“Of course I will,” I breathed. I wanted to be Perrin Mann more than I realized,and now I had a shiny platinum band on my hand, Jack’s thumbs pressing the tears away, and warm kisses on my lips. Jack was standing against me, my thighs bracketing his legs, and we kissed, and spoke with whispers and kisses for a span of time I didn't know. He whispered promises against my skin, against my mouth, and I agreed and accepted each and every one.
Jack was against my chest, his body pulled flushed with mine before I could even think clearly again. We had fallen into a comfortable silence and my mouth ghosted against him, smelling his hair and kissing him lightly on the temple. The sky was darker now, purples and oranges replacing the light pink and the red of the early sunset. A chill was in the air that had not been there when we first sat down.
There weren’t enough shadows falling just yet, so I straightened my left leg so that my hand could reach into my own pocket without disturbing the man in my arms.
Jack
I was so deliciously happy I didn’t have words. The very thought made my head buzz as we watched the sunset, and I melted into Perrin.
Maybe Quinn had been right last New Year’s Eve, and not kissing someone had been a better good-luck-in-love charm than I could have ever imagined. Maybe it would work for Quinn, too. I wasn’t entirely sure, given that my focus had been on Perrin last night, but I thought Quinn had been alone at midnight.
I gave a chuckle at the errant thought of Quinn in some sort of clandestine midnight kiss on the outdoor patio at Black Diamond while the rest of uscounted down with the band inside.Highly unlikely.
I wasready to go home and makePerrinmine in more ways than the metal around his finger could possibly signify.
I wasn’t sure what was happening when Perrin shifted in the last light. I knew we had to go soon. We had been careful aroundPerrin during this time of night and the shadows that fell, because Perrin loved the twilight.There was enough light to remain here for a little longer and we usually waited for that last light. Suddenly, Perrin had reversed our roles from earlier, and he was on one knee in front of me.
My gaze snapped from the metal ring on his finger, and the one he held in his hand.
Two rings.
“Can’t believe you beat me to this, motherfucker,” he said with a smile, and I had to laugh. Perrin was the only man I had ever met who made “motherfucker” and “jackass” sound like endearments.
“I can, actually, though,” he said, his face suddenly looking serious. “Because you are faster than me Jack, but I’ll chase you. You make itsoI can breathe, sweetheart. You are it for me. You take all this inside, who I am, and you see it, you make sense of it, and you allow me peace. There is nothing I want more than to build a life with you, to take your name, and be yours in every way you can think of for the rest of our lives. There are no words that can get close. None. But, I promise that if I can’t find them,whenI can’t, I will find a way to tell you anyway, just like we always have.”
His eyes were damp again, and I couldn’t believe that here we were - as always, on the same page, wanting the same things, but in our own way.
“Will, you have me, Jack? For always?” he asked, gold in his eyes set off by the backdrop of the sunset. And damn the man, who, despite the fact I had just proposed to him, acted as if I might actually say no.
I looked to the band he offered me, and couldn’t wait to compare it to what I had found for him.
“Yes, P,” I said, with a smile, humbled that he needed to hear it.
When we made it to the end of the run in the dark, I crashed against him as soon as we were out of our skis. I couldn’t believe how much it reminded me of the first night we slept together, and I couldn’t believe how much I had wanted him that night was nothing compared to how much I wanted him now.
Epilogue:Bishop
It had come. Of course it had.
I knew what it was. Jack had texted me for my address so they could send it to me.
An engagement announcement.
I knew the expensive paper was out of place in my life. Not unlike my friendship with the two men who sent it.
The calligraphy was beautiful -painstakingly done over the heavy envelope, and the inherent elegance of the green color scheme was obvious even to me, varied hues matching the summer date I knew they wanted for the wedding.
Jack and Perrin Mann’s wedding.
Well, technically Perrin was Perrin Thayer, or Stephens I guess, but in my mind,it was already Jack and Perrin Mann. It simply couldn't be any other way. There just wasn’t a universe that could exist and keep those two apart.
No matter how much I tried to drive Bear Valley from my mind, I failed. Something had changed for me there.
Not that I had tried as hard as I could have, the ding of my phone reminded me. Sure enough, Perrin and Jack shared with me a picture of Farrow, the Lhasa Apsothey adopted as a service animal for Perrin.
I met Farrow already, on New Year’s Eve, but the picture was to let me know Farrow passed his final certifications as a service dog. Since I set them up to get Farrowfrom a friend of mine that trains dogs to help military veterans with PTSD, I guessed it made sense I would get the text when it was time for them to take Farrow home to stay.
But, who was I kidding? There was friendship there, too.
