Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“He has on me too. It’s like having a cool older brother. I’m an only child. I always wanted siblings.”
“Are you sure?” Mads teased, making us all laugh.
We talked for a few minutes. I couldn’t help looking around the room, hoping Hutch would surprise me, that he’d show up and everything would be okay, but he didn’t.
“Holy shi—shoot,” Luke corrected himself. “Is that…oh my God, it is. Why are Darren Edwards and Anson Hawkins here?”
“Oh shit, they are?” Both used to play for the Atlanta Lightning, our NFL team. They were the first queer players in the league and had both retired. I’d looked up to them a lot. It meant something when they came out, seeing queer men in those spaces. Representation mattered so damn much. Maybe if it’d happened when I was younger, I could have come to terms with who I was sooner.
“Darren’s partner had cancer as a child. You know they like to give back, both to the LGBTQ community and to cancer organizations. This is their first year at Maddy’s Fight. I sent them invitations, but I wasn’t sure if I could get them to come,” Mads said as if it was nothing. Maybe to some it wasn’t. They were pretty accessible around town since they’d started You Belong and You Belong Too, both queer organizations.
Luke was bouncing on the balls of his feet, practically giddy. “Dude, this is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me. I can’t believe I’m at a party with Darren Edwards and Anson Hawkins.”
“Come on. Let’s go try to talk to them.” Mads hooked her arm through Luke’s, and the three of us walked over. I loved seeing her like this. She was in her element helping people, and just…happy. I didn’t know what it was, but Mads seemed radiant tonight.
“Hi, excuse me. I’m Madison Hutchinson. I appreciate you all coming,” she said when we approached them. They both had their significant others with them—Anson being married to Weston Calloway, a former senator from California, and Darren with Jeremy Gaines, who was an attorney. Evidently, I’d done my research.
“We appreciate the invite,” Darren said.
“This means a lot to me as a survivor,” Jeremy added.
“Thank you. Me too,” Mads replied.
Darren threaded his fingers through Jeremy’s. Christ, the way he looked at him, I swore I could see his heart in his eyes. He was clearly head over heels in love with him. “It’s important for us to give back,” Darren said. “These two knuckleheads just want to be like us. You probably haven’t heard of them. This is Anson…I forgot his last name, and his husband, Wally…William…”
Everyone laughed. Anson rolled his eyes, but he did so playfully.
“You’ll have to excuse him. He goes a bit overboard when he’s not the center of attention,” Weston teased.
“Who are you again?” Darren asked.
“Be nice,” Jeremy told him.
“What’s your name?” Anson asked Luke, whose mouth had dropped open.
Luke stood there, almost like he’d lost his voice, mouth opening and closing before he said, “Um…Luke…Luke…I’m Luke. You’re Anson Hawkins, and you’re Darren Edwards. No duh. Why am I telling you both who you are? You know who you are. I’m gonna stop talking now.” Luke’s cheeks flushed pink.
I put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed in support. “Hi. I’m Ryder Lynwood. It’s great to meet you all.”
They kept the conversation going, talking a lot to Luke. It was clear they wanted to include him, to make him feel special. Luke talked to them about his leukemia and how we’d met at the hospital.
“That’s a great program the hospital runs. I’d love to find a way for You Belong to help out as well,” Weston said.
“That’s a great idea,” Jeremy added, and then…then everything shifted in the room, which was an absolutely ridiculous and over-the-top way to feel about it, but it did.
I felt a charge in the air and looked up to see Hutch. He was there, with Layla. He wore a white tux with a pink bow tie, the exact same shade as Layla’s dress. The little girl was holding his hand, the two of them walking toward us, and…he smiled. I felt the damn thing in my chest, couldn’t help but return it. Hutch was here. He’d come.
“Damn. I recognize that look. It’s exactly how I used to stare at Jeremy when I realized I was falling for him,” Darren said.
“Oh my God. What if you just called him out on something no one knows?”
“How can they not with that smile?” Weston asked.
“Well, at least the other guy is looking at him the same way,” Anson replied.
Later I’d get giddy over that conversation because, well, Anson Hawkins and Darren Edwards, but now I couldn’t think about anything but Hutch.
“Hey! What’s up, Layla?” Luke said as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.