Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
I chewed the inside of my cheek. “I’m not sure.”
“If anything,” Emmett mused, “being associated with you would probably help my career at this point, not hurt it. I saw an article about you the other day that was praising you.”
“Wait, what?” I asked. “You’ve been looking me up?”
A sheepish smile crossed his face. “A little bit. Sometimes.”
“And? What did you find?”
“The Denver New Times said that you are one of the most outstanding voices in environmental activism, and that you’re an example for all professional athletes. They like how you donate your time and money to causes.”
I whistled. “Well, well, well,” I said. “Not too shabby.”
Emmett brought my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “To be honest, I am a marketing guy. If you ever wanted me to connect you with a public relations team, you could get a whole lot of positive articles written about you.”
I hummed. “I don’t know about that.”
“When I first met you, I thought you’d spit in my face if I ever suggested anything like that. But if that’s the only thing you’re worried about with dating me… fuck it, Storm.”
“Never thought I’d hear you say fuck it about a potential media problem,” I told him.
He shook his head lightly. “It’s worth it for you,” he said. “Worth it to try, I think. It’s been years since I’ve tried anything new, and I’m overdue for it.”
“This next one goes out to the happy couple that invited us to a heated game of billiards,” a voice came from over by the dance floor, where people were singing karaoke tonight. “Emmett and Storm, here’s to you!”
It was the old woman who’d been playing with us. She broke out into a great rendition of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” showing herself to be a talented vocalist as soon as the song began.
“Did she just say what I think she said?” I asked Emmett.
“Seems like our little announcement might be expedited,” he told me, smiling.
“Shall we dance?” I asked.
“Let’s do it.”
We headed out to the dance floor, which started out with only us and two other couples. But as the woman sang and people started to notice how good her voice was, more people filtered onto the dance floor bit by bit.
I danced with Emmett like he was mine.
Like I’d been with him for years, and this was just something we did all the time, comfortable with each other as ever.
“Hey,” I asked near his ear, “how much would I have to pay you to do ‘Bad Reputation’ with me on that thing next?”
“I’m not much of a karaoke guy,” Emmett said, grimacing.
“You want me to beg?” I asked, teasing him.
“God, no, because then I’m going to get hard while doing karaoke, and I don’t think anyone needs that.”
“Hey! You guys,” Chase said, coming over to us on the dance floor with his boyfriend Adam. “Did that lady think you were a couple?”
Emmett and I exchanged a glance before looking back at Chase.
“Well… she might have, because we are a couple,” Emmett said.
Chase giggled, but then as he realized we weren’t joking, his face changed. “Wait a minute. You better not be messing with me, because if you’re serious, that’s fucking awesome. Storm, you’re into dudes?”
“What can I say?” I asked him. “Emmett won me over.”
Emmett leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, right here in the middle of the dance floor.
And I felt a sense of pride like none other I’d ever felt.
Everyone cheered, and it was a completely different experience than any cheers I’d ever had in a football game.
This was just a simple, sweet night in a brewery, but here with Emmett and the Fixer Brothers crew, I felt like I really belonged, just for being me. Not because I was great at catching a football. Just because these people cared about who I was.
“Fuck yes, my friend!” Kace shouted from the other side of the dance floor. He and Nathan danced over to us and reached out to give me a fist bump.
We kissed again, and as we pulled back, smiling our damn asses off, I looked over to see Landry walking over.
“Holy shit, what did I miss?” he asked, smiling.
“Lucky! You made it,” Emmett said. “Just having a fun dance with my boyfriend. That’s all.”
Landry put both hands up to high five us both at the same time. “I love to hear it. I’m happy for you.”
“What about you, Landry?” Chase asked. “Do I need to get out my Cupid arrow for you? Set you up with someone cute tonight?”
Landry smiled. “I’ll be okay on my own tonight, though I appreciate the offer. And it looks like I can finally stop trying to play Cupid for my best friend here.”
“No more blind dates for me,” Emmett said.