“Why were you looking at those rings, Dawson?” My voice was filled with gravel, shaking with all the terrifying hope that rushed through my blood.
“Because I intend to spoil the fuck out of you when I propose one day, so I need plenty of time to pick the right one.”
All the air whooshed out of my lungs so fast I felt lightheaded. Small, aborted noises were all that came out as I tried to formulate a response, but what the fuck could I say?
How about “fuck yes”? Is that too soon? Is it allowed if he hasn’t asked the question yet? Probably not, right?…
“I started looking for a ring four years ago because I was just as serious then as I am now that you are the love of my life and I want to spend every second of this life I have with you. So don’t for one minute think that I willeverget sick of waiting for you, Theo Bishop. One year, ten years, fifty…it doesn’t matter. I’ll wait for you forever if I have to.”
I gripped his face between my hands and seized his mouth in a fierce kiss. I licked the seam of his lips and he moaned as I dove in to taste him, so beautifully responsive for me. Our mouths moved together as we deepened the kiss, my tongue teasing his until I forgot my own name.
Oh well, fuck it…I want his name anyway.
My phone alarm pierced the air and we sprang apart, startled by the sound. I tried not to let my mood sink at the reminder that we only had ten minutes before I had to meet Dad up at the house for him to drive me to Harbor House for intake.
“I don’t want to let you go,” I confessed on a hoarse whisper, clutching at Dawson’s hair to keep him close to me.
“Then don’t.” He stood and held out a hand to help me up, pulling me towards the center of the loft. “Dance with me?”
Those damn pesky tears lined my lashes, and I let him yank me into his chest, my left arm sliding around his shoulders as he held my right hand out.
“I need to grab my phone for the music.” He tried to disentangle himself, but I held him tighter.
“You don’t need it, Mercury. We’ll make our own music. Sing to me.”
Dawson grinned and brought his mouth to my ear, singing his favorite Jake Wesley Roger cover that sheeted my body in chills. I closed my eyes as the hypnotic sound soothed every nerve in my system, his voice warm and silky with a subtle rasp that scratched a part of my brain that made me come apart at the seams.
Just like always, he crooned the lyrics in a way that tore my heart out, emotional and passionate as if telling me a story. He twirled us around in the loft in a gentle sway, the world falling away and leaving us in this perfect moment with Dawson speaking to me in a language all his own.
All I need is you…only you.
We stood in the silence as his final words echoed in the quiet barn and the rain slowed to a stop. Dawson kissed me sweetly and then led me down the ladder. We stood there, staring unseeing towards the houses that were obscured by the thicket of trees.
“I have to go,” I mumbled.
Dawson cradled my cheeks and tilted my head down, his warm lips brushing a firm kiss to my forehead. I clung to his waist, cementing this moment to memory.
“Please don’t give up,” he begged softly. “Remember what you have waiting for you here. You were supposed to be my forever. Don’t you rob me of that. Don’t you dare take that from me again.”
The quiet words were spoken with such desperation that I had trouble breathing. I gripped his wrists and pulled back enough to lock eyes.
“Then what if we make a trade? Give me your forever and I’ll give you mine in return.”
A wet, soft laugh escaped him. “I’ll give you anything you want as long as you come back to me.”
I reached up to unhook the silver chain around my neck. Taking his hand, I held it up so his class ring slid off onto his open palm, curling his fingers around it.
“Keep it safe for me. I’ll be back for that.”
I brought his closed fist up and brushed a kiss over his knuckles, meeting his piercing gaze. “I will always come back. It doesn’t matter how many turns I take, all my roads lead back to you. I’ll always find my way back to you, Mercury.”
I took his lips in a bruising kiss, hoping to leave a mark that he couldn’t erase, couldn’t hide. I kissed him until all the breath left my body and we were both panting as we held onto each other like it was the world’s ending.
Chapter 41
Theo
Journal Day 1
