“Thanks, you’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty.” Nate held the tiny bag carefully in his hand.

Otto gushed, “Anything for Miguel. Between you and me, I think this is the most romantic idea I’ve ever heard. I’ve got to head back—still looking for help, it is just little ol’ me for now.” With a quick wave and maybe a skip, Otto dashed back to his car and drove off, beeping his horn goodbye.

After Otto was gone, Nate spent a frustrating while trying to wrap Miguel’s present. In the end it had looked so terrible he crumpled up the shiny paper and tossed it in the recycling, then spent ten minutes digging around for a gift bag, knowing he had one stashed away from something silly Natalia had given him.

Nate spent the rest of the morning pacing around the house waiting for Miguel to return and fussing with the sparkling pink bag on the kitchen counter. Waking up alone had not been his game plan. At least Miguel had left a note saying he’d gone to see Buck, but Nate wanted him home now. Nate wanted not to have woken up with the other side of the bed cool to his touch.

He didn’t want to wait a second longer than he had to. Nate was certain this was the right thing to do. Maybe a bit weird, but then so was he. Finally he heard a car pull to a stop in the front of the house and Miguel’s voice as he thanked the driver for the ride. Nate peeked out the kitchen window and saw Buck’s car driving away.

Finally Miguel walked through the front door. Nate examined his face for signs of… something; he wasn’t really sure what. Whatever he thought he might see, he didn’t find it.

“Hey, handsome.” Miguel beamed. “I have had the most surreal day. Morning.” He looked at the clock and corrected himself. “I can’t believe it’s not even noon yet.”

Miguel closed the distance between them. Nate backed up until he was pressed against the kitchen counter. Miguel didn’t stop until their bodies were touching shoulder to groin. Nate wrapped his good arm around Miguel and Miguel pushed even closer, tucking his face into Nate’s neck, breathing in his scent in a most possessive way.

“I’ve decided to believe.” Miguel wasn’t quite whispering, but it was difficult to hear over the pounding of Nate’s heart.

Their position was awkward because of the casts, but Nate managed to get his other arm around his partner as well, ignoring the pull on his dislocated shoulder. The pain was worth it. He loved how Miguel melted against him, how he trusted, how his eyes were full of dreams and hope. And mischief.

“I have had the most surreal morning,” Miguel repeated. “Buck offered me a partnership in his business. That was after I got to ride in a hot rod with Adam Klay taking turns at 110 miles an hour. Also, I told them you asked me to marry you.”

“Buck offered you a partnership? That’s amazing!”

“Yeah,” Miguel huffed. “I’m overwhelmed. But good. And before you ask, yes, I am going to accept. But I need to make sure the paperwork is all good and he isn’t trying to give me too much. And I need to talk to Joey.”

Nate ran his hand down Miguel’s back, shoulder to hip, reveling in the heat of his skin, in Miguel’s very alive-ness. They hadn’t known each other that long, but Miguel was already an integral part of Nate’s life. His elbow bumped against the gift bag.

“I’ve got something for you.”

Miguel pulled back to look Nate in the eyes. “What?”

Nate swiped the bag up and showed him. “You have to open it and find out.”

“Ooh, I love presents. This doesn’t look big enough to be that dildo I was looking at yesterday.”

Nate flushed, hot and fast; the thought of that set his imagination off. “No, sheesh, open it.” Before yesterday Nate had never been in an “adult” store, and now he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Miguel fumbled with the bag, finally tipping it over and letting the contents slide out. It was wrapped up in pretty tissue paper Nate knew Miguel would like; the paper was embedded with glitter and sparkled under the bright kitchen light.

“What is it?” Miguel wondered aloud even as he peeled the paper back.

Nate held his breath, hoping against hope it wasn’t too much, too presumptuous. People said he acted hastily sometimes. Nate hoped this wasn’t one of them.

In his hand Miguel held a glossy red box with gold-painted filigree on the lid and along the sides. It wasn’t exactly the same as the one he had thrown away, but it was as close as Nate had been able to find while pretending he was working on one of his online classes the day before. He’d paid an outrageous premium to have it shipped overnight. Miguel opened it; the interior was lined with silky black fabric.

“How did you know?” Miguel looked at him with confusion.

“Buck told me. When you, uh—”

“Ran away,” Miguel said for him.

“Yes, right. He was searching for you and found the box a few blocks away. He said it had been important. Buck thought that you throwing it away meant you were giving up everything. Maybe it was high-handed of me, but I thought you needed a new one—a fresh start.” His voice trailed off. “I have the old one, if you want it.”

“Wow.” Miguel looked down at the box again. “It’s beautiful. It’s perfect.” He picked up the tiny velvet bag nestled inside. “What’s this?”

