The taxi driver popped the trunk and exited the vehicle while Aaron pushed the extending handle of his suitcase down. The line of black cabs down the terminal roadway were busy—it seemed as though several flights had disembarked at the same time, and a rush of passengers looking for transportation into the city had zeroed in on the taxi stands all at once.

Aaron helped the driver load his suitcase into the trunk. He only had one. Over the course of the last few days, he’d sold most of his material possessions and arranged for the rest to be shipped to his parents’ house. His rental was only set to be finalized later today. When he was approved, his father would message him to let him know, and Aaron would head over to pick up his keys.

He hoped to do it with Gage at his side.

The trunk slammed shut. The driver returned to his seat, and Aaron took his cue to get settled in the back. Once he was seated, the car pulled away from the curb. The driver had his phone set up on a mount on the dashboard, the GPS app open. He tapped at its input screen as he drove.

“Where are you headed?” he asked, the flash of white from his eyes in the rearview mirror directed at Aaron.

Aaron took his phone from his pocket. He had Gage’s address saved. “Seventy-fifth and South Chappel.”

The driver’s finger hesitated on its way to tap the screen again. His brow furrowed, and this time, Aaron was sure he was looking at him in the rearview mirror. “Seventy-fifth and South Chappel? Are you sure you have the right address?”

“That area is residential, isn’t it?” Aaron asked. He undid the top button of his shirt and sat back in his seat, trying not to let the driver’s confusion get to him. “Apartment buildings?”

“Yeah. You got it. Just making sure. Just doesn’t look like a place a guy like you might be going, that’s all.”

Aaron frowned. “I’m going to visit someone.”

“As long as you’re sure.” The driver grinned, but it came across as smug, like Aaron was in over his head. Irritated, Aaron directed his gaze out the window and watched the airport traffic. He knew that Gage didn’t live in an upscale part of town—he was an undergraduate, on his way to achieving greatness. Aaron wasn’t expecting glitz.

It was quiet the rest of the ride, but Aaron didn’t mind. He spent his time thinking about what he was about to do, hand in his pocket, stroking the smooth band of the ring he’d been carrying on him since he’d left Munich to come home.

He’d asked Gage to be strong for him for however long it would take. Now that Aaron was home, he intended to show the man he loved how much his devotion meant.

The hard times were over. They were minutes away from the beginning of the rest of their lives. And until Aaron drew his last breath, he would use the time he had left to honor Gage in every way he could. What he’d said during their last summer together, he’d meant.

He would take care of Gage for the rest of his life.

He would make Gage happy.

The taxi came to a stop at the corner of 75th and South Chappel—a quiet, shaded street not all that far from a seedy strip mall that had seen better days. The buildings along the street were old, but they lacked the elegance and refinement that many of the historic buildings in Aurora had, and when Aaron left the cab and found Gage’s building from amongst them, he was stunned to see how decrepit this part of the city was.

The building’s stone facade was grimy in a way that made it look slick, like it had been dipped in oil and left to dry. Some of the windows were taped, likely to cover cracks, and one had been boarded over completely. The door was old and poorly set—there was a gap a half-inch tall at one end into which some pamphlets had been shoved. Aaron, frowning, nudged the pamphlets beyond the door with the polished toe of his leather shoe, then tried the doorknob. The door opened into a tiny lobby filled with metal mailboxes, only some of them marked with names. Many of them were overflowing, stuffed so full that the crisp white corners of unread envelopes stuck out from the narrow slits in the plating. Aaron followed the nameplates on each mailbox until he arrived at the one he was looking for—406. There, on a paper insert, was written GAGE LANGSTON.

He hadn’t gotten the building wrong after all.

A second door divided the lobby from the rest of the apartment building. It was outfitted with a lock, but Aaron decided to test the doorknob despite it. The door opened, revealing a dimly lit stairway. The tiles beneath the bottom step had shattered, exposing the gray adhesive that had once bonded it to the unfinished floor. Some of the shards had been scattered to other parts of the floor—kicked aside instead of swept up. Aaron spotted a piece jammed beneath a partially upturned piece of siding.

