Page 101 of The Quarterback
Colton choked. He coughed, his coffee going down the wrong pipe. “Wedding?”
“Wes proposed. For real this time.” Justin grinned. “With more than just a football.”
Both of their gazes went to Justin’s hands. His ring fingers were bare.
“We’re saving the rings for the wedding. I’ll put his ring on the day I marry him.” His eyes glittered, something deep passing through his gaze.
“Of course, I’d love to help,” Nick said. “I’ll help with anything you want.”
“Okay, first, we need to pick a color scheme. I was thinking cocoa brown and ballet pink—”
“Aren’t weddings white?”
“Dad.” Justin glared over the rim of his coffee cup. He rolled his eyes to Colton. “You’re going to have to deal with this, you know.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you! You’re signing up for thiswholepackage.” Justin waved his hand toward his dad as he drawled out thewhole. He smiled, though, softening his words, and winked at Nick. “I was also thinking about mahogany and buttercup yellow. I might like that better than ballet pink.” He tapped a finger on his chin. “Decisions, decisions.”
“I like that one,” Colton said. “I think a soft yellow would look nice.”
“Colton.” Justin looked him dead in the eye. “You know Wes. You know he’s even worse than my dad is. If the color doesn’t come from a Crayola box, neither Dad nor Wes knows it exists, so you and I might end up planning this entire wedding together.”
He grinned. “I’m down for that.”
Justin smiled and set his empty coffee cup in the sink. “Well, I’ve got to go rouse my fiancé from the dead. He slept in your bed last night, Colton, and I fear I may never pry him out of there. You splurged on that mattress as part of your degree program, and Wes has always been jealous.”
“You guys can move into my room if you want. I think I’m going to be staying here for a while.” He turned his face up to Nick, arching his brow.
“Please move back in.” Nick threaded their fingers together on the countertop. “It didn’t feel like home until you were here.”
“Admit it,” he teased. “You really just want the PlayStation back.”
Nick kissed him. “I wantyouback. I’ll accept the PlayStation. But we need to get a stand or something for it so it’s not on the floor. The cables were everywhere.”
“I need to bring over my charging footrest, too. I bet you’ll love it. It’s ergonomic.”
“Oooo-kay,” Justin said. His gaze went from their joined hands to their brushing noses, their mirrored smiles. “It’s time for me to head out.” He dropped a kiss on his dad’s cheek and laid his hand over their joined ones, squeezing once, lightning fast. “I’ve got dance rehearsal this afternoon, Dad, but I’ll be at the stadium for the last half of practice. Want to meet there?”
“I could come to your rehearsal, and then we could go to the stadium together?”
Justin’s cheeks flushed. His eyes darted to Colton, then skittered away. “You sure?”
“Yes.” Nick squeezed Colton’s hand. Colton smiled. Nick was both Justin’s father and Colton’s lover, and it worked.
“Cool.” Justin shrugged, trying for nonchalance. His eyes gleamed, though, and he couldn’t quite smother the smile breaking through his cool façade. With him, there was a lot of noise, but Colton had learned it was more the quiet moments, and what Justin did rather than what he said, that spoke to what he was really thinking and feeling. He’d talked a big game when he moved into the jock house, but he’d also jumped into cooking dinner and joining the study sessions, becoming one of them almost overnight.
He’d stayed to make coffee and say good morning to Colton, too.
“Sounds good, Dad. I’ll see you guys later.”
After Justin left, Colton leaned into Nick, resting his cheek over his beating heart. Nick kissed the top of his head. “Can we go check you out of that motel today? I want to bring you home.”
He nuzzled Nick’s neck. Smiled so hard his cheeks ached. “Yeah. Coming home sounds awesome.”
Epilogue
Tuxedos and tablecloths,again.
