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“I love you for saying that, though I know you don’t want to.”
I’m unable to hide anything from Noah.
“I’m sorry, babe.” My hand covers his. “I wish I could say it doesn’t bother me, but it does. I’ve never done anything but love you. We have something special, and I hate that she’ll dislike me for the rest of our lives.”
His rich voice carries a reassurance I need. “You have nothing to apologize for. My mother is in the wrong, and she understands that our guys’ nights are codefor if she can’t accept you, she doesn’t accept me. I’m unable to make anyone like you, no matter how much I think everyone should love you like I do, but she will learn to respect us, if she wants to have anything to do with our future.”
“Our future?”
“Yeah, ours. You and me, and the family we grow, anyway we choose.”
I like the sound of it, and for the rest of the drive to whatever mystery location we end up at, our future is all I think about.
* * *
“How did you know?”I ask, looking out at Haystack Mountain from our beachfront Air B&B.
“Who do you think has a bigger mouth? My brother or your sister?”
Tia had been my first guess. Living as close to Cannon Beach as we have our whole life, I’ve always wanted to visit, but something always came up. Even after the program that paid for Mom’s college and the house, money was still tight, as she put every extra penny into making our home ours.
I’m sitting on the deck, and for the end of August, the beach is busy, so I can people watch while drinking a bottle of wine or two. He brings me the wine I’d just thought about and moves his chair around the outside table to be as close to me as we can get.
“You spoil me.”
“I don’t do anything that you don’t deserve, Ash. You’re my world, and I’ll prove it to you until you believe it.”
I square my shoulders with his. “I believe it.You make me believe it, baby.”
And he does. We sit and watch the world in front of us, knowing we’re a part of something good, the two of us.
I’d dropped my head on his shoulder, and I’m almost asleep when his voice wakes me up.
“Wanna go for a walk on the beach once it slows down a bit, hon?” My head turns up to his. “You were asleep?”
“Because I’m comfortable with you. But yeah, I’d like nothing more than to walk the beach with my favorite guy.” Then a thought hits me. I don’t want to wait. When it comes to Noah, I don’t ever want to miss a minute. I jump from my seat, bringing him with me. “Let’s go now.”
I’ve waited my whole life to walk Cannon Beach. And now I’m here with the man I love.
“What? Now?”
“Yeah, why not?” I’m pulling him through the house we’re calling ours for the long weekend, grabbing our flip flops, and a lightweight jacket.
“Okay, okay, hold your horses. Let me use the bathroom and we can get going. You’re like a little kid, right now.” He drops a kiss on my forehead. “And I love every part of it.”
I wait for him on the steps leading to the beach from our back deck. The waves crash along the sand, and cries of seagulls in the backdrop make a melody I’ll forever remember, along with a picture I can’t wait to paint.
“Ready?” he asks, having found his own jacket, and reaching for my hand. We walk down to the waves, rolling up our pants and holding our flip-flops. The water is cold, but this is what it’s about, getting lost in someone else. I’m lost in Noah, but I’ve never known myself as I do now with him in my life.
“When you think of forever, what does it mean to you?” His question comes out of nowhere, as we kick sand at each other’s shins.
“What do you mean? I think you know the obvious answer. It’s you.”
He squares his body with mine, stopping us as the waves crash over our feet. “It’s you, too, Ashton Michael Brooks.” His fingers slide down my torso, moving to my arm, tugging me with gentle authority.
We round a small area of rocks, and tucked behind it is a table, and two men in waiter’s uniforms stand near it. His lips skirt my ears. “You pushed up the time frame. Dinner is on its way.”
“You planned a candlelight dinner on the beach?” I ask, but he doesn’t answer.
