He spins around so that he’s now facing me, and I can see the tears flowing from his eyes.
“I just want you to love me.”
My lips quiver, and I stretch out both my hands, cupping his cheeks with the palm of my hands, as I bring his lips to mine in a sweet, gentle kiss. I feel the salty residue of his tears as they trickle onto my lips. I continue to kiss him, with his head still firmly cupped in my palms. And when our lips part, I wipe the tears from his cheeks with my thumbs.
“You are such a stubborn asshole, you know that? You’re my entire world, Dylan. And while it’s taken me five years to realize that, I intend to spend the rest of my life making it up to you by showing you just how much I love you, if you’ll just let me.”
“I’d like that,” he answers finally.
“Good. Now will you stop being so fucking stubborn and let me love you the way you deserve to be loved?”
“On one condition.”
“And what’s that?” I ask.
“You let me take you out on a date.”
“Dylan, I already told you, I don’t—”
“I know what you said. But as your boyfriend, I want to take you out on a proper date.”
The realization of what he said hits us both immediately.
Boyfriend!
I love the way that sounds. And hearing it come straight out of his mouth makes me love it even more.
“I’m sorry, I—”
“Don’t! Don’t you dare say you’re sorry, Dylan. I’d be honored to be your boyfriend. As long as you’re my boyfriend, too?”
He blushes and replies, “Okay.”
“Now, about that date, how about we come to a compromise?”
“A compromise?” he asks, confused.
“Come, let’s sit down,” I say, taking his hand and leading him back over to the bed again.
We sit down on the mattress, and I take both of his hands and rest them on his thighs, rubbing the back of his palms with my thumbs.
“Have you ever heard of Necker Island?” I ask him.
“Can’t say that I have.”
“It’s a very remote island, and it’s owned by Sir Richard Branson. A close personal friend of mine.”
“Him I’ve heard of,” he says.
“How would you like to spend Christmas with me on that island? Just the two of us, with no one else around?”
“You and me on an entire island? Alone?”
I nod.
“Just the two of us?”
I nod again.
