Tyler smiled, averted his gaze, looked back at Nick and grinned helplessly before hiding his flushed face against Nick’s shoulder. “Ugh. This is so gross. We’re being such girls. Ugh.”
He felt Nick laugh. “You’re such a ridiculous person,” he said, dropping a kiss on top of Tyler’s head.
Tyler smiled against Nick’s shoulder, feeling so giddy he didn’t know what to do with himself. “Love you, too,” he mumbled, kissing Nick’s throat and breathing in his clean, masculine scent. “Not like a mate,” he added, in case it wasn’t obvious.
Nick’s arms just tightened around him in response.
Tyler allowed himself to enjoy this moment for a few minutes before deciding that this was becoming way too sappy and embarrassing.
“Let’s fuck,” he said, lifting his head.
Nick’s answering laugh was the best fucking sound in the world, Tyler decided, grinning back.
Epilogue
“Aww, aren’t you two the cutest?” Tristan said, flopping on the couch and smirking down at Tyler and Nick really obnoxiously. “I always knew you’d be adorable together.”
“I called it ages ago,” Miles chimed in, without looking up from his phone.
“I hate your family,” Tyler said from where he was sprawled out on the carpet, using Nick’s lap as a pillow.
Looking away from the cards in his hand, Nick smiled down at him. “Liar.”
Tyler found himself smiling back. Okay, maybe he was lying, a bit. More than a bit. He loved the Hardaways, and he was incredibly grateful to them for allowing him to spend Christmas with them and making him feel so included. He’d always been comfortable around them, but now that he and Nick were together, they all were even warmer toward him. Tyler hoped they weren’t just pitying him because of his parents. Tyler didn’t think Nick had told his family about his parents, but considering that Tyler was spending Christmas with the Hardaways, they all had probably guessed how bad things were with his parents.
Tyler’s smile slipped a bit. His parents hadn’t taken the news well—to put it mildly. His mother was still refusing to speak to him. His father…the only thing his father had said was, “I’m not even surprised. A normal man would have settled down by now.”
Tyler…he’d expected to feel absolutely gutted, but he was surprisingly okay, actually. He felt almost relieved, in a way. Now that his relationship with his parents had hit rock bottom, he had nothing to fear anymore. It was done. Maybe their relationship would improve, maybe not, but things could only get better now. It would probably take a long time until things got better, if they ever did, but Tyler was surprisingly okay with it. Of course it helped immensely that the one person who’d always had his back was even closer to him than before, so close that sometimes Tyler wasn’t sure where he ended and Nick began.
Being in a relationship with Nick was weirdly not weird at all. It was fucking awesome. Tyler got all the perks of a best friend coupled with all the great sex in the world. He could kiss Nick anytime he wanted—and he wanted to kiss Nick all the goddamn time lately. It was kind of embarrassing, really, but Tyler found that he loved kissing Nick almost as much as he loved having Nick’s prick in him. He was turning into a total kiss slut. Was that a thing?
Tyler grinned a little, looking up to stare at his boyfriend as Nick played cards with his brothers. Nick had a frown of intense concentration on his face—the Hardaways were hilariously competitive when it came to card games—so Tyler could look his fill without being caught gazing at Nick like a sap. He could study his features, expressive of every emotion Nick was feeling. Nick’s jaw clenched tightly as he glowered at Ryan who had just accused him of cheating. Tyler wet his lips, wanting to lick the scowl off Nick’s mouth. And kiss him. And do other things to him.
“Gross,” Miles said with a snort, kicking Tyler.
Tyler glared at him, his face warming. If there was one thing he hated about the Hardaways, it was the lack of privacy. There were just so many of them. One couldn’t even ogle one’s own boyfriend without being made fun of.
“The honeymoon phase is sickening, isn’t it?” Tristan said, smirking. “I feel secondhand embarrassment just from being around those two.”
Miles rolled his eyes. “As if you and Zach aren’t as sickening. You’ve been together for two years. What’s your excuse?”
Tristan shrugged before slipping shamelessly into his husband’s lap. “My husband is the hottest man in this room,” he declared, peering into Zach’s cards. “That’s my excuse.”
“Stop distracting me, brat,” Zach said but he wrapped his free arm around Tristan.
“I disagree,” James chimed in, from where he was sitting leaned against Ryan’s shoulder. “My boyfriend is the hottest man in this room.”