“Kyle.”
Kyle woke up suddenly. His face was smushed against Adam’s shoulder.
“Is it over?” He smacked his lips. There was a popcorn kernel stuck in his gums.
“It’s over,” Adam said. The TV screen was dark. Caroline was curled up on Kyle’s other side, dead asleep. He ran his fingers through her hair, then shifted so he could see across Adam’s chest to check on his dad, who was dozing in his recliner.
“Well, I don’t think Astronaut Kate was a winner,” Kyle said.
Movie night had been his dad’s suggestion. After Adam’s unplanned sleepover, the first few days had been awkward. Kyle and Adam had been on their very best behavior anytime they were both at the house, until Kyle’s dad had finally told them to knock it off.
“We’ll never get to know each other if you don’t relax,” he’d said to Adam.
Unofficially, almost any night in their house could be considered movie night. Princess Amazonia should practically be paying rent she appeared so frequently. But they’d decided that Saturday night would formally be the night they would all get together and watch a family-friendly movie.
The plan was good, except apparently Adam hadn’t realized how all Amazonia, all the time the movie situation was at their house. He’d watched Caroline’s favorite movie without complaint the first week, and had only raised his eyebrows in surprise when they had put it on again the second week. When Kyle had gone to put the movie on for a third time, as Caroline had danced around the den in her purple dress, Adam had put his foot down.
“Don’t you guys watch anything else?”
The truth was, before, it had really only been Caroline who’d watched the movie. Kyle’s father had dozed in a chair, and Kyle had spent most of Amazonia’s adventures wandering the internet on his phone.
They’d tested other options. They’d tried a classic that Kyle’s dad had picked. Caroline was so upset at Amazonia’s sudden demotion that she’d been hanging upside down off the couch before the opening credits were over, and had hummed so loudly that she’d drowned out the soundtrack. Amazonia had returned for another night. Kyle had distracted Adam with dirty text messages sent from one side of the couch to the other. Adam had practically dragged Kyle back to his place once the movie was over to make good on their texted promises.
They’d tried a movie about jungle cats. Kyle had hoped the similar setting would distract Caroline long enough to get her invested before she realized the bait and switch. His clever plan was foiled though, when the supposedly G-rated movie had proved so terrifying that Caroline had refused to sleep in her own bed. Adam had gone home, alone.
Astronaut Kate and the Lost Martians was the latest offering, but it didn’t seem likely the plucky heroine would be making a repeat performance anytime soon.
“Did Astronaut Kate make it into space again?” Kyle hadn’t meant to fall asleep. It was the first week of school, and Adam had been scarce, after a whole summer of being around as much as he could. Kyle missed him more than he expected to, so he’d curled up against him, as Astronaut Kate and her crew crash landed on a strange planet.
“She did,” Adam said. “And they met a race of peace-loving aliens who taught them important lessons about tolerance and inclusion in the process.”
Kyle yawned. “That’s nice.”
“Your family was obviously entranced.” Adam lifted his arm, and Kyle settled against him. He pulled Adam close.
“They could be your family too.” Nerves caught up with him after the second syllable. He turned his face until it was buried in the soft cotton of Adam’s T-shirt, and wondered if he could hear Adam’s heart skip a beat from here. Were his fingers pressing a little tighter into Kyle’s side?
“What?”
Kyle took a breath and opened his mouth to repeat himself, but then his dad let out a half snort, half snore from the recliner. The moment was gone.
“I’m going to put the Bean to bed,” Kyle said.
They shuffled and stretched as they stood. Kyle scooped Caroline up and headed to the stairs, with Adam following. She protested sleepily that she wasn’t tired.
“Let’s just go lie down and see what happens, okay, Bean?” He bumped Adam with his shoulder. “Poke my dad, will you?”
Adam put a hand on Kyle’s father’s shoulder as they passed, making him startle awake. “What did I miss?”
“Astronaut Kate fixed the spaceship, and they all got to go home,” Adam said.
“I want to be an astronaut.” Caroline rubbed at her eyes.
“I thought you were a princess.” Adam tweaked her nose, making her laugh.
“Can I be both?”
His father was waiting near the front door, as Kyle came back downstairs.
“You haven’t told him,” his dad said.
Kyle froze. “I will.”
“If you need another month, I can call the bank.”
“No, you don’t have to do that.” Kyle put a hand on his dad’s shoulder. “I just haven’t figured out what to say.”
His father snorted. “That’s never been your problem.”
Kyle slapped a hand over his heart. “Ouch, Dad. That stings.”
