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it was the middle of april, yet back home was still in the forties. the oxlem's, plus michael and tom, were more than happy to be laying on the beach in eighty degree weather in miami, florida. chase may or may not have been admiring tom's shirtless figure as he played in the water with the twins and jt. "so you and tom?" michael questioned even though he already knew the answer. the two hadn't officially talked about it besides michael's open threat to tom the day he found out.
it had been a topic chase wasn't entirely sure how to talk about, but he was okay talking to michael about it. "yeah," he answered and he informed him that it had been going on for a few months when michael asked how long.
"i can't believe you kept it a secret for that long." he stated and it made chase laugh.
"neither can i." there was a small silence before he spoke again. "i think it would still be a secret if tom hadn't said something to alec."
michael lightly scoffed. "yeah, but it takes a real man to confess his love when he knows that there might be consequences. i mean, the kid had a black eye, dude. if someone went to that measure for me i would be marrying them in a heartbeat."
chase started to smile as he turned to watch the love of his life play with his siblings. he soon began to frown, remembering that tom was leaving at the end of august and he wouldn't see him for two years. could he handle the long distance? he already knew he was able to go visit him whenever, but it would be such a hassle to get all the way to where he was going to be.
"there's just one problem." chase turned back to michael with a frown. "tom's leaving for school at the end of august and i don't think i'll be able to do long distance. it'll be too hard because i'm such a clingy person and i just don't think i could handle not being close to him."
michael understood and gave him a small nod. "well, you still have a few months. maybe that opinion will change. don't let it affect your relationship with him right now. in time you might decide that it's worth the distance and you may be able to do it. if you don't think that it'll work out then have a talk with him about it and end things on a good note. i, however, think you'll be just fine and you'll be able to handle the long distance."
"not that i was listening in on your conversation," sebastian started from beside michael. "but i think mike's right, c. give it time. don't jump to conclusions right now. you guys still have four months to figure everything out."
chase gave the two boys a nod. "thanks, guys. you're right."
as the day went on they all decided to walk on the boardwalk. all the kids were on their own while anthony and angelica went off to conventions that they were both a part of. it was sadly part of their vacation, but they were happy that the kids were having a good time.
tom openly held chase's hand and the boy didn't complain as he rubbed his thumb over the back of tom's hand. "i love you." he whispered as they wandered into a store, away from everyone else.
tom smiled at the boy and placed a kiss to his forehead hesitantly. "i love you too." he had stated that he felt comfortable holding the boy's hand, but kissing was still a thing he was nervous about in public. he admitted that being in a different state also helped calm his nerves because no one he knew was going to just randomly show up and surprise him, figuring out that he was, in fact, gay.
a few people already knew, but it's hard telling everyone about your sexuality. not everyone is accepting and some just want to send hate just because it brings them stupid entertainment.
"do you think your parents would let me steal you away for a date one of these nights?" tom asked as they wandered through the store, looking around at all the different saying on the tee shirts.
"you wanna take me on a date?" chase asked with a slight smirk. "and are you asking me to make sure my parents give you permission?" he added with a laugh.
"shut up." he scowled and it made chase smile wide.
"my mom wouldn't have said yes to you coming on vacation with my family if she wasn't okay with us being a thing." he stated, grabbing tom's hand again. he pulled him to chase's chest and smiled up at him. they were shielded by a rack of clothes and chase took it as the opportunity to kiss the older boy. "yes, thomas. i'll go on a date with you."
as the oxlem's, michael, and thomas sat around the living room in the house they rented they played a card game to pass the time while waiting for anthony and angelica to return from their conferences so that they could go out for a big family dinner on their first night in florida.
henry's steakhouse was a high class diner with killer service and was expensive as hell, but who cared when you had money, right? the fourteen of them sat around a large table (which was three tables put together) and looked at the menus. each dish was well over ten dollars and chase was looking for the least expensive thing. it was what he had always done when he went anywhere for dinner with his family since they were so big.
"how was the beach and boardwalk?" angelica asked after they had ordered their drinks and appetizers.
"amazing." lacey gushed. "pippa and i finally got tans."
"i forgot to put on sunscreen, so i'm fried." camila pouted.
brinley chuckled, "you're so dumb."
camila glared at her sister, "fight me."
"bring it." brinley tested and the two girls had a glare off as the subject was changed to what was happening the following day.
the girls were planning on hitting some of the outlets while the guys were all attending a baseball game. they had first base line seats and were all beyond excited to go. jt was probably the most excited since it would be his first ever live baseball game.
as the dinner went on chase felt tom's hand on his thigh and he turned to the boy, giving him a small smile as he watched him continue to engage in conversation with alec, michael, sebastian, and matteo.
his stomach started to twist and he let out a small sigh. he was way too in love with this boy in such a short period of time. maybe michael and sebastian were right: he can do long distance and everything would work out in the end. he could only hope.
wow okay, so it's been a long time since i've posted for this book, but i'm gonna try to finish it because i actually have a sequel idea for it
