Page 83 of From Coast to Coast
Something tells me I’m going to be waiting a long time.
“I hear a car,” Remy murmurs against my back. I gasp, and he loosens his arms, allowing me space to step forward and press my face back against the window. I see a flash of gold hair.
“It’s them.” Cupping Remy’s face, I kiss him hard.
“Go,” he says, laughing into my mouth. “I’m right behind you.”
Taking the stairs two at a time, I reach the bottom just as Sam rounds the back of the house. He’s looking toward the ocean, mouth slightly agape. Troy is only a step behind him, face flushed with excitement and dimples flashing as his eyes meetmine.
“Gray,” he says, and drops his bag onto the sand with a thump. Grinning, I step forward and pull him into a bone-crushing hug. He grunts, but wraps his arms around my waist and squeezes me back.
Once I’ve sufficiently crushed Troy’s ribs, I pull Sam into a similar hug, smiling when he laughs and thumps my back.God, I missed these guys.
“How was traffic? I was expecting you to be here earlier. We should have just picked you up from the airport.”
“Nah, we were okay. I mean, yeah, the traffic was insane, but.” Sam shrugs, reaching a hand blindly behind him for Troy’s. He cocks his head to the side, toward the ocean. “This is incredible.”
“Wait until you see the view from inside. Come on.” Before he can, I pick up the bag Troy dropped onto the ground. Sam adjusts the strap of his own, slung over his shoulder, and smiles as Troy bounces a little bit on the balls of his feet.
I lead them up the stairs and through the glass door, laughing when Troy’s jaw drops a little bit as he scans the room.
“Whoa,” Sam breathes, staring out the massive westward-facing windows overlooking the ocean.
Footsteps behind me alert me to Remy’s presence, and tingles race down my spine as I turn and look at him. He winks at me before turning his attention to our guests, who are still ogling the view and haven’t registered the addition of another body in the room. Remy pauses next to me, leaning into my side as he always does when we’re near enough to touch. I’m lightheaded with the excitement of having them all here in the same room.
Troy looks the same as he always does, black hair amess and grey eyes bright with barely contained enthusiasm. There are permanent indents in his cheeks from how hard he’s been smiling since he got here. Beside him, Sam looks a little slimmer than the last time I saw them—finally losing some of that bulk he’d maintained since his college hockey days. He’s shaved his face, which, paired with the explosion of freckles, makes him look somehow younger. The pair of them look like they haven’t aged a day past twenty-two.
“Oh, hey.” Troy is the first to turn and catch my eye, blushing when he sees Remy beside me. He steps forward and holds out a hand. “Thank you so much for inviting us.”
“Of course. Nice to see you and not have to worry about losing to your ass,” Remy replies, earning another blush and shaking his hand before turning to Sam. “You must be Sam—it’s good to finally meet you.”
“Likewise,” Sam replies, tucking his hands back into his pockets and grinning when Troy’s fingers follow. “This place is incredible. Are you sure you’re fine with us staying here, though? We don’t mind getting a hotel if you want your own space.”
“No,” I say, just as Remy responds: “Gray would cry himself to sleep tonight if you went to a hotel.”
“Okay.” I roll my eyes, even though I would be pretty bummed if they left. When Remy had offered all his spare rooms for everyone to stay here, I’d immediately discounted it before it slowly grew on me. Now, I’m so attached to the idea of having everyone under one roof for a few days, I probably would shed a few tears if any of them left.
“You miss me, huh?” Troy asks, looking pleased with himself.
“He does,” Remy tells him. “Constant pining.”
“All right, that’s enough. Come on, I’ll show you guys where you’re sleeping.”
“Honestly, I’d be happy sleeping on the floor out here. I bet the view is just as good at night,” Sam says, following as Remy and I lead them across the room. When I glance over my shoulder, Troy’s eyes are ping-ponging around as he looks at everything. When we pass it, I point down the staircase, drawing his attention to it.
“Full gym and a two-lane lap pool are downstairs.”
Sam laughs, but Troy’s face lights up even further. “You have a pool!”
“Yeah. Not always feasible to swim in the ocean,” Remy tells him, shrugging. “Goes without saying, but you can use whatever you want. I’ve also got surfboards, SUP boards, and a handful of kayaks, too.”
Troy looks like all his wildest dreams were just handed to him on a silver platter. Beside him, Sam is gazing at his face tenderly, still charmed by his husband’s everlasting enthusiasm for physical activities.
“We could run on the beach, and then go for a swim tomorrow morning,” Troy says, jostling Sam’s arm with their linked fingers.
“Fun,” Sam deadpans back, earning a light shove.
We deposit their bags into the biggest of the spare bedrooms, and I trail behind them as Remy gives them a tour. If they notice the way all of the bedrooms are made up for guests, they don’t comment on it, even though Remy continues to shoot me covert looks. I shake my head at him, grinning, and check my phone. The others should be arriving any minute, if we timed this correctly.