Page 79 of Up In Flames

I’d dreamed of a moment like this my whole life and now that it had been given to me, my eyes burned, and my chest was so tight I could barely get the words out.

“Yes. Of course I will.”

Oren nearly fumbled the ring getting it out of the box and slipping it onto my finger. Then there was a second ring that he pressed into my palm before giving me his hand. My hand shook as I put the ring on him.

“I never thought I’d get to have this,” I told him. Ever since I figured out I was gay, I’d all but abandoned the idea of having a forever with someone. I’d thought all my dreams had gone up in flames, but then I met Oren. He loved to tell people that I rescued him, but the truth was he rescued me right back. I’d been living half a life.

“You do, Will. You get to have anything you want. Everything. You deserve it.” He grabbed a fistful of shirt and hauled me close, slanting his mouth over mine as shouts and whistles erupted from the ground below. Our kiss was consuming, breathtaking, and maybe a bit too hot for the guys below who shouted at us to get a room.

Laughing, we broke apart and waved at our adoring fans.

We returned to the table, but didn’t sit down. Oren pulled his wallet from his pocket and counted out a couple of bills. “I promised Briggs’s nephew a tip for clean up.”

As he pulled the money out, something caught my attention, and I reached for his wallet.

“Is that…”

Oren pulled out the other half of the photo strip and showed it to me with a sheepish smile. “I keep it with me all the time.”

He watched, dumbstruck, as I retrieved my wallet and pulled out the other half of the photo strip. “Me too.”

Oren gently took my photos from me and tucked them in his wallet; he then gave me the photos he’d held on to. “We can trade back at our next anniversary.”

My voice was gruff when I managed a response. “I’d like that.” I pulled Oren close. “What’s next on the agenda?”

He looped his arms around me and gave me a sly grin.

“Well, I figured if you said no, we wouldn’t be in the mood for anything, and if you said yes, we wouldn’t be in the mood for anything we could do in public. So, nothing.”

I let my hands slide down to grip his ass and pull him closer.

“You’re so fucking perfect.”

“I try.” Oren wriggled a bit and pulled his keys from his pocket and handed them to me. “Take me home?”

“Always,” I promised.