“Ah, there you are!”

Armie turned in the direction of the rabbi’s pattering footsteps. “Mitchell, you never made the announcement about the JCA.”

“Oh shit.” Mitch groaned. He turned his face into Armie’s chest, his wavy hair brushing against Armie’s neck, tickling.

“Go on,” Leighanne said. “I need to get back to the band as well.”

“Will you both stand with me?” Mitch asked, his voice small and tentative.

“Never doubt it,” Armie said.

“I won’t.” Mitch kissed both of them, stroking Armie’s cheek as he stood. “I can’t be that much of an ass twice.”

Armie snorted. “You would be hard-pressed to do so.”

The rabbi huffed, then clapped once, sending the sound bouncing around the poolroom. “Yes, you all love each other. It’s very touching. Now get your tuchus out there and make the announcement before Mrs. Berkin stages a revolt. Thank you.”

Hearing the rabbi’s distress, they all decided it was prudent to follow him back to the gym. Once on the stage, Leighanne guided Armie across the floor, settling against the edge of the proscenium.

“The menorah’s been cleared away,” she told Armie.

“Of course it has. Can’t have your hooligan band mess it up.”

“We are not hooligans!” Leighanne sounded scandalized.

“Shh, hooligan. Mitch is starting his speech.”

“Thank you for waiting—” It didn’t take long until a familiar voice in the crowd cut Mitch off.

“You done making out with your boyfriend and girlfriend now?” Mrs. Berkin yelled. Armie heard Nettie and Ophi chastising the elder woman once more, defending him. Hip replacement or no, the woman was still as fierce as when Armie had been a kid. “Don’t shush me, girls. I need to know if I have to change the meeting place of my book club because your brother’s boyfriend is gonna tear the place down.”

“Aw, she wants to save her book club.” Leighanne sounded charmed.

“Please, it’s an erotic novel book club.” Armie snorted “They spend the day talking about the tightness of fictional character’s abs and whether or not the heroine deserves those abs. There is even a chart rating hotness. At the end of the year the author who has written whichever character is at the top of the list gets a framed certificate for writing the hottest character.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Mrs. Berkin helped Ophi out with taking care of us a lot. She’s like the town surrogate grandma, who forces young men to dress up in period clothing and serve all her friends tea and sandwiches while they discuss a historic erotic romance.” The embarrassing memory would forever be burned into his brain.

“Holy Jesus, will you please introduce me to this woman? She sounds baller.”

“Shh, hooligan. I think Mitch finally has control of the room again.”

Leighanne rested her chin on his shoulder, her voice a tinkle of laughter. “Stop calling me—”

Armie kissed her. He had to. He couldn’t help it. She sounded so happy. They pulled apart as Mitch began to speak again, hopefully uninterrupted this time.

“Mrs. Berkin, I assure you that you won’t need to look for another venue for your book club. Not for a long time.” The microphone picked up his deep breath before he continued. “I have purchased the JCA not to tear it down, but to build it up. To grow. Starting in January of next year, we will begin a forty-million-dollar expansion project on the building. New classrooms built, new programs developed. We are working to form a partnership with the local community college to extend evening classes here to the JCA so those taking evening classes will have a shorter commute and more time to spend with their families. We are building counseling offices for those who need financial and medical help, or for those who simply need someone to talk to.”

Armie’s heart stuttered. All these things…Ophi would have benefited from all these things after their parents died. Mitch would be making so many lives better with this project.

“Additionally, we will be building two new types of theaters on the property I have purchased connecting to the JCA. One proscenium-type stage with a full one-thousand-seat audience, appropriate for use by community theaters and concerts. The other a black box, where only your imagination can hold you back. Arts programs are being cut across the country, but I believe we need to focus on building them back up once again. Our children need creativity and room to stretch their imagination in order to develop their minds.”

There was a break for applause when Armie spoke up. “Leighanne, you’re going to squeeze my hand off.”

“Sorry,” she said, her voice quiet and watery.

“Are you crying?”

“No. Shut up.” She wiped her face on his sleeve. “This is so amazing.”

They listened as Mitch continued.

“I believe in having deep roots in the community. I know how important it is to have a place to come to and explore and be at peace. To be with those who are like-minded and to learn from those who aren’t. The JCA is already that place, and I’m not going to wipe that away. But with your help, with the support of this community, I know we can work together to make those roots even stronger and more lasting. Thank you.”

