The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

Chapter 775: ANOTHER CONFESSION

LAUREN, who had just taken a drink of his tea, choked again. But this time, the coughing fit was much worse, shaking his whole body. Maybe his shock was even bigger now than it was a minute ago. He wanted to shout at Reas, but the tea must have gone into the wrong pipe. He couldn’t catch his breath, his body trembling as he coughed uncontrollably into his hand.

Reas quickly moved to pat his back again. "Baby, breathe. Just focus on breathing slowly."

Lauren felt his entire face burning up. He didn’t even know if it was from lack of air or pure embarrassment. He glared at the culprit. This guy! First, he just announced they were dating out of nowhere, and now he was even calling him ’baby’, a nickname he usually only used when they were alone or in bed together. And Reas was doing it in front of his parents and his grandfather. Was it possible for the floor to just open up and swallow him right now?

Emmy looked at the two of them. When her son dropped that unexpected ’news’, she had thought he was joking. But seeing Lauren’s dramatic reaction, and hearing Reas call him ’baby’ so casually, like he had done it a hundred times, she felt like she had suddenly stepped into some strange alternate reality.

So it was real? They were actually dating?

Gage came back to his senses faster than his wife. He was definitely shocked, but his first instinct was to ask questions. This was Reas they were talking about. His son, who had never shown the slightest interest in romance, was suddenly telling them he was in a relationship.

"Since when did this start?" he asked, looking straight at Reas. "I mean, when did the two of you get together? And how did that even happen? Was it some kind of love at first sight thing?"

Lauren’s face flushed deeper and deeper with each question from Reas’s father. Seriously, why couldn’t the floor just crack open and swallow him whole right this second?

"It started about five months ago," Reas began. "I’m not really sure how it happened." He paused, thinking. "I was very annoyed with him at first," he admitted, a slight frown touching his features. "I thought he was fickle and was trying to seduce Aster, so I was very on guard against him."

His expression softened as he continued. "But then I got to know him, and I realized how wrong I was." He glanced at Lauren, who was staring at his plate. "He’s just a very sociable guy, always brimming with positivity." Reas’s voice grew quieter, more personal. "Before I knew it, his light blinded me. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him."

He looked back at his parents. "I wanted to spend time with him, to always be by his side, and I hated seeing him give special attention to other people." He shrugged. "It took a while, but I figured it out. I like him. No, I was in love with him."

Finally, he finished simply. "So I took my shot and confessed. Thankfully, we feel the same way."

Lauren kept his head down, his face burning. The embarrassment from before was still there, like a hot flush on his skin. But as Reas kept talking, a different feeling pushed through inside him. A small, helpless smile fought its way onto his lips, and he bit it back. His heart was beating too fast and too loud in his own ears. He felt flustered and thrilled all at once, just hearing Reas say those things out loud.

He focused on the steady sound of Reas’ voice, letting it anchor him. Each honest admission settled something warm and solid in his chest. The initial shock and shyness were still there, but they were being slowly crowded out by a giddy, spreading warmth. It was the kind of feeling that made him want to hide his face and reach for Reas’ hand at the same time.

Oh, how romantic, Emmy thought. She couldn’t quite believe she was hearing those words from Reas. Unlike Astrid, Reas had always been the stoic one, handling everything calmly. She had honestly thought it would be years before he ever opened his heart to someone. But here he was, in a serious relationship, and he’d even managed it before his brother.

Even though Astrid had the prince, and he clearly had strong feelings for the man, it would probably take him much longer to make anything official. Astrid was just cautious like that. But it didn’t change the fact that he was most likely seriously considering a future with him.

Emmy smiled, a little helplessly. Both her sons falling in love so young... well, maybe they got that particular trait from her.

Not that she was against it. She had fallen in love young too, and look how her own life had turned out. But that didn’t guarantee the same happiness for her sons. Things could hurt them in the future. Or everything could work out perfectly, and they would end up spending their lives with the people they were with now. Either way, she wouldn’t stand in their way. Not unless she saw an actual reason to. She and Gage would just be there to guide them and be the support they could lean on if they ever got hurt.

She gave Lauren a warm, steady smile. "Well, in that case, welcome to the family, Lauren."

Seeing his wife accept the situation so easily, Gage decided to follow her lead. He was still worried, of course. They didn’t really know anything about Lauren yet, aside from the stuff you could find online, and most of that seemed to be wrong, anyway. But there wasn’t much he could do about that right now. He would just have to trust Reas’ judgment for the time being. If Lauren was going to be staying here for a few days, then Gage would have plenty of time to get to know the man himself.

"Yes, treat this place like your own home while you’re here," he said, his tone much more welcoming than before.