EPILOGUE
New Year’s Eve
One year later
Micah sat on the hood of his car overlooking the New York harbor. Much like that first morning after the world changed when he sat holding Chris as the sun came up over the Gulf of Mexico. That morning everything changed. They did what Chris wanted. Found a hotel. Ordered room service. Made love. Walked on the beach. Ordered room service, made love, walked through the French Quarter. Then the Alamo. Santa Fe. The Grand Canyon. They spent the spring in Micah’s apartment on the beach in California. Drove up to Canada in the summer and back down to…everywhere. They went everywhere. But home.
Micah put the top down on the car when it was warm and Chris bloomed with color and health. And happy. He was happy.
Winter came again and Christmas. They met their families in New York. His mother, stepfather, sister, brother, and Becks met Chris’s surrogate grandfather, uncle, aunt, sister, two cousins and their significant others and new cousin and Miranda. Rings were exchanged. The hugs and the tears flowed with the champagne.
When it was over Chris took his seat in Micah’s car and they drove to the end of the road. The stars and the moon and the lights of the city spread out around them.
“What’s out there?” Chris swiped his hand out over the harbor. He was cold. Chris could feel him shiver beneath the heavy coat he wore.
“The Statue of Liberty. New Jersey.” Micah answered truthfully, wondering where Chris was in his mind and if they’d be making another trip.
“Beyond that?” He turned in Micah’s arms and leaned over him. The one streak of black hair that had grown in over the last year fell down the side of his face. Micah cradled Chris’s face and pushed the hair back behind his ears. The smile in his eyes, and the love was all he needed. He kissed Micah, he didn’t care that there were people around to see. Chris kissed him and wrapped Micah up in his happy.
“I don’t know Britain, England, Ireland, Scotland, France. Europe. An ocean. Ships. Islands. Whales. Pick one.”
“Want to go?”
“Can’t drive.”
“I’ve never flown before.”
“Always a first time for everything.”
“We can be there tomorrow. Get a hotel. Order room service. Make love.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere. As long as it’s with you.”
“Think Spencer would take care of my car while we’re gone?”
“He’s at the hotel. We could ask him to come get it from the airport.”
“So we’re not going back to the hotel?”
“We’ve already made love in that hotel. Time to find a new one.”
“Well, okay then. You want to drive?”
Chris stood as still as a statue, indecision in his blue eyes. He bit his lip and shook his head. “Maybe when we get home. I’ll drive when we go home.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“How long do you think it’ll take?”
“To do what?”
“Make love in every hotel in Europe?”
“I’d say a lifetime maybe.”
“Oh, that’s good. We’ll have something to keep us busy for that lifetime.”
“Sounds like a good life.”
“Yes. Yes it does.”
Micah kissed him. Fireworks went off over the harbor but Micah didn’t notice. Fireworks went off every time he kissed Chris.
“Strange how every time I kiss you, I see stars?” Chris laughed, he turned his face to the sky to watch the shower of blue fall into the water. “Beastly?”
“Yeah, Chris?”
“Have I ever told you how happy you make me?”
“No, can’t say that you have…today.”
“You make me the happiest person on this planet.”
Micah had to disagree with that. “Well, second happiest anyway.”
“We should get a room.”
“We have a room.”
“There’s a private jet at the airport with a bedroom. We could use that one.”
“You had this planned didn’t you?”
“You say it’s always good to have a plan.”
“I do, don’t I?”
“This time we have luggage and everything. No having to buy everything as we need it. I planned ahead.”
“And my car?”
“Spencer is going to drive it back to the estate. It’ll be there when we get home.”
“Well, then, since you have it all worked out. The sooner we get there. The sooner we can start this honeymoon.”
“Beastly?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up and drive.” Chris kissed him quickly and slid into his seat.
Micah watched as another burst of fireworks shot across the night sky turning the dark to light.
Another blast of silvery stars took their place. But Micah wasn’t there to see. He was off to chase the sun with the love of his life.