Oliver’s eyes go wide as he turns toward my friends. There’s no shock on any of their faces. “Um… you guys know?”
“Sorry,” I chime in. “I know we agreed to tell them together, but I spilled the beans on Thursday night.”
“The rest of us,” Frank adds, “had to hear about it second hand.” He steps forward and pulls Oliver into a hug. “Fucking finally.”
It’s then that the signs must fully register. Frank’s says,Go, Aaron’s boyfriend.
Oliver reaches for my hand, which I happily give him.
“There’s a party this afternoon at Matthias’s house. A bit of a post-race celebration. Will you come with me? As my date?”
“Don’t make it weird,” Tyler says. “I’ve got the perfect beer to celebrate with. It’s already got your name on it.”
“Yeah, of course.” He leans in a little closer to me. “As long as we can have our celebration first,” he whispers. From the looks on the faces around me, he did not say that quietly enough.
“Sounds perfect.”
EPILOGUE
AARON
“You’re home,” I exclaim as soon as the front door opens. Oliver’s been away for a whole week helping Haskell with part of a book tour. It would’ve been a couple of days, but Oliver insisted on taking the train instead of flying.
I volunteered to go with him, even to hold his hand the whole time, but he said nothing would convince him to fly in a deathtrap.
We’ll work on it.
“If I’d known you’d miss me this much, I’d leave more often.” He laughs as he drops his two suitcases in the entryway.
Two massive suitcases for a week. Seriously.
“Don’t. You. Dare.”
Oliver officially moved in a few weeks ago. The combining of things has been chaotic at best. We’re very different people when it comes to housekeeping and decorations. It means a lot of compromise all the way around.
Worth it to know that whatever time I come home, I’m coming home to him. We converted my office into his since he works from home. I’m letting that space be completely his, clutter and all. The rest of it, we’re working on. Slowly, but we’re working on it.
“I have something to show you.” I grab his hand and lead him into the living room.
“Is it dirty? Please say it’s dirty. Video call sex is not the same thing.”
I can’t help but chuckle. This surprise has nothing to do with the bedroom, but it’s a good idea for future surprises. Our growing collection of sex toys has certainly kept me guessing. I don’t need any of that to feel good with Oliver, but it’s nice to spice things up occasionally.
“No, but look at the couch.”
“Oh my God. You finished it?”
“I did. Got the last few rows in this morning before I went to work.” Oliver was far more successful at running than I was at crocheting. I can’t say he didn’t warn me to pick something simpler and smaller for my first project. Getting the hundreds of rows done on this took far more effort than I had hoped. Much of it was done in fits and starts, getting through a half a line here and there, while watching Oliver finish project after project.
It’s only in the past month that I’ve been able to see the finish line come into sight.
“It’s beautiful. Do you love it?” He pulls it off the back of the sofa and runs it through his fingers. That’s part of what I love so much about it. Unlike many Afghans, this has so much texture. Its three-dimensional shape gives it a lot of character.
So do all the flaws, but I’m not going to mention those right now.
“Do you love it?”
“I do, but I’m never making anything like that again. From now on, I’m sticking to scarves.” It’s what everyone I know is getting for Christmas this year.
