Alec waved away the waitress after thanking her, and he opened the bottles himself once she brought them over. “It’s half the fun,” he said as he ripped off the foil.
“Please tell me you’re not going to spray it all over us like a Grand Prix winner,” Jen said.
“I wouldn’t want to waste it,” he assured her.
But when he poured some into the first glass, it frothed over the top and onto the table.
“What was that about wasting it?” Maria teased.
When all their glasses were full, James raised his. “To Alec. Congratulations!”
“Congratulations!” They all raised and clinked glasses, sloshing more of the precious liquid onto the tabletop and laughing before taking a sip.
“Thanks for all your support,” Alec said. “You’re a great team. I’m lucky to work with you all. I’m not sure I say that often enough.”
“No, you don’t,” James said with a twinkle in his eye. “You should definitely tell us how brilliant we are much more frequently. We never get tired of hearing it.”
Suddenly, Alec spotted Ed over James’s shoulder; Ed caught sight of him at the same moment, and they smiled at each other. The rest of the world dropped away. James was still talking, but Alec could only watch Ed approach.
“Hi,” Ed greeted them.
“Ed!” Maria exclaimed. “This is a nice surprise.”
“Here. Luckily there’s a spare glass.” Jon poured some bubbly for Ed.
“Thanks. I hope you don’t mind if I gatecrash?” Ed’s gaze flickered to Alec again.
Alec’s cheeks were hot and his palms were sweating. Now was the time. “Actually, Ed isn’t gatecrashing.” His voice sounded like someone else’s over the pulse beating in his ears. “I invited him… because I have another announcement to make.” He caught James’s eye and saw the penny drop. James’s mouth fell open in surprise before a huge grin spread across his features. “Ed and I… we’re, um—”
“Shagging!” James cried out. “Oh my God, you sly dogs. You’re shagging.”
Alec’s face burst into flames as everyone whipped around to stare at James, then at Ed, and then back at Alec, waiting for him to confirm or deny. Ed was no help at all. He was pissing himself laughing.
“Well, I was going to use the phrase ‘seeing each other.’” Alec glared at James.
“I bet you are.” James snorted.
“For fuck’s sake, James. Will you shut up and let me finish?”
“Sorry.”
“We’re seeing each other, dating, boyfriends, partners… call it what you like. It’s not a secret. Well, not anymore.” Alec shot Ed a glance, and Ed’s lips quirked.
Alec plucked up the courage to look at the rest of them, scanning their faces for any negative reactions. They mostly looked surprised, but that was fair enough.
“Well, congratulations, guys. I’m happy for you,” Maria said, raising her glass again. “I think we need another toast.”
“Hear, hear, congratulations,” Jen chimed in.
Ed was his boyfriend—and everyone knew it.
Slowly, deliberately, Alec took Ed’s hand in his own and laced their fingers together, squeezing gently.
Ed turned to Alec, surprise and pleasure on his face. He smiled and squeezed back. “Hey,” he said quietly. “You okay?”
“Never better,” Alec replied.
And it was the truth.