I feared things would be awkward or tense between Andre and me after I confessed what I was considering. Part of me had wanted to wait. To tell him toward the end of the trip or even when we got back home. But it would’ve bugged me the entire time, and I would’ve felt like I was lying to him.

If he’d said no, I’d already prepared myself to accept that and move on. But I’d wanted to know. Didn’t want to get my hopes up, didn’t want to start making plans, it only would’ve made it harder to do what he asked, but I would’ve done so.

Andre’s willingness to not even ask for time to consider but simply say that whatever I needed to do he would support me, made all the stress about it fly away. I didn’t need to consider the options or plan ahead. The only thing that mattered was that moment. Our time walking through the wilderness, the feel of his hand in mine. He’d been right the day before on the plane, or in the wee hours of that morning, I wasn’t sure which. We had officially left the friend zone far behind, and though we knew each other more than we knew most people, our bodies were still getting used to the idea. The very act of holding hands as we walked as far as we could around the lake and then made our way back to Nick’s cabin, was as marvelous as if I’d never held anyone’s hand before. The act was simultaneously arousing and soothing, which, I discovered, was a rather perfect combination.

By the time we got back to the cabin, night was falling. Both of us were tired and sweaty from the hike. A part of me didn’t want to wait, wanted to simply take him to bed… actually, hardly any part of me wanted to wait. Even so, I suggested we start dinner and take turns showering during the preparation. I wanted my night with him to be slow and indulgent. For that to occur, showers and food would help.

We’d just finished eating our meal of elk steak and roasted peppers and sweet potatoes when Andre halted midstep as he took dishes from the table to the kitchen and gasped out a quiet curse.

For a second, I thought maybe he’d finally seen the lynx he’d been looking for, maybe peering at us from its perch on the front porch. I almost hoped he had.

“Will…” He motioned at me but didn’t look my way. “Come here.”

Carrying the dishes I’d been holding, I joined him and followed his gaze out the stained glass of the front door and I sucked in a matching gasp.

The various colors in the stained glass were diffused by glowing green from the other side.

“Do you think that’s the northern lights?” Andre dared to look at me then.

“I’ve never seen them, but what else would it be?” I took the dishes he’d been holding, stacked them with mine, and placed them on a nearby coffee table. “Come on.” With one hand I snagged a thick blanket off the back of the couch, and with the other grabbed Andre’s and led him to the door. “Come on.”

We both halted in the doorway, struck speechless by the vibrant green zigzagging across this night sky.

Beside me, Andre let out a long, slow exhale but didn’t speak. After a moment, we stepped fully outside, shut the door behind us, and made our way to the top step of the porch.

I sat down, spread my legs wide and motioned for Andre to sit between them on the step below. He did, and as I draped the blanket over my shoulders I wrapped my arms around his chest, pulling him back into me as I leaned against the banister, covering us both in the warmth.

Neither of us spoke, only gazed up at the sky. Nick had told me about watching the northern lights from time to time, and I’d seen them in videos, but it didn’t compare to experiencing them in person. Andre’s words from earlier in the day echoed back—his sentiments of feeling both smaller and yet a part of everything. The glowing green wavered like seafoam, arching over us, moving ever so slowly, with waterfalls of shimmering light cascading down from their journey.

As we sat there, a trail of pink began to glow between the rows of green somehow making the unearthly beauty even more perfect.

“I didn’t really need a sign.” Andre’s whisper was barely audible, but was so sudden it nearly startled me. “I was already certain about us, but I can’t help feel like this is one.” He laughed self-consciously. “I mean, I know there’s gotta be a ton of other people seeing this right now, and that they’re hardly a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, but still…”

He didn’t finish the thought. I didn’t need him to, and I didn’t disagree. It felt like the magic was just for us.

After a little while longer, I lowered my head to Andre’s ear. “Would you take off your shirt?”

He angled back toward me, sounding disbelieving. “Are we in the same place right now? It’s probably thirty degree out here.”

“I know. Just for a little while. We’ll be warm.”

With a smile and a shake of his head, he leaned forward, and I parted my arms, giving him room. He pulled off the shirt and hissed out a sharp breath at the feel of the cold.

I did the same.

As we both laughed, he leaned back into me once more. I fixed the blanket back around my shoulders and wrapped it around us, clutching my arms against his chest and holding him tight.

He sighed, and let his head fall back onto my shoulder. “This is perfect.”

“Yeah. It is.” I dipped my head again, pressing against his, and let my eyes close as I breathed in the scent of him at his neck. I trembled.

Andre chuckled. “See? I told you it’d be cold.”

“I’m not cold.” I pulled him tighter. I wasn’t cold; I was merely overcome. As stunning as the unearthly flickering lights above us were, they weren’t the miracle that nearly broke my heart. “You don’t need me to be anything, do you?”

Andre shifted again, moving his head just slightly. And because we’d entered friendship years ago, even though our bodies were barely beginning to get to know each other, he didn’t require any explanation. “No. I just need you to be Will. The real one, the one who’s finally the man he chooses to be.”

