Page 16 of Their Little House Tristan (Five Little Roommates #2)
Tristan
The ceremony was…small. Tame and tiny compared to a typical graduation. There weren’t many of us who finished midyear, and most of us opted to wait until spring to walk with the full class. But I didn’t need all that fanfare. I was proud of myself for figuring out how to salvage the rest of my academic career while balancing my job and not one but two partners. I wanted to be done and to hold my diploma in my hand, not wait for a big fancy event. In fact, it was small enough I’d suggested King come along, but he was visiting with his besties at the rescue, so that was all right. He’d have a better time there anyway, and I could tell him all about it later.
I’d managed to take the last few classes online and finally be done despite all the odds against me. I didn’t get any of the scholarships I’d hoped for, but I paid for the classes a couple at a time—two in the summer, two this fall—and that was enough to get me across the finish line.
Despite the small ceremony, the cheering when they called my name wrapped around me like a hug. I waved my diploma in the air as I crossed the stage and moved back down to the rows reserved for the new graduates, scanning the area from familiar faces and instantly seeing my daddy and Bell.
I’d known that Bellamy and James would be in the audience. What I hadn’t been as sure of were my mom and dad. I’d have been surprised if they were there, and they weren’t. When I’d invited them, they’d said it wasn’t a “real” graduation. Which it 100 percent was. Any hope I had that they’d changed their mind had vanished.
Didn’t their lack of attendance perfectly sum up their parenting style? If it wasn’t exactly what they envisioned…what they deemed the “right” path, then it didn’t count in their eyes. That went for my graduation, as well as for my relationship. But I’d come to terms with it. And this time? It didn’t even hurt, like I thought it would.
That felt like a step forward.
As soon as the ceremony was officially over and the orchestra played their final piece, I ran straight to my men, who pulled me into a three-way hug and showered me with praise.
“You did it! You did it!” Bellamy peppered my cheek with kisses.
“So proud of you,” James murmured, rubbing his cheek against mine. “It’s time to go celebrate.”
We were staying in town at a hotel. It wasn’t fancy, but it was clean and cozy, everything we needed for the night. It felt nice, having one bedroom for the three of us.
We’d been spending more time at Daddy’s place than at home lately, but between my job and finishing school, we weren’t at the point where we saw him every day. I did see Bellamy every day—that was because we lived together. And honestly? I wished we all lived together, wished it to the point where it started to fill my thoughts regularly. But the time hadn’t been right to bring it up.
Now that I’d graduated and could maybe get a “real” job…maybe now was the time.
I tossed my graduation cap and ropes onto the dresser and slipped out of my gown. It was nice being all formal, but I was ready to be free of it all. “Let’s go someplace to celebrate.”
Bellamy raised a brow.
“Someplace…maybe we can talk and get a good meal?” As opposed to the restaurant downstairs that was already jam packed, thanks to it being open-mic night.
“Is everything okay?” James asked. “You seem nervous.”
“Shouldn’t you be all relieved and stuff?” Bellamy saw it too. Great. I was making them worry when what I wanted to talk about was something good. At least, in my mind, it was good, but regardless, it was hardly bad.
“Yeah, but…I’ve been considering something. I thought maybe we could talk about it.” The second the words left my mouth, I realized how ominous it sounded. I’d somehow managed to make it worse. There was no way I hadn’t just sounded like I was about to break up with them or drop some bad news like I was offered a job in Antarctica or someplace equally far.
So, as usual, I blurted it all out at once. “I don’t like us living apart anymore. I love you both, and I want us all to live together.” I was speaking a mile a minute.
Daddy crossed the room to me and placed his hand gently on my shoulder. “Say that again—maybe this time a little slower?”
I sucked in a deep breath and did my best to speak at a more decent rate. “I don’t like that you have your place and we have ours. I want us all to be together.”
“We understood that part,” Bellamy said, touching my chest. “Can you do the other part again?”
“What part?” Now I was confused.
“The part where you said you love us both.” Bell gave me my favorite grin.
“Oh, the part where I said I love you.”
“Yeah. That part.” Bell watched my face. “Can you do it again?”
“I-I thought I just did.”
“Yeah, I think we need one more time.” Daddy tapped my nose.
I smiled. They weren’t going to let me botch this too much.
“I love you, Bell. And I love you, James. And what I don’t love is spending nights apart. This hotel room—cheesy and dated as it is—has me so ridiculously happy, because I know at the end of the night, we’re going to tumble into that bed together. And in the morning, no one’s sneaking out early for work, or heading home to shower, or worrying about the right toothbrush or if we packed the right clothes. It’s just…us here together.” I took a breath and expressed my fear. “I don’t know—is it too fast?”
“No, my sweet boy,” James said, brushing hair from my face. “I don’t think it’s too fast. I’ve been thinking about it too.”
“Me three,” Bellamy added, kissing my cheek.
“So…are we gonna do this?” Please let us be doing this. “All of us under one roof?”
“Yeah. Let’s do this.” Bell squeed.
“Excellent.” Daddy kissed first me and then Bell.
“Let’s go celebrate!” I started for the door, but they hung back. “Are you two coming?”
“First,” James said, “we bought you something. A present.”
“Of course. The present.” Bell bounced on the balls of his feet. “You graduated and need prezzies.”
Daddy placed his suitcase on the bed, opened it up, and pulled out a gift bag. “This is from Bell and me.”
I reached inside, pushing aside the tissue paper until I found the frame. I pulled it out—it was a photo of the three of us, together. Nothing too fancy or formal and yet absolutely perfect.
“I love it, guys.”
“We figured you needed a picture of your family in your room,” Daddy said. “Or, I guess, now…our room.”
“Family,” I whispered, smiling. “I love the sound of that. It’s absolutely perfect.”
They didn’t need me to say why it mattered so much. They knew. My family not being there that day only made the separation between them and me more obvious. But this—this was them choosing to be my family. To claim me in the most significant way.
It meant everything.
Bellamy pulled me close. “I really do love you both.”
James joined in, wrapping around me from the other side, and I became the center of a very warm, very happy, very hot sandwich. “I love you, too…both of you.”
“So much love in this room, I almost hate to leave it.” And if Bell’s stomach wasn’t rumbling, I might’ve considered not. “Let’s hurry up and grab dinner so we can come back here and test out this big fancy bed.”
We were out the door in record time.