Page 15 of Caden & Theo

I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. “Yeah. That part? Still scares the crap out of me.”

He nods, watching me.

“There’s no one out in the league right now. Not a single guy,” I say. “And maybe I’m being selfish, but… I don’t want to be the first. I don’t want that pressure. I just want to play.”

“I get that,” he says, and the way he says it—no hesitation, no judgment—grounds me.

“I want to be honest with you,” I continue, “and maybe one day with the world. But right now? I just want to enjoy being yours without it becoming a statement.”

“Youarea statement,” he says, grinning. “But no, I totally get it.”

“Thanks.”

“Besides,” he adds, tilting his head, “I’m pretty amazing. Being with me is already an achievement. You don’t need to carrytwohistoric milestones.”

I burst out laughing. “Wow. Humble much?”

He shrugs, playful. “Just being honest.”

“Okay, honesty pact,” I say, holding out my pinkie.

He links it with his. “We just be us. No pressure. No trying to be perfect.”

“No trying to be anyone but… us.”

We sit there for a moment, pinkies locked like dorks, smiling like idiots.

Then Theo grins. “Look at us. Having adult conversations. Emotional maturity and everything.”

“We’re basically icons of healthy communication.”

He leans in, brushing his nose against mine. “And we’resohot while doing it.”

I kiss him. Slowly. Sweetly.

Responsibly.

It hits me—like a “light bulb over the head” kind of moment—right after Theo pulls back from our kiss, smiling like he has any idea how in love with him I already am.

I sit up straighter. My chest is buzzing with nerves, but the feeling underneath is something solid. Unshakable. “You know what?” I say, voice low but sure. “Now’s as good a time as any.”

Theo turns to me, eyebrows raised. “For what? Another round of emotional maturity?”

I glance toward the window, where the lawnmower’s finally gone quiet. “My mom just finished mowing. Dad’s probably downstairs pretending his spice rack is a tactical mission. We could tell them. Today.”

Theo sits up, too, his playful smirk fading into something wide-eyed and cautious. “Wait.Nownow?”

“Yeah.” My heart’s thudding hard enough that I feel it in my throat, but the word tastes right in my mouth. “We’ve already talked through it. And I don’t want to keep… hiding. Not from them. Not from anyone, ideally, but I know that’s not possible. Not right now.”

He nods slowly, like he’s scrutinizing each emotion as it passes through him. “Okay… wow. That’s big.”

I nod back. But part of me is still trembling, somewhere behind my ribs. The part that’s lived half in the shadows, even in the open. The part that’s learned to stay smaller, quieter. Keep people guessing. Let them assume. Especially when you’re a young Black kid with a basketball scholarship.

And hell, that’s only been for a couple of weeks, and the months before when I’ve been stumbling over my confusion.

But this? This is mine.

I glance at Theo, then take a breath. “Actually… what if we did a two-for-one?”