Nate narrowed his eyes.

“Fine.” Miguel teased open the small bag, retrieving the contents. A small gold ring glittered in the palm of his hand. “What’s this?” The ring wasn’t a completed circle, and there was a tiny jewel dangling from it.

“Well.” Now Nate was going to burst into flames. “You work with your hands, so I hoped maybe this,” he nudged the little ring with his forefinger, “would be a good substitute for the kind of ring you wear on your finger. It’s a nipple ring. You won’t have to take it off when you work, and—” Nate was babbling.

“You know once this heals I am going to be walking around with a semi all day,” Miguel announced, tucking the ring back into the bag before setting it carefully on the counter. “What I want to do right now is get you in bed and see what other kinds of things you like. I’m thinking Nate Richardson is a little kinkier than I thought.”

 

They raced down the hallway like little boys running for the ice cream truck. Miguel made it into the bedroom first. It would’ve been close, but Nate started to slip on the hardwood and nearly banged into a wall. In the bedroom—their bedroom—Nate stopped short. Miguel was already toeing off his shoes and pulling his jeans down. Miguel didn’t wear underwear, and the sight of his beautiful rounded butt made Nate’s cock jerk in his own sleep pants.

Miguel looked over his shoulder at Nate, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “You like?” He unbuttoned his loose cotton work shirt while Nate watched. Once he was entirely naked, Miguel sat on the edge of the bed and began stroking himself. He spread his legs wide, letting Nate see how aroused he was, exposing his balls and hinting at what lay beyond.

He must have made some kind of gurgling sound, because Miguel taunted him with an amused look. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Right. Nate needed to get naked. As quickly as he could while still watching Miguel put on a show—now he’d lain back on the bed, scooting up so his heels dug into the mattress—Nate undressed, tossing the sleep pants, boxer briefs, and ripped-up T-shirt on the floor. In Miguel’s new position, not only could Nate watch him pumping himself, he had a clear view of his hole. Jesus, the sounds he was making.

“Come here,” Miguel said imperiously. “I want to feel you fucking me. Deep inside.”

Nate groaned; yeah, he wanted that too.

“First I want to watch you play with yourself. Show me what you like.”

Other than waking up with a wet spot on his pajamas, Nate hadn’t masturbated much… but he knew what turned him on. Keeping an eye on Miguel, Nate lay next to him, first palming his own erection and then letting it slide up and down in his fist. Sticking his thumbnail slightly into his slit, running his finger underneath his crown. It felt good, amazing because he was so turned on, but it felt weird too, doing something so personal in front of Miguel.

“Mmmm,” Miguel said. “I like. You think you can make yourself come, with me watching?”

“Yes,” Nate said. “But I don’t want to.”

“Oh yeah? What do you want to do?”

“I really want to be inside you.” Gah, thinking about finally experiencing Miguel, hot and tight, had him tightening his grip painfully on himself so he didn’t come right then.

“Get the stuff we bought yesterday out of the bag, baby. The lube.” They’d already had the condoms-aren’t-necessary conversation, as they’d both been tested at the hospital. Then Miguel had proceeded to nearly make Nate come describing what going bareback felt like.

Nate found the bag in his closet, sitting on top of his dress shoes. Miguel continued to watch him, hot eyes tracking Nate’s movements while Miguel continued to stroke and pump his cock. Nate trembled.

“Okay,” Miguel whispered, “let’s see if we can get it open one-handed. Should have had Otto open it for us yesterday.” Between the two of them they managed to get the bottle open. “Squeeze some into my hand, on my fingers,” Miguel ordered.

If he thought it was hard watching Miguel pump himself, it was nothing compared to seeing his fingers disappear into his ass. The sounds he made… Miguel had to know how turned on Nate was. He was seeping precome without touching himself, just standing there trying to remember to breathe. He tried to focus on other things, like the way the carpet felt under the soles of his bare feet and the whisper of the fan rotating over their head. It wasn’t working.

“Come closer. Come lay on your back, feet flat on the bed, knees up.”

Nate did as he was told, and Miguel crawled over him until he was crouched kneeling over Nate. Having Miguel’s warm body over his own was another level of torture. He already knew they had the chemistry to make each other come without fucking, and Nate had missed Miguel rubbing up against him, missed his warmth, his scent while they were both healing. He shut his eyes.

Warm lips caressed his own, Miguel’s tongue first teasing his lips open and then tangling with his own. Everything felt incredible; his whole body was on fire. Miguel rubbed his smooth chest against Nate’s, letting gravity do most of the work, their erections bumping, grinding against each other; a necessary dance.

