“I love you so fucking much,” I tell him, not caring if our parents have anything to say about it.
Hanlon turns to fully face me. “I love you, too.” That cocky grin is back, and this time it’s accompanied by a playful, wicked glint in his eye, and I know, without a doubt, what he’s about to say.
“Too soon, Han,” I warn.
“Come on,big brother, let’s grab dinner so I can take you back to bed.”
“Hanlon Jacob Winchester!” Lana yells and covers her ears with her hands…but she’s smiling, so we’ll call it a win.
Hanlon’s contagious laugh is enough to have us all laughing a second later, and suddenly, Lana grips my shoulders.
“Stone, I want you to know, Hanlon’s always known his own mind better than anyone. Even as a kid, he always knew what he wanted and went after it with every fiber of his being. So, if he says you’re it for him, then I couldn’t be happier because I know no one will take better care of him than you.”
“Thanks, Lana.” I reach in and give my stepmom an awkwardone-armed hug. When we pull back, she’s wiping her eyes.
“Oh, and um, you mentioned grandkids earlier…”
My dad swats her on the ass. “I think we’ve had enough talk of the future for one night. Why don’t we eat and let these two enjoy the rest of their evening while we enjoy ours?”
He winks at her, and I wrinkle my nose, but bite my tongue because…touché.
We finish with hugs, and finally, it feels like my life is stabilizing as we all sit down together for dinner, just like we used to.
In this moment, I’m hit with so many different emotions, I could never name them all. I sit in silence, watching the love of my life eat dinner and talk happily with our parents, all while keeping his hand on some part of my body throughout the entire meal.
“Oh, Hanlon, before we forget,” my dad says. “While we were dropping off the photo for Logan, Stone’s boss caught us. He asked how you all were doing, and told us he’d be reaching out with a formal job offer in the next few days. Asked us to mention it so you could have time to think it over before he called. Of course, you’d start in the summer. He knows you still haven’t graduated yet.”
Hanlon looks at me with a smile. “Looks like you’re stuck with me now.”
“And I couldn’t be happier about it,” I reply sincerely.
By the time Hanlon and I climb into bed, we’re both physically and emotionally drained from the day, despite it ending well.
“Hanlon, I can’t promise I’ll be perfect, but I want you to know I’m in this for the long haul. I never saw this coming. You showing up here, looking at me the way you do, me falling foryou…it all took me by surprise and flipped my whole world upside down.”
Hanlon’s cheeky grin is back.
“Kind of like an avalanche?”
I groan at his terrible joke, but give him what he wants.
“Yeah, Skittles. You’re my avalanche.”
Epilogue
Stone
(Four Years later)
“Ihave one more gift for you,” I tell Hanlon, who’s currently perched in my lap, like usual, after a long day.
Yes, we are grown-ass men.
No, I don’t want him to move.
Hanlon and I have survived a shitload of both physical and metaphorical storms over the last four years, and every day, I’m still excited to come home to him. I honestly would have done this months ago, but I constantly have to remind myself that Hanlon is younger than me… which is hard to do, since he’s always had his shit together so much more than I have. But I can’t wait any longer.
Hell, even our parents gave me their blessing. You can imagine how fucking awkwardthatwas, when askingmy boyfriend’s father for permission to marry him meant asking myownfather for his blessing.
