Page 62 of Atlas & Miles
I’d heard some of my customers excitedly chattering about this game over the past few weeks. I was a sports guy, so I got it, though basketball had never really been my thing. But I had to admit that pitting the current varsity team against the alumni was a stroke of genius. I wondered idly if it had been Vanessa’s idea or the brainchild of the former student body president, Justin Kirkwood. They were the ones who’d organized this whole weekend, after all.
Atlas stopped before we could step inside and turned to me in the empty hallway, dropping my hand. “I’m so proud of you, baby boy. That was a huge step. But this . . . it’s okay if you want to take it slow.”
I was shaking my head before he finished talking. “No. I’ve taken this step out of the closet—it’s time to shut the door behind me.”
He leaned in this time, but his kiss was chaste. Thank fuck for that; I wanted to walk into the gym with his hand in mine in front of everyone. I didn’t need a boner to make it salacious.
Atlas’s eyebrow quirked as if he could read my mind, and I blushed but shoved my hand between us, silently asking for his. With a sweet smile that would’ve melted my panties right off—had I been wearing panties, that is—he slid his hand into mine and opened the door.
We stepped into the room, and to my surprise, despite the pounding in my chest, nothing seemed any different at all. The crowd didn’t react, we couldn’t hear a pin drop, no one gasped. Cheers, shouts, and loud conversations swirled around us as the announcer started introducing the players. It was just . . . normal. A non-issue.
Why hadn’t I done this before?
Oh, I wasn’t naïve. Bigoted people were everywhere, and I was certain I’d get my fair share of vitriol at some point. But right now, I was holding my partner’s hand in front of our former classmates and half the town—I even saw Theo on the edge of the court in a referee’s uniform—and the world didn’t end. Everything was fine.Wewere fine.
And I felt like I could fly.
We waved at Brad, Finn, and their friend, Chloe—I’d met Finn and Chloe briefly last night at the after-party—before taking an empty seat on a bench several rows in front of them. All three flashed a grin at our joined hands before we sat down, and my chest warmed in the best way. I hadn’t expected to feel so peaceful. I hadn’t expected this to feel so right.
The game started soon after, and despite my wallflower tendencies, I found myself joining in the hilarious cheers coming from Brad, Finn, and Chloe above us in the stands before the alumni won the game.
“How about some lunch, baby?” Atlas shouted in my ear as everyone was making their way out of the gym, and I nodded to avoid yelling over the din. He grabbed my hand and guided us through the crowd, every inch the Daddy he was. I was swooning by the time we made it outside and beelined to the food trucks set up for the occasion.
The afternoon went by quickly, and I even managed smiles during the group photo and the selfies Atlas had us take to mark the occasion. I knew I’d be printing at least one of them out and putting them in pride of place in my living room, maybe another on my fridge. Even if him leaving broke my heart—which had started already—I was going to remember him, be grateful for the time we had together.
I sniffed away a tear as I watched Atlas flitting around the lawn, getting almost every member of the senior class to sign his yearbook. I’d begged off after I’d managed to collect signatures and notes from my friends—or perhaps more accurately, acquaintances with a few exceptions—on the football and swim teams and was now leaning against the trunk of a good-sized oak tree, cooling down in the shade.
“Hey, Miles.” Reece’s voice made me freeze, and ice ran through my veins. I hadn’t seen him since registration yesterday, and I was no closer to discovering if he was just as homophobic as he’d been twenty years ago.
I schooled my features before I turned his way. “Hey, Reece,” I offered, my tone as neutral as I could manage.
“I’m so glad I saw you again! I wanted to catch up with you.” He stood next to me, turning to follow my gaze. “I saw you at the game. You and . . . was that Atlas St. James?”
I gritted my teeth, staring straight ahead. Was this gonna be my first hateful conversation with a bigot? Made sense it would happen with Reece, actually.
But I wasn’t backing down now. Atlas was my partner, my Daddy, and I was fucking proud of that.
So I took a deep breath, steeling myself for his reaction. “Yes, Atlas and I are together.”
The split second before he responded felt like an eternity. “Well, way to go. He—wait, is that his, shit,theircorrect pronoun?”
I’d have been chuckling if I wasn’t gaping at him. Spinning to face him, I noticed the genuine interest on his face, and the tension in my shoulders lessened. “He/him for now.”
Reece raised an eyebrow at that, but I didn’t detect any judgment in the gesture, just acceptance with a bit of curiosity. Fuck, I was more grateful for that than I’d expected. “He. Well, he’s quite a catch.” He grinned at me, and I finally relaxed enough to huff out a laugh.
“That he is, Reece.”
The silence this time was a bit longer but still comfortable. “I’m really happy for you, Miles.” His voice was quieter, almost contemplative. “What else have you been up to?”
I gave him the short version of the nature of my business, and he seemed interested to learn about my boring-ass life. Then I asked about him.
“I’m doing great, actually. I was accepted at a university in the UK and fell in love with the place, so I stayed and have lived there ever since. I went into engineering and started a company with a good friend I met at uni.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Impressive.”
He smiled at me, but I thought he looked a bit sheepish. “Thanks. It’s been a good business, keeps us busy.”
I nodded, but when he didn’t say any more, I thought I should keep the conversation going. I was grateful he’d been so kind about my coming out. Cloudy had been on my ass for years about making friends, and maybe this was how I started:showing a genuine interest in someone, even if it was surface level. I probably would never see Reece again, but this was good practice, at the very least.
