Donovan moved past that explanation, opting to continue with his story. “Reilly told me that night that you had a crush on me.”
“She didn’t!” Tate gasped. “Oh, God. Of course she did. That girl has a problem keepin’ secrets.”
Donovan laughed. “Yes, she does. Especially when she thinks it’ll benefit someone else.”
“What did you … uh … say to that?” Tate asked.
“I told her you had a boyfriend.”
Tate nodded, then looked out at the water. “Ben. Right.”
“She told me he was a creep.” Donovan chuckled. “And she assured me I could take him.”
Tate laughed. “She wanted you to beat up Ben? That’s priceless.”
“That secret intrigued me,” Donovan admitted. “Enough that I might’ve been obsessing a bit.”
“If it’s any consolation, I didn’t notice,” Tate said softly. “I wish I had.”
“I almost did somethin’ about it last summer,” he admitted, figuring he might as well get it all out there. “We were all at my folks’ place, in the pool. I wanted to kiss you, but it hadn’t been long since you’d broken up with that guy. I used that as an excuse. Told myself you might go back to him.”
“Don’t blame you there. My history of takin’ him back’s not stellar.”
Donovan cut his gaze to Tate.
“But we’re definitely over now,” Tate said adamantly.
He nodded, ensuring Tate he understood. “You have to be.”
Tate’s brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Because you’re mine now,” he said, holding his stare and ensuring Tate heard the sincerity in his tone. “It’s been a long fuckin’ time since I’ve wanted anyone the way I want you. Now that I have you—and I do have you, right?”
“Yes,” Tate gasped softly.
“Now that I have you, I don’t intend to let you go.”
***
Even as Donovan’s words rang in hisears, Tate’s chest swelled to the point he thought it might explode.
“I made a wish,” he blurted, feeling his face flame as soon as the words were out of his mouth.
“A wish?” Donovan cocked an eyebrow. “For?”
“You,” he admitted, keeping his eyes on the water. “To kiss me. Back when I was in high school. A senior. My senior year. That was what I wished for. We do that. Me and Reilly. We make wishes every year. Hot chocolate wishes, we call them. Started when we were in, I don’t know, the third grade? It doesn’t matter. We’ve done them every year. This year, we took the ones from 2018 and renewed them. Same wish. You. Me. Kiss.”
Tate was rambling. He knew it, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. His mouth wouldn’t stop, and his brain wasn’t issuing the shut-up directive fast enough.
“I didn’t think it would happen. Ever. Certainly not … you know … what we ended up doin’ last night. I mean, I’ve had a crush on you for a long time, but that’s all it was. A crush. Unrequited and all that. But I—”
Donovan reached over, pressing his fingertips to his chin, urging Tate to face him. As soon as he did, Donovan leaned in and kissed him.
Tate sighed into it, relishing the gentle press of Donovan’s mouth to his. He leaned forward, keeping their lips together when Donovan got down from the tailgate and moved to stand in front of him. Tate was aware of his hot chocolate being removed from his hand, freeing him to slide his arms into Donovan’s coat when he stepped between Tate’s legs.
“Full transparency,” Donovan said against his mouth, pulling back just enough to meet Tate’s gaze. “I had my mom spike the hot chocolate.”
“I know.” He grinned, staring up at the man who’d changed his world in ways Tate had never expected. “For the record, Reilly, God love her, can’t get the recipe right no matter how hard she tries.”
