“Wait, what?” Ty’s expression shifts from his fake enthusiasm to concern. “Jesse, didyou—”
I realize he thinks Jesse might have saidno.
“Oh, fuck. I should have been clearer,” I add. “I was planning to ask,but…”
“…I ended up asking,” Jesse finishes my sentence forme.
Tysighs.
“It was a surprise when he pulled out the ring, though,” Jesse says, “if that’s any consolation. I’m not sure why I decided right then, but it just seemed right. Maybe it had to do with you planting the idea in my head yesterday, about gettingmarried.”
“You mentioned it to him?” Iask.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I didn’t, like, tell him what you were doing. I put the thought out there to gauge what Jesse would say and if he was cool with that, and also to let him know I was fine with it, so in case the moment came up, he wouldn’t feel like a dick for sayingyes.”
Not only did he not stand in our way, but he’d given me his approval when I asked, and he played the other side of it too, making sure Jesse knew he was fine in the sameway.
“I didn’t mean to ruin the damn thing,” Tysays.
“No, no, you didn’t ruin it,” I assure him. “You made it a thousand times better, because now I was the one getting proposedto.”
“You didn’t even have a ring,” Ty tells Jesse, fussing at him. “What were you thinking? You’re not going to treat my fatherright?”
It’s strange hearing him utter the wordfatheraround me, and judging by our brief eye contact, I can tell he notices it too, like he didn’t mean to say it, and I try to keep my expression from changing, from him seeing I’ve noticedit.
“I’ll be treating him just fine, thank you very much,” Jesseinsists.
“So tonight we need to have a celebratory dinner!” Ty follows. “You guys may be spending the rest of your lives together, but you have to be reminded sometimes that I’m wedged right here in the middle as the official third wheel. Okay, strike the wedged-in-the-middle part,” he says,cringing.
While we enjoy the joke, the bit of truth to the third-wheel comment stings, and like when he said the wordfather, I can tell there’s more there, buried beneath the surface. He wants this to be okay, but like his father, he’s good at cloaking hisemotions.
He offers some more congratulatory remarks before we all split up for the afternoon, Jesse and I taking a nap while Ty hits thebeach.
That evening, we head out to a nearby restaurant up on the hill overlooking the water. It’s the same restaurant where Ty, Jesse, and I ate last time we were all here, after Ty returned from having to handle his catastrophe atwork.
Everything conjures up one memory after another of thebeginning.
I remember the lust…the hunger… But it was also the night I acknowledged I didn’t want a quick fuck from Jesse. I wanted so much more. To know him more than a vacation getaway wouldpermit.
This time is different, though, something I grasp even more as I see the ring on my man’s finger as he and Ty argue over themenu.
“No, that’s way too much,” Jessesays.
“Shut up. This is on me, so neither of you get to decide what I get.” Ty orders the more expensive bottle of champagne from the waiter, leaving Jesse grinding his teeth and shaking hishead.
“How many times are you going to get engaged in your life?” Ty asksme.
“Like I said before,” I chime in. “I’m staying out ofthis.”
“Well, it’s the least I could do for Eric, since you were apparently too cheap to even get him a ring.” He winks to let Jesse know he’s just teasing him. “Besides, it’s all going on Eric’s black AMEXanyway.”
“New number, who dis?” Iquip.
“Oh my God, Eric’s entering this century because of you, Jesse. You’re teaching him basicslang.”
“I heard that one on my own, thank you verymuch.”
The bottle of champagne arrives, and the waiter pours our glasses before we eachorder.
