Chapter Thirty
“So, I’ve been thinking,” Noah said as Jace handed him his morning coffee.
“You like to live dangerously.” Jace grinned. No matter how much time passed, nothing had really changed between him and Noah. They had nearly a year together under their belts now, and other than the fact that they got to have regular, amazing sex, it was hard to tell that anything was different about them.
They still teased each other. They still went all-out on the derby track. They just also happened to curl up together at the end of the day and kiss a lot. Jace still considered that a vast improvement over just being friends.
“Shut up,” Noah said. “This is a moment where I’m going to say something really touching and heartwarming that shows how much I love you, and you’re ruining it.”
Jace chuckled. “Sorry. Please, continue. What have you been thinking, Noah?”
“You’re making it worse,” Noah said, sipping his coffee. “God, why did I marry you?”
“Green card,” Jace said. Noah gave him a death glare, which he took to mean he’d won this round of teasing.
“Okay, okay, I’m seriously sorry, and I’m listening.” Jace sat down next to him, leaning over to kiss his cheek.
Noah couldn’t resist being kissed on the cheek. Or having his hair stroked. Jace had learned all kinds of ways to get him to melt, and Noah was powerless against them.
Of course, Noah knew an equal number of ways to get Jace to melt, too. That was why they’d lasted so long already, and why Jace couldn’t see any reason they wouldn’t last forever.
“I want to take your last name,” Noah said. “I mean, start using it as my last name, too.”
All jokes completely left Jace’s mind, replaced by a wave of tenderness. Noah was right, he was touched. Amazed, but touched.
They’d never really talked about last names.
“I also, umm. Have these.” Noah produced a small, black, velvet box from the pocket of his sweatpants. “We never exchanged rings before, but if this had been a normal relationship, we’d be at the point where I was ready to ask you to marry me, so… here it is, I guess. Will you be married to me and wear a ring and let me call myself the other Mr. Lewis?”
Jace could feel tears in his eyes. “Obviously,” he said, taking the offered box and opening it up to find two plain, gold bands.
Noah smiled at him. It was a soft, warm smile that made Jace’s stomach flutter. Every now and again, it hit him just how in love with Noah he was. This was one of those moments.
“Gimme your hand,” he said.
“The one toward the back is mine,” Noah explained, holding out his hand for Jace. Jace picked out the ring Noah had said was for him, took Noah’s hand, and slid the band onto his finger. He took a moment to look at it, struck by how right it felt.
“Let me do yours,” Noah said. Jace handed over the box and held out his hand, watching as Noah repeated the process he’d just gone through.
Everything about the moment was perfect. It was just the two of them, in their kitchen, with the sunlight streaming through the window, the coffee machine gurgling in the background, and Noah’s laptop open and humming softly with last week’s derby scores on the screen.
“Thank you, Mr. Lewis,” Jace said, smiling brightly at Noah. He loved the idea of sharing a surname. He loved the idea of Noah wearing a tiny thing that symbolized that their hearts belonged to each other.
Maybe it was all stupid and cliché, but Jace wanted all of it. He would never have been brave enough to ask, though.
Noah looked down at his new ring, still smiling softly. “Thank you for indulging me. You can go back to giving me hell, now.”
“I mean to.” Jace grinned. This didn’t change anything, either, but it was nice. Noah had become the one-and-only, fairytale ending love of his life that Jace had wanted him to be, and this seemed like the final step in that process.
This was forever now. Until death did they part.
Epilogue
Seven years later…
Noah hadn’t been so nervous about anything roller derby-related since he’d been to his own initiation session, but this was a big day.
“Name,” Brian said tiredly, not even looking up at Noah from the registration sheet he was poring over. He’d taken over coaching the junior team a few years ago, claiming one too many injuries to keep playing. He was good at the job, but he liked to pretend to be long-suffering about it.
