Page 32

jt

2 years later

H e’s still not here and I am getting anxious as the time ticks down to the start of what will be my last game with the Eastern Grey’s. Trey’s too for that matter and all our family are out in full force for tonight. Although that is completely standard at any of the Grey’s games where the Sterling/Dayton representation is notoriously strong. And loud.

Uncle Alec and Aunt Billie are here, in deep discussion with Dad about something while Mum chats with Grandpa, and Benji and Abbie squabble with Bethany and Archie.

“Quit worrying. He’ll be here,” Trey says with just a little bit of sass as I miss the pass on our warmup drill again. “When has he ever missed a game?”

“Well, never,” I concede, still not able to stop my eyes from drifting to the entryway.

Coach Vizard calls us in, and Trey and I jog to the bench, ready for his pre-match pep talk. Oh yeah, that one was a nice surprise when Trey and I turned up for our first day of training with Eastern Grey’s two years ago. Turned out we weren’t the only ones being scouted by the club and Coach has now been here as long as we have. There have been a few loud (and generally substantiated) rumours that Coach flat out refused to sign on unless the Grey’s signed both me and Trey up together. Something neither us nor the club we have had some incredible success with these past two years is regretting.

Oh and yeah, I am still Coach’s favourite.

It will be sad parting ways with Coach after tonight’s game, but I know how happy he is for the both of us to have been recruited into the national NBL comp which is my actual dream come true.

I managed to stack on that extra inch of height in the past two years to put me just over six foot. Sadly, Quinn still pips me by a centimetre or two, but I still love him anyway.

I was lucky enough to sign with one of the two local NBL clubs in our city here which I’m over the moon about. I told the club about Quinn at our first meeting, mostly to test the waters, but also because I have nothing to hide. The talk went well though and we’ve since been in discussions about my role in next season’s pride round as I’m the first openly gay player on their list. I’m not the first in the league though which is encouraging.

Sadly for me, the Double Trouble is being split up as Trey is heading up north. Not going to lie, I am quietly devastated. Devastated enough to have shed a few tears when I heard the news, but Quinn wrapped me up in a nice, warm cuddle and then comforted me in ways only he is allowed. I’m hoping that down the track my new team will realise how good the Sterlings are together, and we can work to bring him back home.

The pregame clock ticks down to the last minute and that is when my eyes alight on the man I’ve been waiting for as Quinn steps into the stadium, Gran at his side wheeling her mobility aid. Gran has not missed a single home game in my entire Grey’s career. Amy is always here too whenever her shifts allow, and they are the absolute best family and supporters I could have wished for.

As per standard, Quinn looks way too classy for a sweaty sports stadium, stepping out in his grey woollen coat, black pants and a navy knit. Damn my man’s sexy.

I knew he was going to be late because he had moot court this afternoon and then had to dash over to pick up Gran. I’ve been to watch Quinn at moot court a few times now when my schedule permits and let me just say that watching my boyfriend stand up in front of a pretend court and tear the opposition’s arguments to shreds gets me hard. Very hard indeed.

Beside him, Gran is sporting the Grey’s team bomber jacket with the matching scarf wrapped around her neck. She gives me an enormous wave as she squeezes into the seat saved for her in the front row right alongside my grandma, Quinn on her other side.

Oh yes, now that is a friendship for the ages, Gran Dayton and Grandma Sterling. Speaking of double trouble, I’m pretty certain those two are giving me and Trey a run for our money for that moniker. They’re the absolute best of friends as I watch Grandma pass Gran a set of team pompoms which the cheer squad always save for them.

Honestly, the two of them are such a hoot with their savage commentary but they dish out as much shade on our team as they do the opposition. Just last week I missed an easy jump shot and from the front row came a sweet old voice saying, ‘ Should have gone to Specsavers’ .

The sweetness is an absolute facade, but they do have their useful moments too. It never ceases to amaze how often getting perved on by a pair of octogenarians puts a guy off his game.

“Stop making eyes at your man and listen for five seconds,” Trey eyerolls, knocking me with his elbow. I just grin and lean in closer. Lucky I’m still Coach’s favourite. Only I get away with making eyes at my boyfriend instead of focusing on every one of his words.

Quinn shoots me a wink and my stomach swoops as it always does in his vicinity. Although today I have more reason to be nervous than usual. I have something to talk to him about tonight and I’m more nervous about that than I am about the last game of my NBL1 career.

