Chapter 3

 

Konnor was shocked that Grayson was making light of something that meant so much to him. They had only ever argued about getting married once and it had reduced him to tears, because Tam and Casen were getting married before them. This was more cruel than Grayson was capable of.

“That's not funny,” Konnor objected.

Grayson smiled and grabbed his hips with biting fingers. “It's not meant to be,” he claimed, with real honesty in his eyes.

“What are you saying?”

“I'm saying I'm ready,” Grayson insisted, once again saying what he wanted to hear. But it was too good to be true.

“It's not been that long since you told me you might never be ready, for the umpteenth time,” he reminded him. He would never forget how guilty he felt when Grayson first started apologising for not being ready and explained how scared he was of homophobia on campus. Since then, neither brought it up for fear that it would become a 'breaking-up' offence.

“It's been years, Konnor. A lot has happened since then,” his boyfriend countered, with a smile that said he really did mean it. “I couldn't marry you before, because you were keeping secrets. You had all this hate and guilt bottled up inside and it was putting a wedge between us. Now that you've let go of that and I've realised that no one is going to kick the crap out of us for being together, we can move on,” he explained, running his hand up Konnor's bare thigh and letting his eyes rake over him.

“Really?” Konnor asked, just to check that he wasn't imagining things.

“I just had to know that you were okay,” he said, with a shrug. “You're in therapy now and I can see how good it's been for you. I can see you opening up and dealing with the past. That's what I needed, to know that we could step forward with a clean slate,” he promised.

“Was this really the best time to bring it up?”

“Definitely. Now I can fuck you, as soon as you say yes.” Grayson grinned back at him, looking all too eager to get moving.

Konnor sat up and readjusted his position slightly, trying not to moan as his hard cock grazed over Grayson's. “Do I even have to say it?” he asked, since it was pretty obvious what his answer would be. It had been obvious for years.

Grayson's smile softened in the only reply necessary.

“Promise you really mean it,” he begged, scared to believe that it was true until he had some proof.

Grayson was quiet and he was afraid of what his answer might be, until he reached under the bed and pulled out a small black box.

Konnor met his gaze, shocked that he'd gone to such lengths. He took the box and opened it, closing his eyes before he could see what was inside. This was possibly the most important moment of his life, so far, and he wanted to remind himself not to be disappointed if this was some cruel dream or a prank or if the box was empty for any reason. He was stronger than he'd ever been, now that all the chaos was over and he could handle it, if things didn't go to plan.

Opening the box, his breath caught in his throat.

“I love you, Konnor,” Grayson whispered in his ear. A hand slid up his back and he turned to face his boyfriend, amazed that after all the times they'd talked about this moment, Grayson had been the one to propose.

“I love you, too.”

He didn't see his ring again for nearly an hour. Grayson dragged him back to bed and, somewhere in the ensuing desperation to celebrate their engagement, the ring fell off the bed. It was only after he flopped face down, his head and arms hanging off the side, that he saw his ring again. It sat on the floor, in the little black box, but he couldn't reach it and he didn't want to.

Grayson was nibbling lazily on his earlobe while trailing light fingers up his spine. There was no way in hell he was ruining that, just to reach a ring that would still be there when they were done. Besides, it was kind of incredible to writhe in ecstasy and see his engagement ring right in front of him.

It was…poetic, somehow.

As impossible as it seemed, he couldn't care less about the get together at the cabin now that he was finally – God...finally! – engaged to Grayson. It had only taken years.

Still, here they were. Engaged.

Konnor closed his eyes for a few minutes, savouring the thought. When he opened them again, Grayson had moved, lying beside him in that soft, content and sleepy way. His guy, the one who loved him and would do anything for him, was sprawled out beside him, looking completely strung out. He had his eyes closed, a smile on his lips and his arms and legs lying wherever they happened to fall. He looked stunning, sated and the definition of perfection.

Suddenly, Grayson opened his eyes, as if he could feel the weight of Konnor's stare. “Everything okay?” he asked, with a faint frown.

“Yeah, just enjoying the view,” Konnor teased, becoming lost to the mindless oblivion of pleasure that settled in his bones every time he was with Grayson. Until fingers touched his chin and tilted his head up.

“Hey,” Grayson said, capturing his attention, “you've been amazing.” He beamed, looking pleased and yet acting as if he was trying to distract him.

Konnor smiled and let the distraction take hold. He wanted Grayson to know that he would always put him first, even if he didn't want him to. “Thank you. For always taking care of me. For doing what's best for me, even if I don't realise it or appreciate it at the time,” he said, feeling overwhelmed by the sense of love that had swept through him today. “I don't mean to make things difficult for you, you know. I just...sometimes, I still think this is all a dream I'll wake up from one day. And I need to stop doing that and live in the moment. I need to stop self-sabotaging.”

“Bad Konnor!” his boyfriend scolded him, with a sexy smile.

“Are you going to spank me or something?” he wondered, highly intrigued by the thought. He'd experienced some of his boyfriend's kinkiness for himself throughout their relationship, but the moments were few and far between.

“I might. Later.” He chuckled, while brushing his hand down the curve of his back. “Right now, I want to sleep,” he said, with a surety that made him warm inside. He loved that they could have hot and heavy moments, like before, then curl up together and talk, without the slightest awkwardness.

This was real love. It was what he'd always wanted.