The stairs were made of wood. They were scratched and matte, having lost their luster long ago. Someone—a teenager, by the looks of it—had carved two sets of initials into one of the stairs: RS and JJ. A poorly etched heart had been formed around them. Next to the heart was a message carved in blocky letters. “RS IS A WHORE.”

No one had come to RS’s defense. A part of Aaron wondered if it wasn’t the original graffiti artist who’d come back to correct his work.

He climbed the stairs, tugging his suitcase behind him. The wheels clacked against each step, echoing through the stairwell. By the time Aaron arrived on the fourth floor, he was certain the entire building had to know he was there.

Apartment 406 was all the way at the end of the hall. It was distinguished from the surrounding doors by three tarnished metal numbers. The 6 had lost a screw and hung by its rounded bottom. There was a peephole, but otherwise, Aaron spotted no other security measures. He placed his suitcase up against the door, rolled his shoulders back, and took a moment to push aside his horror at Gage’s living conditions. When he saw Gage again, Gage deserved him at his best. Making him feel self-conscious about where he was living wouldn’t do either of them any favors. Besides, it didn’t matter for much longer, anyway. When Aaron’s rental application was approved, he’d move Gage out of squalor and back into comfort—just one step of many toward their fairytale ending.

Aaron cleared his mind, tapped into the part of himself that was abundantly excited to see his lover again, and knocked.

There was commotion behind the door. A scurry of something small—a medium-sized dog or a fat cat?—then a rush of adult footsteps. Aaron stood out of the way of the peephole and slid his hand into his pocket, checking on the ring. He needed his visit to stay a surprise.

“Who is it?” Gage asked suspiciously.

Aaron’s heart leapt into his throat, and he almost burst out laughing from the joy of hearing Gage’s voice in person. A few inches separated him and the most important person in his world. Was this real life? After so long spent apart, he almost couldn’t believe that they’d been brought back together… or that, at last, he was about to propose.

Aaron deepened his voice before he spoke. He didn’t want Gage to know who it was until he opened the door. “Delivery for Mr. Gage Langston from one, uh, Aaron Alcrest.”

“A delivery?” Aaron pictured the confusion on Gage’s face, his blue eyes narrowed in thought, and his lips turned downward in a hesitant frown. “I’m not expecting a delivery. Usually you just put it in the mailbox in the lobby or you leave me a pick-up notice.”

“New company policy,” Aaron said, not missing a beat. “Plus, the sender specified that you need to sign for it before we can deliver it. I’d need your signature anyway.”

“If you’re trying to rob me, I don’t have any valuables, and I have even less money than you do.” There was a pause, then the lock clicked. Aaron didn’t hear the metal scrape of a chain lock unlatching—did Gage not have one? In a part of town like this? “Can you give me your company info or something so I can call in, becaus—”

Gage opened the door as he spoke. At least, he did until Aaron stepped to the side to stand in front of the doorway. Gage froze mid-sentence, slack-jawed. His eyes widened.

“Hi, BP,” Aaron said, letting his voice return to normal. “I missed you.”

He stepped forward and tugged Gage against his chest with his one free arm, stealing a kiss from his lips. Time had made Gage more handsome, but it hadn’t changed how their bodies felt when they were together. The same sparks lit up in Aaron’s chest, right behind his ribcage, and the same pleasant tingle ran down the course of his spine to sink into his groin—the first stirrings of arousal. But the feeling ended before it could expand into something greater.

Gage wasn’t kissing him back.

Confused, Aaron pulled away. Gage’s eyes were as wide as they’d been when Aaron had stepped in front of the door, but now, he was trembling like something terrible had happened.

“BP?” Aaron asked cautiously. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one else was there, then looked back to Gage, seeking clarification. “What’s wrong?”

Gage didn’t need to reply. Something moved in his apartment, visible from the door, that drew Aaron’s eyes and answered his question. There, perched on the arm of the couch, craning his neck to see who was at the door, was a miniature version of Gage. He met Aaron’s gaze, gasped, and buried himself under a pile of blankets.

Aaron’s hand left his pocket, parting from the ring.

There would be no proposal. The only man he’d wanted his entire life had made a child with someone else.

The perfect future Aaron had imagined warped until it snapped. It would never be whole again.