We celebrate our last win at a restaurant that Uncle Alec booked out for our team and supporters. Gran and Grandma are sitting huddled together nursing glasses with amber liquid that look suspiciously like Jack Daniel’s, no doubt in deep cahoots. Uncle Alec is laughing with a group of my friends from my church’s rainbow network who have come out for my last game. Dad is in some kind of serious discussion with Coach Vizard while Trey is looking mighty cosy with one of the girls from the cheer squad. Part of me wants to warn her she’ll be one of his many one-and-dones but the way she’s looking at him tells me she won’t mind too much.

Some things never change. And nor should they as I share a look with my boyfriend and know exactly what he’s thinking with those sparkling blue eyes of his. The ones I still frequently get lost in.

I grin as I reach out to take his hand and he threads his fingers through mine. I squeeze his hand once and we share a knowing smile. We slip out towards the door, eager to get home where we can be alone. Well, back to the home he still lives in with Amy but home all the same. It’s where I spend more than half my time so it’s practically my home these days too.

Which is precisely what I want to talk to Quinn about tonight.

But Quinn seems to have other ideas about tonight and instead of beelining for the car he tugs on my hand and pulls me in the other direction. It’s a cool night and the breeze is brisk, but I am still warm from the game not to mention the sizzling hot man at my side. The restaurant is on the boulevard right on the seafront and Quinn threads our fingers together as we wander down the boardwalk.

It's not all that often we get a chance to just be in the moment like this with our busy schedules and it’s nice to just walk with my boyfriend. The night air is salty from the ocean and there is a slight mist in the atmosphere which will no doubt send my curls crazy.

We reach a quiet lookout where the sea cliff drops dramatically to the beach below, the crash of the waves against the rock a steady soundtrack to the night. I lean against the railing, Quinn at my back providing all the warmth I will ever need. He’s always made me feel warm and loved, always provided me my safe place, and I relish the feel of his body against my back.

The cloudy night sky ensures there is not a whole lot to see from the lookout but the good thing about that is that we are secluded here, away from prying eyes for the moment. Quinn takes the opportunity to press soft kisses up my neck, instantly awakening the desire I have for him that always sits very close to the surface. Always buzzing away.

His other hand snakes up under my top to touch my smooth skin and I suddenly forget everything I wanted to talk to him about.

“Damn, Jethro,” Quinn murmurs contentedly. “This body.” Yeah, I spend a lot of time at the gym these days and I think my man quite likes the six pack and extra definition to my body. In fact, I know he likes it because he’s borderline obsessed with touching me.

“Mmm,” I murmur, knocking my head to the side as he kisses up my neck. “You’re making me forget what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“You want to talk?”

“Yes, but you’re kind of addling my brain a bit there,” I chuff.

“Want me to stop?” There’s a tease there in his voice.

“Yes? No?”

Quinn chuckles, his breath warm and ticklish on my neck. “Okay, let’s talk.” He withdraws his hand from tracing my abs, and I turn so that I’m leaning my back against the railing, Quinn in the space right between my legs. His dark hair has fallen across his blue eyes, and I get momentarily lost in him again. This is not unusual. He is still the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

“Go ahead, babe,” he says, crooked smile out in full force. “Talk.”

I let out a huff of air, trying to pull my thoughts back together. This is actually serious.

“So, my signing bonus dropped into my bank account this morning,” I begin. “And I spoke to a real estate agent today and set up a whole list of apartments to view this weekend.”

“You did?” Quinn asks, brushing his hair from his eye as he stands up straighter.

“Yeah, I did. And, Quinn, my beautiful, sexy, perfect, Quinn. I want us to move in together. I want to find a place that we can live in. That will be ours. Together. Just us,” I tell him, biting down on my lip as I wait his response. He tilts his head to the side, some kind of emotion flashing in his pretty blue eyes.

“I know what together means, baby,” he grins before he sighs. “And I really love the sound of that, babe, but I’m still at uni,” he says just as I expected he would. “I can’t exactly afford rent right now.”

Neither of us are flush with cash right at the minute but I have been saving from the job I’ve held down for the past eighteen months. And my financial position is about to vastly change for the better with this move into the professional league. I’m not suddenly on big bucks by any stretch of the imagination but I’ll have enough. For us.

