Page 73 of Never Dance with the Devils
Riggs grunts. “Annoyingly so.”
“Are you okay with that?” I search her face for any sign of discomfort, but if she’s uncomfortable, she’strained too well to let it show. Still, I offer, “We can leave if this isn’t what you wanted.”
Kayla’s idea to make a very public appearance surprised me, but I understood her reasoning… once she explained it to me. Hiding away in shame only amplifies that there is something weird or wrong about us, when there’s not. People who are in love go on dates, so that’s what we’re doing, which in turn, lets us control the narrative. But I won’t mind when we can go back to quiet nights at home alone, just the three of us. I think that’s what we all truly prefer.
Or at least, I do. For a guy who has spent most of his life as the lively center of any circle, I find that my favorite moments are when we’ve had dinner and moved to the couch where we snuggle up with Kayla between us while Riggs and I watch a replay of a game and Kayla reads investment proposals or a book, and we talk about everything and nothing. All with the knowledge that the little touches throughout the evening will end with us fucking for hours before collapsing into bed together. No, clearly, now, it’s more than fucking. It’s making love for hours. That’s become the best night I can imagine, so I could be easily swayed to bail on this dinner if she wants.
“I’m fine. And I think Dad was right,” she says, taking a bite of her salmon. “As usual.”
Okay, I can’t hold back my curiosity on that any longer. “How’d your conversation with them go?”
“Shockingly well.” She laughs. “I truly thought Mom was going to be the progressive one who accepted it at face value, and Dad would pull some sort of ‘not my daughter’ act, but it was the complete opposite.” She gives us the rundown of how her afternoon went,informing us that we have a family dinner this weekend to meet everyone, which sounds much less terrifying and a lot more amazing now. What feels best, though, is that after that, she asks about our day.
“I called my parents too,” Riggs tells her. “They’re happy for us.”
A laugh bursts past my lips. “That’s what you’re calling it?Happy for us?” I echo mockingly. Kayla looks at me in confusion. “Tell her what they really said.”
He growls in annoyance but admits, “They were surprised… about you.” He takes a big breath before explaining, “They follow my career closely, which means they know about my reputation with this guy.” He cringes again, the same way he did today when his mother revealed she already knew about the ‘Mad-Trick thing’, as she called it. “Apparently, they thought we were going to figure out that we didn’t need a third person. They were fine with that already, so the three of us being together is just ‘more love to go around’, according to my mom.”
It must be a trick of the candles’ flickering light because there is no way in hell Riggs Patrick is blushing, but I swear his cheeks are going red, and not in anger.
Kayla presses her lips together, trying unsuccessfully to hide her grin. “They sound great.”
“They are,” he admits, somehow sounding grumpy about that fact.
“I talked to my parents too. They want to meet you, but they’re hiking in Utah right now. They asked if you’ll be at the season opener, though?” I want her to say yes. More than anything, I want to hit the ice knowing that the woman we love is up in the crowd, watching us play the game we love.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She slips her hand into mine and then reaches over to take Riggs’s too, smiling at each of us in turn. It’s not for show, for the people watching and gossiping. It’s for us. “We’re doing this, aren’t we?”
“Seems like it,” I agree.
“Fuck yeah, we are,” Riggs growls with a cocky smirk.
“Last night, you sort of said something—” she starts, but then her eyes drop to the table uncertainly.
“I love you.”
Damn it, Riggs beat me to it and now, he’ll always be the one to have said it first. But as I watch Kayla’s head lift, her eyes find his, and the smile bloom on her lips, I’m glad. They have been through more pain than I have ever known, and seeing them take the risk, not only on love, but on us, is a gift I appreciate deeply. “I love you too,” Kayla tells him, her voice steady and sure.
Riggs leans forward, cupping her jaw as he presses a firm kiss to her lips, sealing their words.
As he lets her go, she turns to me. “Yeah, you’re alright, I guess,” I tease with a casual, no big deal shrug that breaks the solemnity of the moment. Thankfully, she laughs.
“You are incorrigible.”
“Psst. Hey, man, that five-dollar word means I’m hot, right?” I whisper to Riggs.
“It means you’re an asshole. Tell her,” he orders me gruffly.
The smile doesn’t leave my face, but more seriously, I say, “I love you too.”
“Yeah, if it’s a buy one, get one free deal, I guess you’ll do as the freebie,” she quips back. I dramaticallymime getting stabbed in the heart and she laughs again. “I love you,” she finally says. “Both of you.”
And we look at each other.
I don’t know how we got from a wild one-night stand to being a throuple in love, but here we are. And Riggs didn’t fuck it up, and I didn’t fuck it up. Or at least, we haven’t yet. And Kayla’s not running anymore.
We’re together.
