“I missed you,” he whispered against my lips.
“Not as much as I missed you, Mercury,” I winked. He dropped me back to my feet and I finally allowed myself to look around and take it all in.
All our friends were there dressed to the nines, milling around nearby so Dawson and I could have our little reunion moment. Rhys and Cal were dancing to the music that was now playing from some big speakers while Micah, Bash, Aly, and Fin were standing around talking. Griffin, Nate and Kenji were mingling with Mr. Hayes, my dad, and Dawson’s grandfather. I spotted Emilia, Uncle Don, the drummer, and the tattooed bassist over by a table of drinks that was set up. Shock ricocheted through me as it hit me how much trouble he’d gone through to put this together.
“How?…why?…” I stammered, unable to formulate a proper sentence while my brain rebooted from the enormity of what Dawson had done for me. His finger landed on my chin and gently turned me to face him, those sparkling blues holding me in place.
“The entire time you were gone, all I wanted to do was be able to show you how deep for you my love goes,” he started. “We never got our Homecoming night, so I wanted a secondchance to give it to you. I thought it was appropriate for the most important homecoming of all—yours.”
I clamped down on my trembling bottom lip with my teeth, trying to hold in the deluge of emotion that was threatening to drown me. My hands shook where they clung to Dawson’s waist and I worried if I tried to speak, I’d break down from the all-consuming happiness I felt.
“Dawson…” I choked out, my voice giving out as my throat closed up and tears flooded my eyes.
He cupped my face and stroked my cheek tenderly, his own eyes glassy and full of joy as he held my gaze.
“I need you to know I’m in this, unconditionally. Your illness will never scare me off. I’ll never bail when times get hard for us. I’ll be by your side for all of it. If the darkness comes, I will be your light. You can fall apart over and over and I’ll pick up your pieces. Because you and me? We’re unbreakable, baby. No amount of dark days can take you away from me again.”
His mouth met mine again, his lips sliding over mine in a slow, deep embrace. I opened for his tongue as it flicked mine in a teasing caress, exploring me like we had all the time in the world.
Like he’d waited a lifetime to kiss me again.
Like it was the first kiss of the rest of our lives.
We broke apart and decided to join the others before our uncontrollable need won out and clothes started flying off. I only had so much self-control.
Dawson led me over to where most of the crew were circled around talking. The hot drummer walked over and clapped hands with Dawson.
“Hey, excellent job, brother. You’ve got some golden pipes there,” he smiled. There was a faint, lilting Spanish accent to his words and I wondered why he looked so familiar.
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it,” Dawson said shyly before motioning to me. “This is my boyfriend, Theo. Theo, this is Mateo.”
When he stuck his hand out to shake mine, recognition smacked me in the face. “Oh shit, you were at the karaoke bar last May! That’s where I’ve seen you. You sang “Despacito” or something, and Christ, you were swarmed with girls after that. I remember my date wouldn’t shut up about you.”
“We’re not talking about that,” Dawson growled possessively. I grinned deviously at his flare of jealousy.
“I’m surprised he didn’t just steal your date,” Nate muttered as he took a long pull of his drink, but it was loud enough that Mateo heard it and he turned a frosty glare at him.
“Not my thing. Even thisplayboyhas his limits,” Mateo sneered with a poisonous grin.
“Psh, limits my ass. I bet your safe word is ‘keep going’,” Nate slurred, giggling at his own joke. Bash and Dawson exchanged a worried glance, prompting Bash to drag Nate over to the drink table under the pretense of using his bartending skills.
“Dude, what’s his deal?” Griffin asked quietly, but Mateo brushed it off with an easy grin.
“Eh, it’s all good. Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I want to hit up the dance floor.” His eyes landed on Fin and Aly across the circle with a charming smirk. “Either of you two beauties care for a spin?”
Aly smirked back flirtatiously while Fin’s cheeks pinkened. Before he could say anything, Griffin stepped forward and grabbed his hand.
“That’s not gonna happen,” he grunted, pulling a dumbstruck Fin behind him and into his arms on the “dance floor” beside Cal and Rhys.
Aly’s lips rolled in and she eyed them with open amusement. “Well, okay then…I guess you’re dancing with me, hottie.”
She yanked Mateo out to where Griffin was dancing with a tense Fin. Kenji strolled over to join Nate, leaving me and Dawson blessedly alone. His lips curved up in a sexy smirk that made my cock twitch in my jeans, and he tugged me into him by my hips.
“Our friends have got some issues,” I murmured to him.
“Do you mean Mateo and Nate, or Griffin and Fin?”
“Yes.”