“I doubt that. I’m going to work. Think about if there’s anything important you want to talk about with that man in there. It was too quiet without him around this week, though I don’t know how that’s possible with you and Caroline here.”
Adam was sitting on the couch when Kyle returned. They curled up together and stared at the TV as Adam flipped through channels. After they finally settled on a baseball game, Kyle turned and kissed Adam’s chest through his shirt.
“Missed you this week,” he said.
“Welcome to the new normal.” Adam squeezed him. “The honeymoon had to end sometime.”
Kyle made a noise of protest. He didn’t want it to be over. They needed more time together, not less.
“I found a place for me and Caroline to live,” he said.
“You did? Where?”
Kyle straightened so Adam could see his face. “Not too far from here, actually. It will be easier if we’re still nearby. It’s a nice neighborhood, and the schools are good.” He smirked, and Adam laughed before he pulled Kyle close to kiss him.
“Does it have princess sheets for Caroline?”
“I’ll have to provide those myself. But it’s nice. Three bedrooms. Eat-in kitchen.” Kyle yawned and stretched. “Spacious family room.”
“That’s bigger than you were looking for.”
“You’re so practical.”
“When do you move?”
“I don’t.”
“What?”
Kyle flopped back onto the couch and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. “Oh my god, Adam. Maybe you should have taken a nap with the rest of us instead of worrying about Astronaut Kate. You’re a bit slow tonight, aren’t you?”
“I don’t understand.” Adam’s dark brows knitted over his eyes and Kyle had to laugh.
“Here! Idiot. I’m talking about here.”
Adam did a double take. “What? You’re staying here? In this house?”
“Yup.” Kyle smiled. “Dad and I talked about it. It’s the solution that makes the most sense.”
“But you—” Adam started, but Kyle leaned in before he could drown in his own confusion and kissed him. He took his time. No matter how often they were together, Kyle never got tired of kissing Mr. Hathaway.
“Move in with us,” he said against Adam’s mouth. With his eyes closed, and hardly any space between them, it wasn’t nearly as scary to ask as he’d expected.
“What?”
“Here. This house. Move in with us.”
“That’s going to be cozy,” Adam said. Kyle kept kissing little trails along his jaw as he let Adam work through it. “I mean, I like your dad and all, but three grown men in this house and one astronaut princess is going to be tight.”
“Then we’ll make Dad move.” Kyle kissed the space where Adam’s shirt was unbuttoned at the collar.
“Kyle!” Adam laughed, but Kyle felt tension in the fingers pressed against his skin. He sat up again.
“Move in with us. Just me and Caroline.”
“But—”
“It’s already taken care of,” Kyle said. “We went to the bank. Dad’s still got a few years left on the mortgage here. Overall, it’s cheaper if he moves to a smaller place, rather than me getting a two-bedroom somewhere in town. I’ll cover the mortgage here; he’ll pay rent.”
“Kyle.” Adam’s face was serious. “You can’t make him—”
“I’m not making him do anything! I’ve been putting off telling you for almost a month while I waited for him to change his mind. But he . . . He wants us to stay and be happy. He wants Caroline to grow up here.” His throat filled with emotion. He hadn’t liked the idea of his dad slinking off to some shabby one-bedroom apartment, but then he’d had shown Kyle the place he’d found. It was, ironically, on the old site of the mattress factory where he’d worked while Kyle was growing up. The new development had floor-to-ceiling windows and custom kitchen fixtures. It was hard to argue as his father had described where he was going to put the flat-screen TV.
“He’s only trying to get away from your cooking.” Adam cut into Kyle’s musings.
Kyle laughed and poked him in the ribs. “Nice, Mr. Hathaway. No one complained about my lasagna tonight.” Even Caroline seemed to be back on Team Tomato. He shifted to his knees so he could straddle Adam’s lap. Adam’s strong hands slipped under his shirt as Kyle kissed him. “So what do you say? Move in with Astronaut Princess Jelly Bean and me?”
The kissing went on for a while, and got a little messy. Kyle was half out of his T-shirt by the time he came up for air.
“Adam?” he said. “Use your words.” Adam’s fingers brushed over Kyle’s skin, and for a second it seemed like they were going to get completely distracted.
“Yes.”
“What?” Kyle stilled. His mouth hovered over Adam’s. Adam inhaled and licked his lips.
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?” Kyle’s heart hammered in his chest. He sank into Adam’s lap as his muscles went wobbly with anticipation.
“Yes, I’ll move in with you. Here. This house.”
“With Caroline too?” Kyle asked.
“I don’t want to talk about your daughter while I’m trying to get you naked.”
“Whatever you say, Mr. Hathaway.”