I trembled again, nearly broke, and probably held Andre so tightly that he nearly broke. His arms came around mine, holding both me and the blanket in his grip.

It was enough. The beauty around us, the sky, the wilderness, the cabin, the miles and miles and miles from anyone else watching or listening, was more than enough—it was perfect. But none of that mattered. To Andre, it was enough. I was enough.

Finally.

I pressed my lips to his neck. I knew then that there would be no show. No new endeavor of fame. I didn’t need it.

Andre tightened his arms further around mine as if I wasn’t already holding him too close. “I love you, Will.”

I didn’t answer for several moments. I just let his words settle over me, let them fill me. They were more amazing than anything the night sky had to offer and I held them dear. Finally I trailed my lips back up his neck and to his ear. “I love you, too.”

We sat like that for a long time. It felt like hours, in a pleasant way, but thanks to the cold, it was probably more like twenty minutes. He stayed in my arms as the green and pink lights danced across the sky, as my hands found a matching rhythm over his skin.

Once more, when Andre broke the silence, he startled me a little. “Will?”

“Yeah?”

A nervous laugh came before his words. “I feel kinda foolish telling you this, admitting it, but I want you to know.”

I had no idea what was getting ready to come but couldn’t imagine anything hindering the moment. “Okay…”

Another laugh. “After you left, for England… I didn’t… couldn’t… sleep with any other men.”

I most definitely hadn’t expected that. “Really?”

He shook his head, his hair scraping pleasantly along my collarbone.

“Why?”

He breathed out another laugh. “Need me to stroke your ego?”

I joined his laughter. “Actually, no. Not at all. You’ve already done that. No… That’s not quite right.” I considered. “I think you’ve healed it.”

Andre twisted and looked up at me, then gave a soft smile before settling back in place. “Well then, this will probably push you over the edge. But… I wanted you. Even if I couldn’t quite admit that to myself. And none of the other men were… you.”

I nearly made my own confession, but he kept going.

“When Meghan died, it was a long time before I did anything with anybody, but I naturally went to men. The thought of doing anything with another woman felt like some sort of betrayal. With the guys, it didn’t have to be love, didn’t have to be any sort of connection. It was just fun, or at least release. Some form of relief that I desperately needed. And then you…” He looked back at me once more, and as he did, elbowed me softly in the stomach. “Then you came along and fucked all that up. Couldn’t very well be with a man without thinking of you.” He settled back once more.

“So what’d you do?” I managed not to chuckle.

“Let’s just say I haven’t jacked off that much since I was a teenager.” Another light nudge with his elbow. “If that makes your head too big and you lord it over me, I’ll tell you I was lying.”

I lost my battle of will and laughed then. “Do you want to hear my confession?”

“Lord, this oughta be good.” I could practically hear the eye roll in his voice.

“I couldn’t sleep with anyone else either.”

“You’re full of shit.” He leaned forward and twisted so suddenly that the blanket slid from my shoulders, but I didn’t bother getting it.

“I’m not.” I shrugged. “After Harrison, a lot of it was revenge fucking, and then later it kind of turned into this whole thing of self-discovery. But then… after finding out about you and running away from you, I just… didn’t want to.”

“So neither of us have been sleeping with anyone else for the past year?” He cocked his head and that time did roll his eyes. “I don’t know if that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard or if we should both be projectile vomiting right now.”

“Okay, that’s gross.” Even so, I couldn’t help but laugh again. “Let’s go with romantic.”

“Yeah.” Andre held my gaze. “Let’s go with romantic.” He stood, taking the entirety of the blanket as it hung from his shoulders and held out his hand. “In fact, let’s go inside.”

“I didn’t need any more proof that you’re sexy as fuck, but if you can look that good when your body is partially green, that’s a whole other level of hot.” I smoothed my hand over the muscles of Andre’s shoulders and down his arm.

He did a similar motion, but over my chest, his fingers trailing along the flickering light. “You’re one to talk. It’s only slightly green on me, but with your pale skin, you could almost be Kermit the Frog, if he’d stumbled into some radiation and started to glow.”

I’d been reaching for his cock but paused. “Kermit the Frog? Really?”

“Totally.” We were kneeling on the bed in front of each other, and Andre dipped his hand between us and encircled my erection, then gave a teasing tug. “Though he’s much more well-endowed than I’d considered. No wonder Miss Piggy couldn’t let him go.”

“Shut up!” Laughing, I knocked his hand away, something I never would’ve figured I’d do when Andre was stroking me. “You had me feeling like the king of the world out there on the porch. Now that you’ve got me naked, you’re comparing me to a radioactive frog?”

He shrugged, trying to snag my dick, but I batted him away again. “In all fairness, I just compared myself to Miss Piggy.”

“Not helpful.” I made to slide off the bed, attempting to keep the smile off my face and utterly failing.

