The picture didn’t compare to the sheer beauty of Bo’s ring. The mountains stood out in dark gray against a lighter background. Inside the ring, Lucky had nearly given in and repeated the words he’d used the first time: “I love you, asshole.” Hey, they’d worked before.
Charlotte never had to know.
In the end, he’d settled for mushy sentiment. “Love always, T-Rex.” The old cheap rings found their way into the Goodwill box.
He picked up dinner and had everything ready when Bo got home.
***
Bo turned around and around in the living room. “Wow! Look at this place. What smells so good?”
“Your favorite.” Without giving him a chance to answer, Lucky cut off any replies the best way possible—mouth to mouth.
Bo came up for air first. “Are you sure you’re Lucky?”
Ouch. But not undeserved. “C’mon. Get cleaned up and eat before dinner gets cold.” He patted Bo’s ass on the way to the kitchen.
“Wow! When did you get the dishes? I’ve been meaning to, but with being up in the Virginia office and all…”
Oh shit. “These were the ones you wanted, right?” Please let Lucky not have screwed up.
“Yeah.” Bo squeezed Lucky’s hand under the dinner table. Wine, candlelight, although the sunlight still pouring in the windows at seven o’clock ruined the effect. May and June had whizzed past in a blur. Time for things to slow down.
All through dinner, Bo kept suspicious eyes trained on Lucky. Who could blame him? Lucky didn’t often go out of his way to please his man.
But tonight wouldn’t be the last time. He even managed to keep his mouth shut and not make innuendo about Bo biting into a baby carrot—a carrot he’d resisted temptation to carve into a penis.
Bo rose and picked up his plate at the end of the meal. “Thanks for an amazing dinner.”
Lucky took the plate from his hand. “Go, sit down. I got this.”
“Are you sure?”
Not really. “Yeah.” Lucky had to rearrange the dishes three times before he could close the dishwasher door. He’d have to get Bo to teach him the correct way to stack dishes. Another time.
Oh! He dashed to the laundry room, removed the clothes from the washer, and put them in the dryer.
Bo sat in the living room, reclined on one end of a couch with his laptop on his knees.
Lucky moved the computer to the coffee table. “Enough with work. You’re home now.” He settled on the floor, removed Bo’s shoes, and rubbed his feet. Oh, how nice to be able to move freely, without his middle threatening to rip open.
Bo moaned. “Not that I’m complaining or anything, but what are you up to?”
“Can’t I do nice things for no particular reason?” The ring might be burning a hole in his pocket, but he’d wait until the right moment. No more getting turned down.
“Yes, but it’s a bit out of character for you, isn’t it?”
Not anymore. Lucky stopped his task long enough to click on the stereo with the remote. Soft music filled the room, some band he’d never heard of. He’d found the disk among Bo’s CDs.
Lucky pressed his thumbs against the arch of Bo’s feet, earning another moan. Bo laid his head back and closed his eyes. “I’ll give you an hour to stop that.”
“Can I take a half-hour and then you come with me somewhere?”
Bo snapped his eyes open, one brow raised. “What do you have in mind?”
“You’ll see.”
***