After what seemed like hours, Miguel pushed himself up onto his good arm. “Keep your knees up. I’ll hold on, but I’m going to need your help. I’ll tell you when.” Then he positioned himself over Nate’s hard dick and began to lower himself.

“Oh, fuck.” Nate didn’t have any other words to use. The feel of Miguel pushing against him, the tight—almost painful—sensation while Miguel’s hole opened up to take Nate inside… he wasn’t going to last long. And Nate wanted to; he wanted to last forever.

Slowly, inexorably, Miguel worked himself down on Nate so his sac was nestled against Nate’s abs. He’d been quiet, panting and licking his lips as he undulated. Now he stopped, waiting a moment—making Nate insane—before he started moving again.

His good arm was wrapped around Nate’s knee, giving Nate a visual he would never forget, Miguel’s cock bouncing slightly when he moved but so engorged it pressed up against his stomach when he was still. Nate wanted it in his mouth. Everything felt good. He met Miguel’s downward movements with upward thrusts of his own. The tightness, the heat, everything was too much. The spark of impending orgasm along his spine grew so hot that even had he been able, he wouldn’t have wanted to stop.

“I’m, I’m…” Nate’s eyes rolled back in his head, he was so close.

“Please… touch me,” Miguel begged. Nate’s eyes snapped open. Miguel’s green eyes were brilliantly alight, dark hair stuck up in all directions, defying gravity—he was simply the most beautiful person Nate had ever seen. Wordlessly, he grasped Miguel’s erection in his good hand and stroked him. It only took two or three pumps before Miguel clenched around Nate’s cock, ground down harder, and came, jetting his release onto Nate’s stomach and his own.

Nate’s orgasm overtook him as he watched the pleasure unfold across Miguel’s face. He scrabbled at Miguel’s hip, pushing upward into that fucking incredible heat. He could feel his spend sloppy and warm inside his partner, and it made his cock surge in an effort to come more—he felt an almost feral need to rub himself all over Miguel, marking him with his scent.

Miguel pulled off of Nate, collapsing onto his side, his face pressed into Nate’s neck. “That was incredible,” he murmured, his breath tickling Nate’s ear.

Nate automatically put his good arm around Miguel, squeezing him close. “That was fucking incredible.” It was more than that, but he was not a poet and his brain was currently offline.

Next thing he was aware of, Miguel was wiping him down with a warm cloth and covering them both with a sheet. He tried to protest, something about it being the middle of the day, but his words were mangled.

 

Damn. Nate was going to have to work on his post-coital game; he couldn’t keep passing out every time they had sex. The other side of the bed was empty, but he could hear Miguel moving about in the kitchen or living room. The bedside clock said it was two-thirty in the afternoon. He stretched, intending to get up and see what kind of trouble his partner had gotten into while Nate slept like the dead.

Miguel came into the room carrying a cup of coffee and something tucked under his arm. Nate sat up, letting the sheets fall around his waist, enjoying the way Miguel’s pupils dilated at the sight—it was like having a secret power. Miguel placed the coffee on the nightstand by Nate, then came around and got back into bed. His hair was damp, and he smelled like fresh soap.

“You took a shower?”

“I rinsed. I cannot wait to get this cast off.”

The something under his arm turned out to be the new red box.

“Did Buck tell you about the box?”

“Not much, only that it had been important to you.”

Miguel turned the small box over in his hand, touching the lid gently with his thumb. Nate watched him closely. His lover had a most expressive face.

“The original box was my dream box. I bought it on a whim when I was first on my own. What can I say? It was shiny and red. I used it to remind myself I didn’t want to be where I was; I wanted to travel, to experience a world bigger than the one I knew. Justin knew that.” Miguel looked sheepish. “When we first met, he was actually pretty nice. We fake-planned some dream trips. Anyway,” he shook off the memory, “the point is, it was important. Out of everything I lost, I managed to keep that box. No matter how stupid it sounds, during my darkest hours I could look at it, hold it, and ground myself. But it was always empty. I never put anything inside. It was merely a placeholder.

“This box,” Miguel held the new box up so Nate could see it better, “this box has an actual dream inside it. A dream you helped make come true. Ever since you tried to knock me unconscious at Buck’s wedding, my life has taken a turn I never hoped for.” Nate sputtered, and Miguel grinned and tucked himself closer against Nate’s side.

Nate rushed to explain, “I don’t want to marry you to keep you for myself. I want to marry you to be with you and protect you, to be your anchor. I’ll admit, I’m probably more possessive than I realized before I met you. But it’s not because I want to keep you to myself or control you. It’s because I want to give you the world.”

“Nate,” Miguel stroked Nate’s stubbly cheek with his good hand, “you’ve already given me the world, and it’s bigger than I ever knew.”