“I tried scaring you off. You wouldn’t run. You subjected me to Mrs. H, and for some insane reason, I didn’t run either.”
More snickers.
“I guess, along the way, I kind of fell for you.”
Sisi blinked away tears.
Matty clutched his glass and said, “Aww.”
“Mateo, you make me happy. More than that, you make me . . . hell . . . you make me want to be better. I see you with your kids, with their parents, how you live your life in the open and inspire those aroundyou. Who wouldn’t want to be more like that?”
Mateo took a step forward and reached out a hand.
I stepped back. “Let me get this out, okay.”
He nodded and lowered his hand.
“I love you, Mateo, more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything. I don’t know what we’ll face next, how your team will do next season, if my furniture will continue to sell; but I know one thing: I want to face all of it with you. I never want to wake up alone, without your messy-ass hair leaving its oily stain on my pillowcase—”
“Eww,” Matty said, earning a shoulder shove from Sisi.
“I want to live my life knowing every day, before the sun sets, you will be in my arms. I want to protect you, to support you, to . . . fuck . . .”
“Yeah!” Omar bellowed.
Mateo rolled his now-watery eyes.
“And fuck, lots of that. Omar’s right.”
“Damn straight!” Omar barked.
“Okay, he was right. But there’s nothing straight about how I’m going to fuck you.”
“Okay,ewwagain. Moving on,” Matty said, waving his glass in the air.
I smiled at Mateo. “Mateo Ricci, we have a long road ahead of us, but I want to walk it together. Willyou . . .”
“Say it!” Omar shouted.
“On your knee!” Sisi added.
I looked over Mateo’s shoulder and flicked her a bird.
Everyone laughed, including Mateo.
“I’m not proposing,” I whispered, as much for myself as for Mateo. He sucked in a breath and blew it out. I wasn’t sure if relief or disappointment filled his eyes. “That day may come, but I want to enjoy each one leading to it, too.”
Mateo nodded.
“I guess what I’m saying is . . . I’m not sure of a lot of things, but I’m sure I want you, Mateo. I want you by my side, no matter what. Will you be my boyfriend?”
Mateo’s face lit up, and laughter tumbled out of his mouth.
“What? What’s funny?”
Mateo set down his glass, stepped forward, and wrapped his arms around my neck before saying loud enough for everyone to hear, “We’ve been boyfriends for a while now. Thanks for keeping up, big guy.”
And just like that, our tear-filled moment was shattered in the most classic Shane-Mateo way possible. It wasn’t a perfect moment. I didn’t believe insuch things. But, like the two of us, it was perfectly imperfect.
And the best part?
I knew we were just getting started.
