Page 244 of Iced Up Love: Part Two
“I need more, Zach.”
He looks at me properly now.
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t marry her,” I say quietly, the words sitting heavier than I expected. “Not legally. Not the way I want to.”
His expression shifts slightly, understanding already there.
“But I need something,” I continue, pushing through it. “I need something that’s mine. Something that shows it. Something that makes it clear, to everyone.”
He doesn’t interrupt.
“I want a commitment ceremony,” I say. “Something for us. For her. Where I get to stand there and claim her properly. Where I get to wear a ring too.”
The idea lands fully as I say it.
Solid.
Right.
“I want people to see that I’m taken,” I add, quieter now. “Not just hear it. Not just guess. Know it.”
Zach watches me for a second, then nods slowly.
“I don’t hate that.”
Relief hits sharper than I expected.
“You don’t?”
“No,” he says, thoughtful. “I think… I think it makes sense. For all of us.”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“When we get back,” he continues, “we talk about it properly. With her. With Elijah.”
I nod once.
“Yeah.”
Because that’s the next step. Not just telling the world. Building something real. Something visible. Something that anchors this in a way that can’t be questioned.
We reach the hallway leading to media. The noise shifts again. Different kind of pressure. Different kind of expectation.
I roll my shoulders back, straightening slightly, forcing myself into place. Because this is part of it too.
The spotlight.
The questions.
The performance.
But this time, I’m not stepping into it as the same guy.
I’ve got something behind me now.
Something real.
