Page 61 of Friendly Skies
“You know, this is what love is about for me,” Darius said as they walked back toward Luis’ car. “Being there for the other person, knowing what they can become and making sure they’ve got the space and support to become it.”
“Not the screaming hot sex?” Luis teased and bumped his hip against Darius’ side.
“Naw. Not that I’ll ever say no to hot sex with you, chico. But that’s not it. I’ve always loved you, always wanted you to get what you want. I mean, I’m thrilled I’m who you want to be with, don’t get me wrong, but I would have been happy for you no matter who you ended up with. And it’s the same thing about your shop. I want that for you because it’s what you want, and you’re good at it. I’ll do anything to help you realize your dream.”
“And what about what you want, Dar? Because it’s not fair if you’re putting all this effort into what I want and not paying attention to your own dreams.”
Darius nodded. “I know. And I haven’t figured it out yet. This whole thing with the passenger has me thinking seriously about leaving the industry.”
Nodding, Luis realized the thought of Darius doing something other than flying didn’t scare him. He’d been horrified when Darius first said he was thinking about quitting because he didn’t want to lose that connection with his best friend, but now he knew that wouldn’t ever happen. Even more importantly, he wanted to be there for Darius, to help him figure out what to do next, to discover what he wanted to do.
“I’ll be right by your side, cariño,” Luis said.
“I know you will, chico. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Luis brought Darius’ hand to his lips, then admired their rings. Knowing what they symbolized made a smile stretch across his face. “How do you want to tell our parents?” he asked.
“Sooner rather than later,” Darius answered with a laugh. “We’ve already let them find out we’re together from the internet. I think we’ll be disowned if they find out we’re going to get married the same way.”
Chapter fourteen
Darius
Half an hour later,Luis parked his pink Mini in front of the house in which Darius had grown up. It had been owned by a large Syrian family for many years, and Darius often wondered what his old room looked like but knew it didn’t matter because Luis’ house was where he’d spent his happiest days.
As they got out of the car and walked toward the Herreras’, Darius remembered running down this sidewalk on the infrequent times he and Luis had been separated by illnesses or family vacations. Being away from Luis had always felt like a part of himself was missing, and as soon as it was possible to reconnect, Darius rushed to make it happen. And now, here he was, walking next to Luis, about to tell their families they were making their connection official.
Darius reached out and took Luis’ hand in his own. “I love you, Luis Roberto Herrera. I can’t wait to make you mine.”
“I’m already yours, cariño.” Luis smiled up at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “But I know what you mean.” Hetook a deep breath and faced his parents’ house. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“Absolutely.” Darius pulled Luis into a kiss, then pushed open the metal gate to let them into the Herreras’ yard. It had been his and Luis’ job to repaint the gate and the fence it was attached to every summer, and they’d hated the task. Now, as they stepped through it, Darius felt as if they were crossing another threshold, taking that first step together into their shared future.
“It’s strange,” Luis said as the gate swung shut with a click.
“What is, chico?”
“You and me. Telling our parents we’re getting married. Like it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, and yet I know my mom’s going to lose her shit because I’m the first of the cousins getting married. I’m sure she’s going to want to plan a huge family wedding for us.”
“Is that what you want?” Darius asked and smiled when Luis shrugged because he knew weddings had never interested Luis.
“As long as I get to wear something fabulous and you and I get to sayI do, I don’t really care because it’s not going to change how I feel about you.” He shrugged again, and Darius noticed the way his eyes had gone glassy. “You’re still the person I want to be with for the rest of my life.”
“It’s okay to want this even if it isn’t going to change the way we feel about each other,” he said. “And for the record, you’re who I want to be with for the rest of my life, too.” Darius pulled Luis close again and wrapped both arms around him. “You’ve been it for me since I was fourteen, chico, and I think that deserves a bit of celebrating.”
While Darius agreed that getting married wouldn’t change things between him and Luis, he also recognized that the emotions they’d shared over the past couple of days felt bigger, deeper, more immediate, to the point of being overwhelming because they’d finally been able to say I love you and admit whatthose words truly meant to each other. He had every expectation that getting married would amplify those feelings a hundred times over, especially by the way his heart fluttered as Luis closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to Darius’.
When they parted, Darius felt the world settle beneath his feet. He’d been caught up in a whirlwind since stepping into the aisle to help that woman, but somehow, standing here with Luis in his arms, the taste of Luis lingering on his tongue, wearing the ring Luis had placed on his finger less than an hour before made him believe everything was working out as it should.
“Let’s go see your parents,” Darius said.
They entered the Herreras’ home hand in hand and walked through to the kitchen. Everyone was outside in the backyard, and it definitely was everyone. It seemed like all the aunts, uncles, and cousins had shown up. As soon as they emerged from the house, Luis’ mother was on her feet, clapping her hands together as she walked toward them.
“Look at you two,” she said. “Together.” Rosa gathered them both in her arms and hugged them as tight as she could. “And for you to come and share today with such exciting news, it’s truly a blessing for our family.”
As Rosa let them go, Darius aimed a questioning glance at Luis, who looked just as puzzled.
“How did you know, Mamá?” Luis asked.