Besides, it’s not like Quinn’s a completely broke university student. Turned out his absentee dad had been saving a university fund for him too, much to Amy’s silent annoyance. She never said anything, but I know my second mama well and I know it irked her a little. But it does mean that Quinn has not needed to worry about money so much, especially while he’s still living at home. Leaving him free to go on and dominate law school like the superhot genius he is.

“I know you can’t right now but that will change soon. You have two years left on your degree and then you’ll be earning the big bucks. Likely more than me,” I reason. He’s a little distracting standing there in that woollen coat, sizzling blue eyes on me. But he’s also worrying his lower lip which is something he only ever does when he’s uncertain, which is admittedly very infrequently. Because he’s Quinn.

“I can’t expect you to bankroll my life, JT,” he says quietly, finger tracing down my chest.

“And I don’t want to live someplace without you,” I reply. “I’m ready for this next stage in our lives, Quinn. I want to be with you forever. I want to live with you and wake up next to you and fall asleep beside you every day. I want to breathe the same air as you when we fall asleep together. I want your name on the lease or on the title of any house we might buy, right next to mine. And I want that because you are my future, Quinn Dayton. Besides, wouldn’t you be saying the same to me if our positions were reversed?”

That pulls him up short and he quirks that crooked smile as he realises I have him. “A well-argued and sensible point,” he concedes.

“Thank you, counsellor,” I grin.

“I guess, well, I guess I just never imagined not being the one supporting you,” he shrugs.

“I know. I get it, Quinn. But this financial arrangement is only short term until you graduate. And truthfully, I want to live with you so badly I can hardly think of anything else. Can you imagine it? You and me? We can have sex whenever and wherever we want. We can walk around naked all day, spend whole weekends in bed. Not have to worry about being walked in on all the time.”

I can see my arguments winning him over, the thought of having our own space, just him and me. Our future. Our forever. Maybe we’ll get a dog, a golden retriever perhaps, and we can take it on walks in the forest or to the duck pond. Quinn can have his own office, and I’ll have space for a basketball court. We can cook meals together in our kitchen, a skill I now know is not just a woman’s job thanks to Quinn and Amy.

I see the moment I win him over when he smiles and it hits his eyes, just the hint of a predator shining through.

“You know I can’t say no when you throw the promise of sex on tap in the mix,” he says.

“I’ll take that as a win then,” I grin, not able to hide the smile from spreading across my face, matched only by the one spreading across his. “So, yes? We’re moving in together?”

“Yes,” he agrees. “Let’s move in together. I want it bad too, JT. I want to start our lives together and I want to wake up each morning next to you. I’m beyond ready for this too.”

We stare at each other for a full minute, the gravity of this moment becoming clear to us both. We’re going to move in together, have our own private space.

Quinn breaks the moment first, cupping my cheek with his hand, his thumb brushing my cheekbone.

“I love you, Jethro,” he says quietly.

“I love you, Quinn.”

My heart is fit to bursting with love for him, the moment so sweet and tender but broken when Quinn leans down to suck on my lower lip, instantly reawakening my body as I groan into his mouth. I kind of wish we’d decided to have this conversation at home now rather than here under the blanket of stars.

“We done talking, JT?” Quinn asks, head cocked to the side as he watches me.

“We’re done talking,” I agree. He just grins at me, all predator in that smile as he breaches the space between us and kisses me, slow and deep and just a little bit sweet but with that promise of something more that he always gives me.

This will never get old, being with Quinn like this. Kissing him like this. He sends me wild, and tonight is no different as he makes me feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be, the person Quinn helped me to become.

“Mmm,” he says, pulling back from me and holding my chin in his hand. “Maybe we better take this conversation back home.”

“My thoughts exactly,” I grin, waiting for the matching smile to appear on his beautiful face.

I may only be twenty years old, but I knew from the minute I had Quinn that he was going to be my forever. My love for him has never dimmed, has only grown so much that I cannot ever imagine a life where he is not my number one. I can’t wait to start the next chapter of our lives together, me playing basketball in the big leagues, him graduating from law school, finding our own home, having him as mine.

Quinn takes my hand, and I thread my fingers through his. We’re both smiling as he leads the way back home.

Just me, loving a boy, my forever, my now and always. My one and only.

THE END