I turned to look at him and saw the emotion on his face as he whispered in agreement. “Next time.”
She walked off again and closed the door of her bedroom behind herself.
“So now you’re my mom’s favorite?”
“Am Iyourfavorite though? That’s what I want to know.”
He pushed up, putting his arms around my neck and kissed me. I felt his smile as our lips met. We stayed there for a while, our bodies swaying as we touched and stroked. Feeling each other again after so many days apart. After all that hurt and silence.
“I missed you so much, Camilo. It scared to think I could have lost you. I’m sorry. I will never take the easy way out in our relationship again.”
He nodded with his head pressed tight against my chest.
“I know.”
When we pulled apart, Camilo grabbed my hand, and started moving. “Come on, let’s get you home. I’ll drive because you look like you’re about to fall over.”
I nodded tiredly and smiled as he pulled me to the door and out of the apartment.
The world felt just as it should be with Camilo, once again, taking my hand and leading the way.
epilogue
camilo
“The next time you suggest Christmas in the DR and I hesitate, please smack me upside the head.”
I was living my best life right now with the windows down feeling the sea breeze touching my face. The road from the Santo Domingo airport was so close to the ocean that the water splashing against the rocks almost hit our car. It was seventy-eight degrees and sunny on December twenty-third, and I was having trouble remembering why I hadn’t agreed to coming a week earlier like Tom suggested.
Tom smiled and shook his head, his eyes focused on the road.
“How about I remind you we could be lounging on the beach in eighty-degree weather, drinking beer, instead of freezing in East Coast winter hell?”
I gave an enthusiastic nod at his brilliant suggestion as I lowered the car window all the way down. “Deal,” I said as I lifted my face to the warmth of the sun.
The last nine months had been incredible.
Tom and I were solid. After he and my mom got back from their trip to Miami, we took our time coming together again. We talked and made plans. There was a lot of figuring out to do, because we knew we were building something to last forever.
My mother was doing great, too. She’d ended up quitting her job at the hospital only a couple of months after her leave, whenthe agency she’d been going to for her support group offered her a job as an office manager. She loved it there and was a lot less stressed.
She still had her struggles and bad days, but in general was doing much better. So much better in fact, she’d actually finally been up to getting on a plane to come on this trip. I looked at the rearview mirror and saw her and Libe chatting quietly. I assumed my mom was listening to all the instructions Libe had for what they would get up to once we got to the house. Those two were thick as thieves these days.
There were still a lot of working parts to manage though. Work had been hectic for both Tom and I. Once the renovation in Harlem was done, I finally had to come clean to Melissa about just how greatly I’d crossed boundaries with Tom. She’d been gracious and understanding, especially since I had done my job and then some, but I’d felt compelled to prove to her she could still count on me. And of course, I’d taken too much on. So now I was overseeing renovations on our other shelter.
I’d also been consulting with a social services agency for LGBT survivors here in the DR, which Tom was funding fully from the ground up. His mom and some of her friends were heading the project, and they’d asked me to help them with the programs they would implement. I was planning to visit while I was here, and could not wait to meet the staff and see the space. Tom on his end had a few things in the works with Henock and Sanjay here in the DR and in East Africa. His semi-retirement was slowly coming to an end, but he was trying very hard to maintain the work-life balance which eluded him before.
I turned around to look at him, and had to hold back from running my hands all over him. He was all business driving the humongous Range Rover which had been waiting for us at the airport parking lot. His parents left it for him there this morning, so we’d just walked to it and driven away in it.
No big deal.
One of the biggest challenges for me in the last year was learning to let the over-the-top shit that happened with Tom roll off my back. His money, the way he lived, and the things he could afford were just a part of who he was. He was so generous and low-key about it all the time, I’d had to let it go a bit. I was also getting better at allowing myself to enjoy some of the many perks. Like spending a week at my boyfriend’s beachfront penthouse in the DR.
God, he was so fucking hot.
How did he still turn me on this much after a year? He looked so sexy today with a little salt-and-pepper scruff and his aviator glasses. We’d taken off our New York City winter gear after we got out of the airport, so right now he was wearing jeans, a tight t-shirt, and leather flip-flops on his feet. I wanted to climb on his lap and have my way with him right here in this damn car.
My thoughts must have shown on my face, because he ran his hand along my thigh, and gave me one of those low filthy chuckles that got me so worked up.
