Ezra, rosy-cheeked and tongue-tied, put aside his headphones and laptop to join Roman on the couch. The afternoon was swiftly lost to Roman teasing and tormenting Ezra until they both came, and only when he was snoozing on his chest did Roman realize that he hadn’t seen the ring lately or the black box that contained it. Ezra must have squirreled it away somewhere inside his bedroom. Should Roman ask about it? No, it was clearly on his mind. Roman would just have to wait.
And then one afternoon a couple of weeks later, Ezra snuck up behind him in the kitchen and said, “I’m ready to ask some clarifying questions.”
Ezra had his tablet with him, which told Roman that he meant business. They moved to their table for Serious Talks and Roman brought them both beverages, not knowing how long this conversation might last.
“My first question,” Ezra began while glancing between his tablet and Roman’s face, “is if we get married, what will my name be?”
A very practical concern and one that was relatively easy to answer. “You could keep your name, or you could take mine,” Roman said. “Or you could use both. I think I’d like to be Roman Reynolds-Powell.”
Ezra sucked on his lower lip, contemplating it. “I would like Ezra Reynolds-Powell. Then they would match.”
“And that would work well for our monogrammed bath towels,” Roman said to tease him, but the joke went right by him.
“That would be convenient, but wouldn’t we both be Mr. Reynolds-Powell?”
“Yes, but brothers also have that same problem, so I think we’re okay.”
Ezra nodded his approval and made a note of it on his tablet. First one down.
“Second question,” Ezra said. “Can I keep my room?”
Roman smiled. Ezra loved his room because all of his stuff was in there, meticulously arranged. And he probably spent more time coding at his new desk than anywhere else in the house. “Yes, you can keep your room, but I’d like you to consider my bedroom to be yours too, the whole house really.”
Ezra squinted. “I hadn’t really thought about the whole house being mine,” he admitted. “Would I sleep in your bed every night?”
“It would beourbed, and that’s what I’d like, unless you’re up really late working on a project. But that’s why we have bedtimes.” Roman didn’t want Ezra depriving himself of sleep, which meant maintaining a good nightly routine.
“I’d like to sleep in your bed—I meanourbed.” Ezra smiled sweetly, then tapped on his tablet as though they were negotiating some kind of contract. Well, marriagewasa contract, and it was important that they were on the same page. Roman straightened his shoulders.
“What about sexy times?” Ezra said. “Right now, sexy times are limited to weekends, but I think I might like to schedule something midweek. Seven days is a long time to wait.”
“I’m pretty flexible on sexy times,” Roman said. “And when your pleasure hole needs a rest, there are plenty of other fun, sexy things we can do.”
“We’ve completed almost everything on our list,” Ezra said proudly.
“Might be time to make a new one then,” Roman said, which earned him a sly grin. Ezra’s creativity certainly shined in the bedroom.
“Next question,” Ezra said, refocusing the two of them to the subject at hand. “If I wanted to adopt a small-to-medium-sized dog with short hair from the animal shelter, would that be okay?”
Ezra wanted a dog? He was too adorable. “As long as the dog doesn’t bite.” Roman had no love for biting animals. “And it’s not allowed in our bed.”
“What about a bed on the floor?”
“That’s fine, so long as it doesn’t interfere with our sexy times.”
Ezra tilted his head, considering it. “I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable having sex in front of a dog. Seems… wrong?”
Roman held back a chuckle. “Maybe it can sleep in the living room then.”
“But what if we want to get sexy in the living room?”
“Then we can put it outside for a while. Dogs like being outdoors.”
Ezra nodded. “We still have some logistics to work out with that one, but the important thing is that you are not opposed to having a dog, correct?”
“That is correct.”
Ezra licked his lips, warming up to something. “Okay, now if my mother got sick, or if she is near the end of her life and cannot do things for herself anymore, could she move in with us or to a place nearby so that I can take care of her?”