Andre snagged my wrist and pulled me back. “Fine! You’re nothing like Kermit the Frog.” That time when he grabbed my erection, he gave it a long slow caress. “Now that I’m really taking in the size of this thing, maybe the Jolly Green Giant is more what’s happening here.”

I laughed again but didn’t pull away. “That’s a little better, kind of. If I wasn’t so desperate to be inside of you, I’d show some dignity and wait until you came up with a comparison that didn’t make me feel like a freak show.”

“Desperate to be inside of me, huh?” He tugged, and scooted a little closer, his eyes sparkling wickedly as the green and pink, filtered through the skylight overhead, flickered over his face. “In that case, we can definitely do your own version of a freak show.”

I grasped Andre’s cock and gave a matching stroke. “How many people get to make love under the northern lights? And here we are cracking jokes.” Maybe it shouldn’t have surprised me after all our years of friendship, but I’d never experienced sex where it felt so easy, so fun.

“Well, we can’t have that.” He scooted closer so his chest brushed against mine and the heads of our cocks bumped as we stroked. His smile faded, and he lowered his voice to a gravelly whisper. “Will Epstein, you are the most magnificent man in the world. Come ravish me under the dancing lights of heaven. Allow our spirits to connect through our eyes as you ravage my body…” He lowered his voice deeper yet. “Nay, ravage my soul as you pummel me with your velvet sword of lust.” He tugged again on my cock and then tilted his head as his voice returned to normal. “Sword of lust or velvet fuck hammer? Which do you think indicates the perfect combination of true love and a prostate-pounding sex tool?”

“You are a bitch, you know that?” I laughed as I rolled my eyes. “And you’re making what could’ve been the most romantic night of our lives the least sexy thing ever.” So not true.

“Really?” He grinned again, and as he ran his thumb over the tip of my cock and down the shaft, he scooted back from me. “With the amount of precome you’re leaking, I think your velvet fuck sword feels differently.”

“See? You’ve already forgotten. It was a velvet sword of—” My words were swept away in a groan as Andre took my cock into his mouth and sank down to the base.

He bobbed a couple of times, flattening his tongue against the underside of my shaft and twirling it over the head before popping off to look up at me once more with a grin. “I’m sorry, what was that? Is there some sort of complaint? Do you need to speak to my manager?”

I laughed but put my hand on his head and led him back to my cock.

He took me in fully once more, building a slower rhythm from his kneeling position, as his hands reached behind me, stroking and grasping over my ass and thighs.

My humor faded at the sight of him kneeling before me on the bed, the northern lights reflecting over his golden skin, glistening as his muscles bunched and flexed with every pass he made over my cock. I traced the shimmering movement with my hands, traveling down his spine, cupping over the perfect globes of his ass, which elicited an appreciative growl that was a bit of ecstasy over my dick.

Pure joy washed over me. I hadn’t done anything good enough to deserve this. I hadn’t. To be starting a life with a man who made me laugh, put me at ease, was more beautiful than any human had a right to be, and told me all he wanted from me was for me to simply be myself. How could this be real?

With a long lick, Andre lifted off my cock and trailed his tongue up my stomach, pausing here and there to kiss or nip. He paused at my nipples, twirling and flicking, sucking and biting, each motion making me groan and tremble. All the while, one hand continued its exploration of my back, sliding up and across the width of my shoulders only to dip down once more to trail along my crease, while his other alternated between fondling my balls and stroking my shaft. The combination of the lights playing over his skin and him lavishing attention on every part of my body was sensation overload. By the time he was back to his full kneeling height in front of me and his lips brushing mine, I was little more than putty from his ministrations.

He kissed me, his hands never stopping their motions.

As we kissed, my hands mimicked his, traveling the wide planes of muscle that crossed his back and tapered to his tight, narrow waist and then flared once more to his firm, rounded ass. He arched slightly, encouraging my fingers to dip in, to tease and tempt.

I was lost to the exploration and sensation of our bodies, to the feel of his lips and his tongue on mine. Lost to the enjoyment of the cycle of my orgasm building and then fading only to repeat again and again as his body coaxed mine. And over it all, was the awareness that even though it seemed too good to be true, that even after all my years of hoping, never really believing it would happen, that Andre Rivera was finally mine. And I was his.

He pulled back slightly, breaking the kiss, and when he met my gaze, the flickering lights above left no shadow to his expression, highlighting his blown-out pupils, the lust and love that I found in his eyes. When he spoke, there was no more humor, only lust and passion. “I want you inside of me, Will.”

I could only nod. Though it nearly killed me to do so, I took my hands off his body, scooted back on the mattress so that I could twist around and retrieved the lube and condoms from the bedside table.

When I turned back around, Andre took the condom from my grip, shook his head, then met my gaze again, looking suddenly nervous. “Without this. I want to feel you. Want to have you inside of me, really inside of me. I want to be joined with you like I haven’t been with any other man.”

My breath caught, both in nearly mind-blowing lust, but even more so, with what that meant. Just how much faith it showed in me, in us. “Are you sure?”

He nodded, his eyes never leaving mine. “Completely. You’re the only one I want.”