After they were back on the ground, they both thanked Ron for the trip and started the walk down the dock toward town. Ollie looped his arm through Sam’s and grinned up at him. And when their eyes met, Sam’s expression softened, and he stopped and pulled Ollie into him in a warm embrace.
“Are you happy, love? You look so happy. I just... love to see you like this,” Sam whispered, and he pressed a light kiss on Ollie’s cheek before stepping back.
Ollie nodded and smiled. “I am. Very.”
Sam’s eyes lit up, and Ollie’s heart soared.
“Good. That’s... all I ever want,” Sam said. Then, with a silly grin, he added, “Well, that and tacos. I’m starting to get hungry, and there’s that taco place we saw right on Front Street by the main harbor. How does that sound for lunch?”
Ollie covered his mouth with one hand to muffle his laughter, and Sam pulled him back in for another hug. He buried his head against Sam’s shoulder but managed to nod. “Yeah... yeah, that’s... tacos sound great.”
“Good.”
After another brief kiss, Sam stepped away again, but took Ollie’s hand, and Ollie let Sam lead the way back toward Front Street. They strolled around the city for about an hour and then ended up eating way too many street tacos at Tik Tak Tacos, a tiny Mexican restaurant owned by a large, boisterous mannamed Felipe. And just as they finished up lunch and started on their way back to the house, clouds from an incoming storm opened up above them, drenching them as they took off, jogging and laughing the whole way.
About twenty minutes later, after Ollie and Sam had taken turns in the shower and then changed into dry clothes, they settled together on the couch with glasses of wine. A gentle breeze blew in through the open doors to the deck, and Ollie closed his eyes contentedly and leaned back against Sam’s chest as he listened to the rain still falling outside and the thunder rumbling off in the distance. He took a small sip of wine and sighed.
“Ah, this is... nice,” he said, and he felt Sam nod into him as Sam’s arm looped around his shoulders.
“It’s perfect. I—”
The ringtone of Ollie’s cell phone blared, cutting Sam off, and Ollie straightened up and quickly pulled the phone out of his pocket, not surprised to see it was his mom. He answered as he leaned back against Sam again.
“Hi, Mom,” he greeted.
“Happy birthday, sweetie! Did you have a good time? Sam sent me a few pictures from the flight.”
“Yeah, it was just—it was incredible, Mom,” he said. “We flew around the island twice, and followed above a pod of orcas for a while, and it was just... amazing. Thank you... so much.”
“Oh, sweetie, you’re welcome. I’m really glad you had a good time,” his mom said, her voice soft and genuine. “And looks like it’s a good thing it was scheduled for pretty early? That storm passed through here this morning and looked like it was headed up your way. It was pretty intense here for a bit.”
“Yeah, yeah. Sam said we were supposed to go whale watching this afternoon, but when the storm rolled in, he got a notification that they had to cancel everything.”
Ollie heard a quiet laugh from his mom. “Oh, no, too bad,” she said, her tone clearly playful. “So now I guess the two of you are stuck spending thewholeafternoon alone together in that gorgeous house you’re renting. Must be torture.”
“Mom!”
“What?” She pretended to sound innocent, but Ollie could hear the laughter in her voice, and he found himself laughing right along with her. Sam’s arm tightened around his shoulders, and Ollie felt a light kiss press against the top of his head.
Off in the distance, the storm clouds lit up with a flash of white and purple light, and seconds later, another rumble of thunder followed. Ollie let out a quiet sigh and closed his eyes again.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, sweetie. Have a great rest of the weekend, and I’ll see you tomorrow night? If you’re still planning to come over for dinner, that is.”
“Yeah, Mom. Wouldn’t miss it.”
They hung up, and Ollie set his phone on the coffee table in front of them before snuggling back in Sam’s arms. He was actually pretty tired. The day had been amazing, just as he’d told his mom, but it had been long, particularly after the less than peaceful night he’d had last night. And now, as he rested his head back against Sam’s shoulder, he could feel the weak tug of sleep pulling at him. He fought it, however, not wanting to waste the afternoon snoozing, and instead, he opened his eyes again and tilted his head back. Sam leaned lazily against the couch cushions, his eyes closed but with a soft smile on his lips.
Ollie’s grin returned. His mom was right—they had nothing else to do for the rest of the day except... exactly what they were doing. Being here, together.
“What are you thinking about?” Ollie asked quietly, and Sam opened his eyes and smiled down at his boyfriend. Ollie felt Sam’s hand squeeze his shoulder.
“How nice this is,” Sam said. “I mean, I did want to go whale watching. But this...” Sam paused and then bent his head down to brush a light kiss on Ollie’s lips. “This is the best way to spend our afternoon. Just... the two of us.”
Ollie felt heat course through him at Sam’s tone, and his body seemed to thrum with... he wasn’t even sure what—need, desire, love, a combination of all three, maybe?—as he was inundated with memories of that morning. Lying in bed with Sam, the kissing and touching, and...
God, he’d been so close. So close to being able to say those three words. Finally. The simple “I love you” he knew Sam was just patiently waiting for.
