“There’s the guy I know and love.”
Much, much later I snuggled up next to him on the couch and tucked my head beneath his chin after I nearly thank-you sexed us into a coma. Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard Jag say, “We leave on January second. We get to start living, loving, and making new memories.”
“I’m not going to bottom for you on a sandy beach. Nature’s exfoliant has no business anywhere near my junk.” Jag’s deep chuckle vibrated against my temple, where he had pressed his lips.
“I fucking love you, Bones.”
“I fucking love you too.” I closed my eyes and mentally ticked off the days until we left and the things I needed to do before then. The trip was a little last minute, but who cared? I was going on a dream vacation with the man I loved. I couldn’t wait to make new memories in the new year.
JJ
Miller and I sent the old year out with a bang. We went to the New Year’s Eve party Jack and Liam hosted at Bottoms Up. We felt everyone’s eyes on us for most of the night and all their speculation. At first, it had been a fun game keeping them guessing about what was or wasn’t going on between us. I also realized no one was buying our cavalier attitudes about love and commitment anymore, so I thought we should give the people what they’d been waiting for once they’d found out about our relationship.
I gently pressed Miller up against one of the columns that divided the sections of the bar. I knew I had caught the attention of most of our friends in the room. I stepped into him until our bodies were almost touching. I lowered my head until my lips were pressed against Miller’s ear. “I think the time for playing games has passed, don’t you, Bones?”
I nearly forgot there were other people in the room when I pulled back and saw the answer in his eyes. I started to bring my hand up to touch his face, but I knew the moment called for a more drastic demonstration. Instead, I captured his mouth in a fierce, hot kiss so there was no mistaking the way I felt about him. I poured every emotion I felt for him into that kiss. Catcalls and whistles broke out all around us while Miller and I smiled at one another.
“I think we need to take this a step further.” Miller had a wicked gleam in his eyes, and I wasn’t exactly sure how far he wanted to push the envelope.
“Um, I’m not much of an exhibitionist, Bones, and I really don’t want anyone else to see the look in your eyes or hear the dirty, dirty things you say when I’m deep inside you.”
Miller smacked me on the arm, but I could tell his body was reacting to my words. “I was thinking about taking the stage and doing a little karaoke duet, but now you’ve got me thinking about a totally different kind of entertainment.”
The idea of us singing a lame-ass, sappy love song as a duet on stage for our friends to see made me throw back my head and laugh. “Let’s do it.”
Jack was more than happy to help us pull off the surprise a little bit later in the evening. We looked through the music selection and pointed to the same song at the same time, which caused us to burst into laughter.
“It’s perfectly sappy,” Miller said. “We’re not brothers, but then again neither were they,” he said about the artists.
“We’re not righteous either.” I smirked at Miller, and he replied with a playful wink.
We told Jack which song we wanted to perform, and I thought he was going to bust a nut laughing at us. Once he caught his breath, he took to the stage and announced a surprise performance as the entertainment for the night. I knew Miller and I were the last couple the crowd would expect to take the stage, which was evidenced by the complete silence in the room as they all stared at us, mouths agape.
We had already decided Bones would go first, and he didn’t miss a beat once the music for The Righteous Brothers’ song “You’re My Soul and Inspiration” began to play. It was the sappiest song we could find, and we really amped it up with facial expressions and hand gestures to fit the tone of the song. We swayed along with the music and sang our hearts out, not caring if we were off-key or sounded terrible. I meant every word I sang, even if I played it off as stupid or sappy. Bones was my heart, and he gave me purpose.
We received lots of applause and cheers once the song was over. When we stepped offstage, we received our fair share of teasing too. We gave as good as we got, and the rest of the night was spent celebrating with our friends. Miller gave me a kiss hot enough to curl my toes when the clock struck midnight. It was the first time I’d received a New Year’s kiss, and I decided it was my new favorite tradition.
We packed up our pets and their supplies and took them to Chase and Gray’s house on the first day of January. They were so excited about our sexy getaway together that they’d offered to babysit our pets and take us to the airport the next morning. Oliver was pissed about the intruders and gave me an evil death glare as he sat on the arm of the couch beside me. I scratched his ears just how he liked, but he was still outraged. His fluffy orange tail never stopped swishing furiously from side to side.
I was so excited the night before our trip I hardly slept. Miller tried his best to fuck it out of me, but not even his talented hands, mouth, and cock could calm me enough to sleep. I finally dozed off a few hours before the alarm went off. I probably would’ve felt less zombie-like if I had just stayed awake.
I didn’t relax until we were in the air and on our way to paradise. We drank mimosas to celebrate the occasion, so it wasn’t long before I slipped my hand in Miller’s, leaned into him, and fell asleep on his shoulder. I slept through breakfast, but Miller saved me some fruit and pastries. I kissed him to show him my appreciation, then dug into my breakfast.
“Are you guys going on your honeymoon?” our flight attendant asked when she brought me some coffee. I nearly choked on the bite of banana nut muffin I had just taken. I feared a walnut would be permanently lodged in my lung.
“Just a vacation.” Miller chuckled while pounding my back to help me stop choking. “Scary thought, huh?” he asked once I was able to breathe without coughing. His eyes only held humor, not disgust that I might get choked up over marrying him or contempt at the idea of marrying me.
“No, I was just surprised by the question,” I replied. “I don’t know why it surprised me. It’s obvious we’re a couple from all the handholding and the way I curled into you to sleep. It would be a conclusion a lot of people would make if we were a straight couple. Still, it just caught me off guard.”
I hoped that I’d explained my reaction well enough to him because the last thing I wanted to do was ruin the surprise I had planned. Inside my carryon bag was a small box from Tiffany and Co., and it contained something I hoped Miller would accept and wear for the rest of his life. Nerves tried to set in, but I pushed them aside. I wanted to enjoy every second of our vacation together and not spend any of it worrying about what his answer would be when I finally found the right moment to ask him that all-important question.
The flight only lasted about two and a half hours, so it was still bright and beautiful when our plane landed in Providenciales. The bright sunshine and warm temperature reinvigorated me once we stepped outside the airport and hailed a cab.
“This is so beautiful,” Miller whispered in the back seat of the cab as we traveled along the ocean to our villa. “I’ve never seen water so blue in my life.”
“It reminds me of your eyes.” Miller’s head whipped around to look at me. The ornery smile he wore told me he expected me to be joking, but I wasn’t. It was the first thought that popped into my mind when I laid eyes on the water. His smile turned sweet when he saw I was sincere, and he leaned in to give me a kiss to match the moment.
“Smooth talker,” he whispered against my lips.
