Kota eventually pulled back from the kiss, his lips swollen, his breath coming in short, warm puffs.
Theo and Sebastian were both looking up at him with those dazed, lovestruck expressions that made his chest feel too tight.
It was time.
“Close your eyes,” Kota murmured, his voice low and full of anticipation.
“Both of you.”
Theo’s eyelashes fluttered as he obeyed, a small, giddy smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Sebastian nodded rapidly, squeezing his eyes shut so tightly that little wrinkles formed at the corners.
Kota took each of them by the hand, his grip warm and steady, and led them carefully through the mansion.
Their footsteps were soft against the floor, the only sound the rustle of their clothes and the distant crackle of the fireplace.
He positioned them in the center of the living room, right where the rose petals formed a perfect heart on the floor.
The chandelier above had been dimmed, the candles casting dancing shadows on the walls.
The banner over the fireplace glittered in the soft light.
Everything was ready.
“Okay,” Kota said quietly.
“Open your eyes.”
Theo and Sebastian opened their eyes at the same moment.
Their expressions shifted from confusion to wonder to something deeper, something that made their lips part and their eyes glisten.
The room was a Valentine’s dream.
Heart-shaped garlands draped across every surface.
Fresh flowers arranged in crystal vases.
A table set for three, complete with champagne glasses and chocolate-covered strawberries.
And in the center of it all, two small black boxes, sitting side by side on a bed of rose petals.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence stretched, heavy and electric.
Kota’s stomach twisted.
He had been so sure this was the right thing to do, but now, standing there with both of them staring at the setup like they’d never seen anything like it, he felt a sudden wave of doubt crash over him.
“Do you…
do you not like it?” he asked, his voice coming out smaller than he intended.
“I should’ve done something better.
Something bigger.
I’m not good at this romantic stuff.
I could start over.
We could go somewhere else.
I know a place downtown that does candlelit dinners, or we could just forget the whole thing and—”
The rest of his sentence was lost as Theo and Sebastian surged forward simultaneously, pressing against him from both sides, their lips finding his cheeks, his jaw, the corner of his mouth.
They kissed him over and over, their hands clutching at his shirt, their bodies warm and eager.
“Kota,” Theo breathed between kisses, his voice thick with emotion.
“It’s perfect.
You’re perfect.
This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“I concur completely,” Sebastian added, his words tumbling out in a rush.
“The aesthetic is impeccable.
The ambiance is flawless.
The rose petals are arranged in a geometrically precise heart, which appeals to my sensibilities on a profound level.
I’ve never felt so thoroughly romanced in my entire life.
Thank you.
Thank you thank you thank you.”
Theo pulled back just enough to look Kota in the eyes, his own eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
“I love you, Kota.
I love you so much it scares me sometimes.
I never thought I’d have this.
Any of this.
And now I have you, and I have Sebastian, and I have this beautiful night.
I don’t know what I did to deserve it.”
Sebastian nodded vigorously.
“I love you too.
Both of you.
With every fiber of my being.
I love you with the intensity of a thousand Shakespearean sonnets.
I love you with the passion of a Brontë novel.
I love you with the—”
Kota cut him off with another kiss, deep and lingering, his hand coming up to cup Sebastian’s jaw.
When he pulled back, Sebastian was blushing furiously, his lips parted, his eyes glassy.
“I love you both,” Kota said simply.
“That’s all that matters.”
They were in the middle of a warm, cuddly lovers’ make-up session, tangled together on the couch with Theo’s head on Kota’s shoulder and Sebastian’s hand in Theo’s hair, when the front door exploded inward with a thunderous crash.
“WHERES THE TWINK CHEF THAT ASKED TO GET FUCKED?!”
Corey stood in the doorway, his white hair wild, his chest heaving, his baggy gray jeans riding dangerously low on his hips.
Behind him, Riley sauntered in with that familiar platinum-haired smirk, his eyes already scanning the room like he was cataloging every exit and every potential partner.
The two of them looked like they had just sprinted across the entire city.
The living room fell into stunned silence.
The candles flickered.
A single rose petal drifted to the floor.
Corey, entirely oblivious to the romantic scene he had just bulldozed through, scanned the room with a confused frown.
Then his eyes landed on Kota, and his face split into a wide, delighted grin.
He sauntered over, his hips swaying, his eyes taking in the decorations, the candles, the table set for three.
“Ooo, what’s all this, cutie?” Corey asked, whistling low.
“Is this the Valentine’s surprise you had planned?
For me?
You shouldn’t have.”
He pressed a hand to his chest, feigning bashfulness.
“No, really, you shouldn’t have.
I mean, I’ll accept it, obviously, but you really should’ve wifed me up first.
All this for a day-long holiday?
If this is what I get as your boyfriend, then put a ring on it, big guy.
I’m ready.”
Riley, never one to be left out of anything, strolled over as well.
“I’ve never been invited to the mansion before,” he said, looking around with genuine interest.
“But I’ve been dying to see the sex goats again.
Are they around?
Please tell me they’re around.”
Kota blinked.
“Who the hell are the ‘sex goats’?”
“Elliot and Grayson, obviously.
The motherfucking Hawthorne twins.
Those two are legendary.
Do you know the stories they have at Westfield?
They’re like urban legends now.
Like cryptids, but with better asses and worse impulse control.”
Theo sat up straight, his eyes wide with alarm.
“What stories?
What are you talking about?”
“Oh, you know,” Riley said, waving a hand dismissively.
“Like the time they fucked the entire track team after the regional championships.
All twelve of them.
At the same time.
Rumor has it the locker room smelled like cum for a month.
Or the time they got caught fucking in the library during finals week.
Right on one of the study tables.”
Theo’s face went pale, then red, then pale again.
“They WHAT?!”
Riley blew a kiss in Theo’s direction.
“Damn right.
Your brothers are icons.
I’ve been dying to get fucked by them since I was a freshman.
But they graduated when I was seventeen, so I never got the chance.
It’s honestly one of my biggest regrets.”
Kota sighed, pressing his fingers to his temples.
“Good for you, Riley.
But we were kind of in the middle of something before you two showed up.
So if you could just…”
Riley sighed dramatically, already turning away.
“Yeah, yeah, I get it.
Romantic night, two boyfriends, whole love thing.
Where’s the twink chef?
Austin?
He said he needed a good dicking and I’m not leaving until someone’s holes are filled.” He wandered off toward the kitchen, yelling Austin’s name at the top of his lungs.
Corey, meanwhile, had crashed onto one of the expensive couches, sprawling across it like he owned the place.
He let out a long, satisfied sigh, his arms stretched over his head.
“Man, I missed this place.
The couches are so soft.
The lighting is so warm.
The whole mansion smells like sex and expensive candles.” He turned his head toward Kota, grinning.
“I could get Beckett to let me crash here again, you know.
He’s a soft touch when you know what buttons to push.
And I know all his buttons.”
Kota sighed and turned back to Theo and Sebastian, who were both watching the intruders with expressions of mingled horror and amusement.
“Just ignore them,” he said quietly.
“They’ll get bored and leave eventually.”