them alone, Nico. You don’t need to be such a busybody all the time.”

Stix tsked. “I’d rather die than not get the details. I’ve been waiting forever for this magic to happen.”

“Drama queen,” Stone huffed as he walked out, but he turned with a slight smile on his face and love in his eyes. He could be a hard man, but Stix was right. Stone was a marshmallow when it came to his boyfriend. He loved Stix, flaws and all, which was how love should be.

Stix started bouncing with the energy of a toddler. “Out with it! Now! Need to know!”

“Ugh, it was an embarrassing accident, actually. I… kissed Sam while he was sleeping like some creeper, and not for the first time.” I rubbed the back of my neck as my face heated. “He woke up and caught me, forcing me to tell him the truth. But then…”

“He said he liked you back?”

I looked up at Stix, wide-eyed and still in awe. “Yeah. Exactly.”

“God, you two are the biggest dumbasses. Now, I had no idea Sam felt the same, but shit, if you two had just been honest…”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

Stix rushed at me and pulled me into a hug. “Thank fuck, your dumbass was a creeper. Now, you two can finally get on with loving each other.”

I huffed against him as I held him back. “Truth.”

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