Page 108 of Say It Again
“Okay, um, here we go. Dear Daniel—shit. No.” He finally broke into agonized laughter of his own. “Okay, I just, I wanted to ask, if you will, like—shit. Don’t say like. And I’m gonna stop cussing.”
Daniel palmed his cheek and whispered, “Oh please let someone be recording this.”
Aaron inhaled a gust of air and blew it out slowly through his mouth. This person was the lens through which he saw his future, the subject of every other thought he had, and his brightest reason for waking up hopeful. His tiny dancer. His light. His Daniel.
Wriggling his posture straight, he held the ring up. Then he finally said with that moment’s version of normalcy, “Daniel Alexander Greene, will you marry me?”
Daniel wiped his eyes as his chuckling finally quelled.
“I’ll take care of you,” Aaron whispered as he linked their fingers. “Whatever you need. Marry me, kid.”
Daniel’s permasmile set up camp as he swabbed the last tear away. “Yes.”
The restaurant erupted into a thousand whoops and applauses, and Aaron slid the band on his hand.
“Aaron Leonardo Silva.” Daniel cupped his face as the surrounding sounds ebbed into dim white background noise. They were the only two people in the room when he pressed a single kiss on Aaron’s lips and said, “You are it for me too.”
DANIEL WAS a giddy, babbling mess as he tossed his arms over Aaron’s shoulders, swaying them side to side to music that wasn’t playing in their moody kitchen, lit only by the clocks on the appliances. He was positively drunk on dopamine (and one and a half pear martinis), gazing down at the ring on his finger and up into beautiful blue ice.
“Fiancé,” he whispered, and goose bumps rushed down his arms. “Aaron. We’re fiancés.”
“Fiancés.” Aaron smiled and twirled him around, then pulled him back in. “Husbands-to-be.”
“You sure?” He buried his face in Aaron’s neck and breathed. “You sure you want to marry me?”
“Yes. If I knew what I know now, I would’ve asked you the first day I met you.”
Daniel grinned and wiggled his fingers over Aaron’s shoulder to see the ring. “I admire that level of decisiveness.”
“Right? That’d be the story we’d tell the grandchildren. Sit down, little Perry. Let me tell you the story—”
“Perry?”
“—of how I knew your grandpa was the one. It all started when he made me the world’s worst cocktail at a party. How bad was it, you ask? It was unfit for human consumption—”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Absolutely gut-churning. So naturally, I finished it, then demanded he give me his number. He technically had a ‘boyfriend’ at the time, so I did have to steal him, which took forever—”
“Five minutes. Maybe four.”
“Why yes, little Perry. That’s an excellent observation. I would compare it to a highly skilled heist. But I pulled it off.”
Daniel chuckled, rearing back to see Aaron’s face. “How’d you do that?”
“How’d I heist him? Game, obviously.” Aaron shrugged. “So much game.”
“Game, really?” Daniel cocked his head. “Are you sure it wasn’t because he could see the outline of your dick through your pants?” He yelped when Aaron gripped his waist and slung him in a circle, his feet catching wind.
“Whatever it takes,” Aaron said, settling him back to the floor. “I gotcha now, kid. You’re about to be so married to me.”
He melted into Aaron’s arms. The past couple of weeks had been a roller coaster, and it felt like they were finally nearing the end. I choose you. I’ll always choose you. Please hang in there with me.
“Please hang in there” insisted there was an ending worth hanging in there for. Tomorrow, maybe he’d broach the subject of a timeline. Tonight, he’d just enjoy being engaged. Tonight, he’d just enjoy the hell out of his fiancé.
“You want to take a bath with me?” he asked. “Or a shower or something? All this excitement has taken a toll. I feel like I need to decompress, but I don’t want to leave your arms.”
Aaron’s phone vibrated as he pressed up to his toes to peer at it over Daniel’s shoulder, squinting at the bright screen through the darkness. He patted Daniel’s ass. “No, you go ahead.”