And with that, I turn and head out of the cemetery, anxious to get to my car, to get to the club, to get back to the people I love.
There are two places where all of the owners of Salacious are in the same place at the same time—the bar and board meetings. Now that it’s like a well-oiled machine with a staff of floor managers to contact us if anything goes wrong, we can actually all meet at the bar, just like old times. And since the bar has alcohol （as most bars do） where I can try and drown out my nerves, I decide Thursday night is the place to do this.
Drake and Isabel aren’t here. I don’t know where they are or what they’re doing, which is how it’s been for the last two months, and exactly how I want it to be. I talk to my wife over the phone from time to time to check in, but we don’t talk about anything heavy, and she doesn’t pester me with uncomfortable questions. My too-good-for-words wife understands that I have to do this soul-search alone.
And this is one of the milestones I definitely need to do alone.
We’re on our second round when I clear my throat. “I have something to say.”
Everyone freezes and looks my way. Those five words don’t come out of my mouth often, and even they can tell how rare it is by how rapt their attention suddenly is.
Fuck, this is uncomfortable. And terrifying. And I’m thirty-three. How do kids do this?
“I’m sure you’ve all noticed…” I stammer. “That I haven’t been living at home, and Isabel and Drake haven’t been around much.”
Maggie bites her lip next to me. Then I feel her hand rest against my back. Seeing as how I’ve taken up residence in her guest bedroom, she obviously knows everything about my situation. She’s been my unofficial counselor this whole time, letting me unload everything on her.
I’m sure most of them assume something happened between Isabel and Drake, maybe that she cheated on me with him, but I let them believe what they wanted. I knew the moment would come when I would clear it all up.
“Well, the truth is that the three of us…”
I look up to find Charlie clinging to Emerson’s arm, a hopeful expression on her face. Mia is staring wide-eyed at me, and Garrett is biting back a grin.
Inside, I’m screaming. These are my friends. No, this is my family. We’ve been in business together for over seven years. We raised and nurtured our company together like parents, and all of that bullshit about not going into business with your friends seems wrong. Because your friends are the only ones who won’t steal from you or exploit you. This team has always had each other’s back, and right now, I can feel just how much they have mine.
“The three of us are together. In a relationship. Even Drake and I. I…uh, I’m bisexual.”
As those words bleed out of me, all of the weight and sickness I felt from holding them in bleeds out too. Across from me, Charlie is beaming. Mia is tearing up as she reaches a hand out for me, and at the end of the table, Emerson is wearing an expression of pride.
When no one says anything for a while, I let out a heavy breath. “You all knew that already, didn’t you?”
The table breaks out in mumbled responses, confirming my suspicion. They knew this whole damn time.
“Why didn’t you guys say anything?”
“It was none of our business,” Emerson states.
“To be honest, I thought you three had been banging this whole time,” Garrett replies, and Mia rolls her eyes at him.
“It just makes sense, Hunter. The chemistry between you guys is more than just friends,” she adds.
“I’m just glad you finally got here,” Maggie says, rubbing my back again.
“So…” Garrett says with his brow furrowed. “Why did you move out?”
“I just needed to figure some shit out before someone got hurt.”
He nods, his eyes focused on me with a light, hopeful expression.
“What now? Are you going home?” Charlie asks.
“I think so.”
She bites her lip in excitement.
“It’s not fair,” Mia whines, pushing her bottom lip out in a pout. “Isabel gets two. I only got one.”
As she turns her grumpy features toward the man sitting next to her, his expression hardens as he snatches a pinch of her hip.
“You little brat.”
“One? I have zero, so don’t complain,” Maggie adds as she scowls into her wine glass.
“That’s because you work too much, Mags. And you’re always with us. There are no more single guys here,” I reply.