“Max.”
That voice. It sounded so real I opened my eyes again.
“It’s really you?”
He was nodding fiercely, tears running down his cheeks. I made my legs move, and in a second, I had proof that Isaac was really there when I had my arms around him and could smell his familiar aftershave.
“You’re really here?”
“I’m really here. God, Max, I missed you so much.”
“Me too, baby, me too.”
I let go of him only long enough to place my hands on his face and kiss him.
I was like a starved man. His warm, soft lips moved against mine, opening to allow me to taste him. Our tongues dueled for control, and his ragged breath was warm against my skin. I didn’t want to stop the kiss for fear my mind was still playing tricks on me.
Oh crap, what if my mind really was playing tricks, and I’d been kissing the other guy?
I drew back, still with my hands on either side of his face.
“Jesus, Max, you’re going to make me come in my pants in the middle of the beach.” He laughed and then put his arms around me again, resting his head in the crook of my neck and inhaling deeply.
I lifted him up by the waist and let out a loud whoop as I turned around and around until I felt dizzy and had to stop and let Isaac’s feet back on the sand.
“Come on,” I said, “let’s head in. I need to get you naked.” I placed a soft kiss on his lips and pulled him toward the house.
“Wait.” I stopped, suddenly realizing he was traveling too light. “You haven’t got bags.” Panic settled in my stomach; what if he had nothing because he was going back to Portugal? No, he couldn’t go, not yet.
“Max.”
“What?”
“Look.” He pointed toward the house where, sure enough, Joel, David, Dorian, and Jean-Paul were standing on the deck high-fiving each other.
“My bags are inside. Joel picked me up from the train station.”
The whoops and whistles became louder as we approached the steps of the deck leading to the house.
They all came around us for a massive group hug.
“Hey, hands off!” Isaac shouted.
“Sorry, baby,” I whispered in his ear. “That was me.”
“Sweetheart,” Joel said to David, “don’t we have to go back to the supermarket to get the ingredients for that thing you were making?”
“Oh, er, the thing, yes.” David grabbed Joel’s hand and pulled him away without even looking back.
“We’re coming, too,” Jean-Paul said.
“Yes, thereare a few things we need to get for our trip,” Dorian added.
I pulled Isaac closer but said to the guys, “I love you all. Thank you.”
“Just remember that at Christmas,” Dorian said.
We went up to my room via the kitchen where I made us hot chocolate with marshmallows and prepared something light for us to eat.
