The Contestant#29
Wait, before you dive into this story, have you read ‘Joy Ride‘
Katy dropped her phone onto her bed and shook her head, she couldn’t believe her husband. She told Tyson several times, not to spend any alone time with any of the contestants.
Tyson was the king of extraverts; when they were in school, every time Katy turned around he was showing up with a new friend. And these weren’t surface level friendships either; he had this way of opening people up and really connecting with them. His kindness and desire to connect with so many people is one of many things that made Katy fall in love with him. But he couldn’t do that with these contestants; especially not now when Adriana would be breaking three of the four remaining contestant’s hearts.
Much like her husband, Katy liked Corey, they were funny, playful, and man could they cook; but Katy didn’t want to show any favoritism. Not only did she not know what was going on in her daughter’s head and in her heart, Katy didn’t want to have any favorites.
Adriana put a lot of trust in her mother, and she’d called her mother several times throughout this process; to vent, to gush, and to ask for advice.
After each elimination, right before bed, Adriana would call her mother, and they would spend hours on the phone, just talking about how Adriana felt.
“I called Jason today.” Adriana said through the phone.
Though she couldn’t see her daughter, Katy knew the exact look that would be etched into her daughter’s features if she could.
“And what did he say…” Katy asked.
Adriana sighed, and Katy could feel the weight of it travel through the phone.
“You signed a contract, Adriana.” Adriana said, doing her best impression of the man.
Katy laughed into the phone.
“Ahh my bambina, never been one for waiting.” Katy said with a laugh.
Adriana huffed.
“It’s not about being impatient, I just don’t want to waste one’s time. I know who I want.” Adriana said.
Per the agreement she siged, Adriana wasn’t supposed to be talking to anyone about any of the contestants. But thanks to her mother, and her law degree, Katy found a loop whole where she could sign and NDA, that would allow her to speak to her daughter.
“Baby time doesn’t matter, if Corey’s the one, it’ll all work out in the end.” Katy said.
Katherine Adriana Romano wasn’t a worrier; when the world was falling apart around her, and everyone else was losing their shit, Katherine kept her cool. “The cards will fall how they fall” she would always say, and in her younger years, Adriana misinterpreted her mother’s lack of panic as a sign that she didn’t care, how much she cared was the thing that allowed her to act as an anchor and be there for those who needed her most.
The bedroom door opened, bringing Katy out of her thought.
“You better have gotten me a Slurpee mister.” Katy said, not bothering to look up from the book she was reading.
“Not dad.” Adriana said, causing her mother to look up.
“Wait, it’s like four A.M. Where is he?” Adriana said.
Katy thought about ratting him out, but she didn’t know the implications of that. She hadn’t read any contracts, so she didn’t know if ratting Corey and her husband out would lead to them being eliminated. But then again, Corey was an adult, and they did decide to leave.
“Don’t know, I woke up and he wasn’t here.” Katy said, deciding not to rat her husband out.
…
While Katy and Adriana were up in her room talking, Corey and Tyson walked through the side door of the house.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into eating gas station Sushi. If I shit myself in my sleep, I’m gonna come to your room, wake your ass up, and make you clean it.” Tyson hissed.
“The cashier said it’s fresh! They get it from the shop up the street, where the owner goes out and catches it himself.” Corey said in a whisper shout.
Tyson opened his mouth to say something when the kitchen light flicked on.
“Dad, Corey, what are you two doing?” Adriana said, standing in the middle of the kitchen.
“Tyson forced me to drive him to 7-Eleven.” Corey said, pointing an accusatory finger at Tyson.
Tyson huffed as he threw his hands in the air.
“What happen to us being a team!” He yelled.
“Hey, you’re already married, I gotta look out for myself and preserve my shot at forever.” Corey said, gesturing between themself and Adriana.
The spark of joy that flashed over her mother’s face wasn’t lost on Adriana. From the moment she and Tyson walked through the front door on their first day there, Katy had made up her mind, Corey was the one; but for their sake, she’d entertain the other contestants and not play favorites.
Adriana glanced at her mother, who tipped her chin downward before turning to her husband.
“Come on you, let’s go.” She said, grabbing her husband’s hand.
Throwing a goodbye over his shoulder, Tyson allowed Katy to pull him back down into the basement.
….
Adriana laid in the hammock with Corey, swaying lightly as a breeze rolled over them.
Thanks to the heavy blanket they’d snagged from the couch, and the warmth of Corey’s body against her, Adriana could spend a lifetime in that hammock.
The pair sat in comfortable silence, listening to the waves crash into the sand.
“I think I’m ready to end this.” Adriana said.
With her back pressed to Corey’s chest, Adriana could feel every muscle in Corey’s body tense up.
“Wait what?” They asked, their chest pressing against hers as they took a deep breath.
“Yeah, I’m tired of pretending like this is still a competition; cause it’s not. I just want you.” She said, angling herself so that she could look at them.
Corey let out a heavy sigh.
“Jesus woman! You scared me for a second there.” Corey said, causing Adriana to laugh.
Turning around, Adriana adjusted herself so that she and Corey were nose to nose.
“No more games. I want you.” She said.
Corey grinned widely.
Unable to find the words to express how they felt in that moment, Corey simply grabbed Adriana’s face and kissed her deeply.
Only a few more installments left. Already dreaming up a sequel, so hopefully installments of that will be coming soon. In the meantime, share this series with someone, and if you liked this, make sure to hit that star.
Wanna support this site and the creation of LGBT stories? Consider buying a cup of coffee. Buy me a coffee is a virtual tip jaw. For just four dollars, you can ‘buy me a coffee’ and support this site. For 2$ a month, you can provide monthly support and help The Royal Blue Network spread the word of quality queer stories.
But if buying coffee isn’t your thing, you can still share this series, and maybe help someone else find #TheRoyalBlueNetwork. Either way thanks for reading!
Support The Site
Pingback: The Knee Never Lies – The Royal Blue Network