The applause this time was thunderous, almost too much for Armie’s ears, but he and Leighanne joined in, screaming and cheering for their boyfriend. So proud of what he would be giving to this community. The rabbi went back on the mic for a smaller announcement, discussing the beginning of the construction and how long it would take. Mitch returned to them, wrapping an arm around Armie’s waist. Leighanne cuddled into both of them.

“That sounded like pretty clear approval to me.”

“Yeah.” Mitch almost sounded bashful.

“So…” Leighanne started. “How rich are you exactly? Forty million freakin’ dollars?”

“Oh, I’m in the one percent.”

“I think we’re supposed to hate you for that.” Coming from a childhood living paycheck to paycheck, that was hard to process for Armie.

“Your apartment didn’t look like it was in the one percent,” Leighanne pointed out.

“Oh, that apartment is just till I get my house built.”

“You’re building a house?”

“Yeah, on the property next to Ophi’s actually. It would have been done in a couple of months, but I asked them to add something this week so it will take a bit longer.”

Next to Ophi’s house. That sprawling beautiful Connecticut countryside that looked like heaven on earth when the first snow fell. Armie’s heart warmed, knowing Mitch would love it there.

“What are you adding?” Leighanne asked, excited.

“A pool, so I can save foolish men from drowning with some mouth-to-mouth.”

“How much mouth-to-mouth?” Armie asked, needing it quantified.

“A shit ton of mouth-to-mouth.”

Armie leaned forward, waiting for Mitch to meet his kiss. He didn’t disappoint. “I can’t wait.”

“What do I get to do?” Leighanne asked, her voice low and sultry. Watching them kiss did something to her, as touching Mitch and Leighanne when they were together did more than something to Armie.

“You get to be the sexy lifeguard who runs around the pool in a tight bathing suit.”

Armie laughed at Mitch’s shamelessness.

Leighanne paused for a moment before asking, “Will there be Baywatch music playing?”

“What else would there be?”

“I’m down.”

They laughed, hugging each other close. Armie loved that there wasn’t any more secrecy. They were on a stage bathed in lights so bright he could feel the heat, hugging and kissing in front of his town, in front of his family.

“Oh, I have to go!” Leighanne pulled away. “I need to play with the band. The masses must be entertained.”

“We’ll be here.”

She ran back, kissing both of them. “I know.”

Mitch waited a few seconds after she left before saying, “She’s so damn sexy.” Mitch’s voice was a rumble. “She’s got this sexy little hip movement and wink that she does. It makes me hard in a second.”

“You get hard from hip swishes. My cock turns into a wooden pole from her voice alone. And her hair, Christ, I want to bury my face in her hair all day long.”

Mitch’s voice was near Armie’s ear the next time he spoke. “What about me makes you hard?”

“What about you doesn’t make me hard?” Armie leaned in, whispering, “I love your skin, and how taut it is over your muscles. I love imagining your cock straining against whatever crisp and expensive suit you have on. You’re nothing but a dirty, horny guy needing to be fucked under your pristine clothes. But I really love the catch in your breath when I say these things to you, and how I know, I know, you’re imagining me taking your ass while you fuck our girl.”

Mitch cleared his throat. “And now I’m hard as a beam on this stage in front of an entire town. Thanks for that.”

Armie laughed. “You wanted to know.”

Leighanne introduced the band then, and they began to play. The tune was unfamiliar, fun yet poignant.

“What song is this?” Mitch asked.

“I don’t know. I never heard it before.”

They listened to the lyrics, painting a picture of a girl alone at night, dancing in hallways while listening to music.

“I think this is one of hers.” Mitch sounded so excited it could almost be called adorable. “One of her original songs.”

“Wow, she’s really doing it.”

“She’s smiling at us.”

Armie and Mitch listened to the tune. It was catchy but still a bit melancholy, perfect to dance to but also capable of invoking a contemplative state. How did she do it? How had she never performed her original songs before? The band was amazing. She was amazing

“She’s nervous, but yeah, she’s doing it.” Mitch kissed Armie in his excitement. “Shit, I’m so proud of her.”

As was Armie. He was proud of her for putting aside her anxiety and offering her songs to the world. He was proud of Mitch for overcoming his fear and stripping away any armor around his heart. Armie hoped the town didn’t disappoint him.

Armie was proud of himself. He knew there was more he needed to learn, and that adjusting to his new state of being would be a never-ending challenge. But as he leaned his head against his boyfriend’s shoulder and listened to their girlfriend play the most amazing original song, he felt confident that those challenges would be met not by him alone, but by the love of three.