“This is a lot of land,” Ron said as I walked up to the construction site.
“My girl needs space for her garden,” I replied. The ground crunched beneath my boots as I stepped forward, looking out at the cleared half-acre of land that was framed by fall trees. It wasn’t much yet, but it would be home soon enough. I looked around, already envisioning our home here.
I’d bought this spot in the hills just outside the city. It was peaceful and quiet, the perfect place for Noa and me to start alife together. I’d asked Noa a few months ago to move in with me officially. When she agreed, I went straight to the bank and purchased this land. I asked if she wanted to build our new home where her old house once stood, but she said too much trauma lived in that dirt. She was ready to start fresh. Instead, she wanted to honor her grandparents and father by turning it into a community art center for disabled artists and kids who needed it most. The grand opening would be next spring.
“Hey, Quade, we’ll have you stand over here,” Kay said, standing near the edge, going over a few specs on her tablet with Blue. She was going to be designing our home. Teagan, Ryan, Jess, and Zy were all here, too, sporting coffee cups and hoodies. Even baby Nyla had on a tiny hard hat Jess had bought her. They’d shown up to celebrate this moment with us like they always did, full of noise and love.
“Would you come on, Noa? It’s cold,” Teagan said to Noa, who was still in the car putting on lip gloss and checking her edges in the visor mirror. I smiled.
“Take your time, baby. Ignore Teagan,” I joked just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I slid my hand in and pulled it out, gazing at the message quickly.
Eight24 Team:
Your first single drops Friday. Playlist confirmed. Cover art is clean as hell. Proud of you, Q.
I grinned. My first single, my first release in damn near eight years. I’d poured every sleepless night and late studio session into that track, letting the music speak for all the things I’d been through. It wasn’t about the past. It was about who I was now. It was about her. It was about becoming a man.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket just as the car door opened. Noa transferred to the seat and rolled forwardslowly, lips shiny as a chicken dinner. She looked so damn good wrapped in my green flannel. She had a blanket over her legs, and her short curls were blowing in the wind.
“Y’all ready?” she asked the group.
“Girl, we’ve been ready. We done froze waiting on you,” Teagan replied, and everyone laughed.
“Let’s get this show on the road!” Kay called, grinning. I waved them both off and met my baby halfway up the pathway. I crouched down in front of her chair, preparing to carry her the rest of the way so her wheels wouldn’t get stuck in the mud.
“You good?” I asked.
“I’m great,” she said. “This feels surreal.”
“It does, but it’s happening.”
“It is.” She smiled and let me lift her arms around my neck. Her legs wrapped around my waist naturally. I walked us to the center of the lot together.
“Here.” Kay handed us the golden shovel she’d had custom-made for us. The wordsbuilt from lovewere engraved on the handle. I gripped onto it, balancing Noa with one hand. Noa looked up at me with tears in her eyes, and suddenly, all I could think about was giving her the moon and the damn stars to go with it.
“I still think you should let me buy you a car,” I whispered in her ear.
“I don’t need a car.” She giggled.
“You do. I want you to be able to get around without having to wait on me or Teagan.” I kissed her cheek, then her lips. “Let me spoil you, sunshine.”
“Start by building me a house.” She laughed against my lips.
“That’s already in motion, baby. And after that, I’m gonna make you my wife.” Her lips parted to say something, but I didn’t wait for a response before kissing her again. I didn’t needa reply. Not yet anyway. Not here. This wasn’t a proposal that was in the works.
“Any moment now, lovebirds,” Jess called out, and together, we pressed into the earth and broke ground on our first home together.
“To love. To peace. To everything we almost didn’t get to have,” I said, and everyone cheered. I looked out at our family, at the trees that would become Noa’s garden, at the dirt that would soon support our home, and then back at the woman I loved. The world tried to clip our wings, but love taught us how to fly anyway.
The momentI stepped backstage at Noa’s show, I realized I’d brought too many damn flowers. I’d filled the backstage area with tulips, peonies, sunflowers, and roses. If it was at the shop, it was here. I slid the last bouquet of peonies I had in hand on a nearby table and stepped back, admiring my work. Somehow, it still didn’t feel like enough to show her how proud of her I was tonight.
My eyes darted around the room, scanning through the models and assistants before locking in on Noa, who was sitting near the corner looking beautiful, wrapped in a silky, burgundy robe as she dressed one of the models. I walked over to her slowly and waited for her to finish.
“Hey,” I said. “I brought you another bouquet. I sat it over there.” She turned and blinked when she saw the bouquet.
“Quade!” She laughed, covering her mouth. “I think I have enough flowers. At this rate, I’m going to be sending bouquets home with the guests.”
“I don’t see the problem. You get a flower. You get a flower. Everybody gets a flower.” I pointed around the room as Noa laughed.
