“We are,” he agreed. “And after all we’ve been through… it’s just a lot to take in.”
“You talk to Dom about it?”
“Yeah,” Ty said. “And you know how he is. He listens and then tells me I’m being dumb, and then he kisses me and everything is okay again.”
“I can’t wait to see you,” I said softly.
“Me too. It’s been too long. Jeremy still can’t make it for the ceremony?”
“No. He and Dad had that trip planned for a long time. He feels bad, but they’ll come up after with everyone else before you and Dom leave on your honeymoon.”
“He and Dad,” Ty said teasingly. “Robert finally convinced you, huh?”
“He did. It….” I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “It feels right.”
“Good. Because it is. And before too long, you’ll probably know exactly what I’m feeling right now if Jeremy gets off his ass and proposes to you.”
“Maybe.” Or maybe I should be the one proposing. One day.
“I can’t believe you all are coming up,” Tyson said. “We’ve gone this long without having Bear and Paul in the same room. It’s going to be like a cracked-out queer version of the Avengers.”
I laughed. “That’s one way of looking at. And imagine if Sandy got his movie star cousin to come with all his friends and—”
“Noah, no! You can’t draw on the wall! Why on earth would you think that’s—Kori, I gotta go. Picasso here suddenly found his muse. Love you! Miss you! Can’t wait to see you!”
And he was gone even before I could say anything more.
I set down the office phone in the cradle.
I barely had time to process when there was a knock on the door and it opened. A skinny boy with scraggly facial hair and a bar through his eyebrow walked in. “Hey. I thought you were still here. Wanted to bring you this.”
Diego walked over to my desk and handed me a file. He was interning with Phoenix House as part of his classwork. He’d grown up to be devilishly handsome, but even more so, one of the most kindhearted people I’d ever known. “What is it?”
He shrugged. “Marina said you’d want to see it. It’s about one of the kids here. Seems like there was some issues at the school.” He looked troubled. “They’re enby, and it looks like they’re getting shit for it.”
Ah. So that explained the look on his face. “Thanks. I’ll take a look at it.” I thought about letting it go, but I had to ask. “Heard from Kai lately?”
He looked away. “A few weeks ago. They’re… doing good. They’ve got a life out in California. It’s working for them.”
I nodded, carefully choosing my words. “Ever think about going out to visit?”
He sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know. Things are different now, you know? They’ve got their own thing going on, and so do I. We’ve been broken up for four years, Kori. It’s not like I’m pissed about it anymore. They needed to do what they needed to do. And so did I.”
I didn’t know if I believed that. You never forgot your first heartbreak. But it wasn’t for me to push any more than I already had. “All right. Well, next time you speak to them, let them know I said hello.”
He nodded, looking relieved. “Will do. Marina told me to tell you if you were still here that it’s a Saturday and you need to leave. And she’s right. You work too much. That file can wait until Monday.”
It probably could, but I already knew I was going to take it home with me. Part of the job.
Diego said he’d see me later, which meant he was probably going to show up at Jack It for the show tonight. Ever since he’d turned twenty-one, he’d become a fixture at the bar. He’d even danced a time or two in nothing but a jockstrap on one of Mike’s twink nights, but Sandy and I had shut that down immediately. He’d been pissed at me for a few weeks, but I wouldn’t let Mike get his hands on him.
My cell vibrated on the desk.
A text message.
Here. You ready?
I smiled.