Page 67 of The Jock
God, he loved Colby right back. Loved him with an intensity that terrified him. But as scared as Milo was of loving Colby, and all that meant for him, of the risk it was to his heart to give it away again, he knew it was safe with Colby. Colby was infuriatingly perfect. Okay, so maybe he was a bed hog, andmaybe he sometimes wasn’t the best at not putting himself dead last, and maybe there were ten other things Milo could list off that should make him seem less perfect, but that only made him seem more real. Like he wasn’t too good to be true.
Milo combed his fingers through Colby’s hair, doing his best to tidy it so it wouldn’t be as obvious what they’d been up to.
“I love you too, you know.” Milo wanted to tell him all the ways he felt. That he loved him so much it scared him. That he loved him so much that fear didn’t matter.
Colby’s eyes went soft and sort of wet, and he kissed Milo with a trembling tenderness that had him clinging to Colby as though his life depended on it. The kiss was deep and urgent in a way that had nothing to do with sex. When it ended, Colby rested his forehead against Milo’s.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” Colby whispered. “But I didn’t think I could be this happy.”
“Oh, Colby,” Milo said.
Anything else Milo might have wanted to say was cut off when the door swung open and Starla Bright came in, Gino trailing after her.
“Come on, you two. We managed to keep everyone from coming back here and swarming you.” Starla reached for Milo and helped him to his feet. “But your adoring fans await.”
Milo looked at the heels he’d chosen and sighed dramatically before stepping into them.
Colby levered himself up off the floor and took Milo’s hand. He laced their fingers together and pulled Milo close. “If your feet get too sore, I can carry you.”
Milo was half tempted to sling an arm around Colby’s neck and demand that he make good on that, but they still had to get through the rest of the night.
“First round of drinks is on me,” Gino said to Milo. He smiled in a way that said all the things his mouth didn’t. Milo knew Ginowas sorry about how he’d acted when he was worried about Milo. The offer of drinks was clearly an apology for misjudging Colby and jumping to conclusions.
“Lead the way.” Milo pulled his shoulders back and followed Gino and Starla out of the cramped dressing room and back into the club. He had forgotten there were more acts after his and he’d been so wrapped up in Colby that he hadn’t even noticed the music, but it all came rushing at him at once. The sound and the lights and the way everyone turned to look at him when he made his entrance.
Starla and Gino had timed his return for a lull between acts and the crowd roared to life. Milo used to perform there all the time and the crowd had always been kind to him. Eager to hype everyone up, it had been a good place for Milo to be when he’d needed to find himself.
Milo tucked himself closer to Colby. The one advantage of the heels, besides making his legs look fan-fucking-tastic, was that Milo was slightly taller than Colby now.
“Thank you for being here.” Milo whispered into Colby’s ear. Colby squeezed his hand.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else. Come on, the family is dying to congratulate you.” Colby led Milo through the crowd and over to the table where his dad and brothers sat. Not surprisingly, Taylor was the first to his feet and he came at Milo with the speed of lightning. He threw his arms around Milo with no regard for his brother whatsoever.
“You were so good.” Taylor squeezed him tighter. “Absolutely brilliant.”
Taylor pulled back, but didn’t completely release his hold on Milo. He looped an arm through Milo’s other one, the one Colby wasn’t attached to. “Sit next to me.”
Taylor took his seat and pulled Milo down into the one next to him. Colby took a chair on Milo’s other side.
And then everyone was congratulating him and telling him how great he was and how great he’d looked up there and how much the crowd loved him. And through it all, Colby held tight to his hand, never letting go, not for a moment.
Even Colby’s dad had come to see him perform. He was so not out of place somehow that Milo hadn’t even notice him at first. Then Ethan stood and peeled off a few bills, handing them over to Jonah.
“You kids have fun.” Ethan patted Jonah on the shoulder and then left the table. But instead of heading right for the door, he came over to where Milo was sitting. “You look beautiful tonight. I hope I’ll see you Sunday morning for breakfast.”
He cut his gaze over to Colby, who finally let go of Milo’s sweaty hand and wrapped his arm around Milo’s shoulders instead.“We’ll be there.”
Milo suddenly didn’t want to be in the club anymore. He wanted to be sitting around a fire with the sound of a guitar filling the air. He wanted to listen to old music he didn’t recognize and the crackling of the fire. The laughter of the people he’d started to think of as family, who’d never treated him as anything else. The people who’d been kinder and more accepting than his own relatives.
Milo leaned against Colby and wondered how long he’d have to stay. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to do drag anymore—it was that the whole night he’d waited for the other shoe to drop, but there wasn’t anything he should’ve been worried about. Colby wasn’t Neville. He wouldn’t suddenly switch off and decide that Milo shouldn’t perform or dress a certain way. He wouldn’t whine and belittle him when Milo resisted change.
“I’m almost shocked my ex didn’t make an appearance tonight to ruin everything,” Milo said. Colby’s arm tightened around his shoulders.
“Oh, but he did.” Starla beamed, stirring her drink. “Well, he tried, but he couldn’t get in the doors. Turns out someone had him banned. And then Gino here went outside to deal with him and told him that he has friends on the force, and that if he doesn’t leave you alone, he won’t be able to sneeze without getting pulled over.”
“You didn’t!” Milo sat wide-eyed and Gino shrugged, all but confirming everything. “You don’t have friends on the force, you little liar.” Milo laughed and went slack against Colby’s side.
“He doesn’t know that.”
