He groans, holding onto my head while delivering kisses to my jaw. “Keep that up and it will be an extremely fast reunion .” He slips my tank top strap off to the side, giving his mouth free range at my collarbone.
I find my way inside his underwear and reach for his hardness. But I find something fuzzy and square instead. Dazed, I pull the object free.
It’s a black velvet box.
My tongue freezes in my mouth and my eyes pop wide. I love Adam, and I definitely want to spend the rest of forever with him, but… oh shit. Are we ready for marriage?
Would he expect me to cook and clean for him? My level of expertise in the kitchen involves boiling ramen noodles. And he’s already mentioned kids a few times, but I definitely know I’m not ready for that responsibility. It would probably be best to start out with something small, like a goldfish, to see if I’m even capable of keeping another thing alive.
Adam breaks out in a maniacal laugh, taking the box from my hand and kissing me among chuckles. “Ahhh, it was so worth it to see your face just now. I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist reaching for me the minute we had a green light. Don’t worry, I’m not proposing marriage. At least not yet.”
He pops the box open to reveal a house key.
“Aw, you’re giving me the key to your heart? How incredibly cheesy of you.”
He rolls his eyes to the dark sky. “It’s the key to our new brownstone.” He brushes his lips over mine and pulls back with a grin. “Happy birthday.”
My eyes grow wider. “You mean a brownstone in New York? For us? Who did you murder to acquire such a thing? Should I be concerned for Theo’s whereabouts? I think I liked the tacky metaphor better.”
Laughing, he brushes my hair away from my face before resting his hand against my cheek. “I may have neglected to tell you I have a good-sized inheritance that kicked in when I turned twenty-one. My parents froze it when I was too stupid to consider someone worth living for may come along. It's not as nice as the place we rented, but it's a start anyway until we find something better.” He slides the key into my hand, beaming. “So, how ‘bout it? I know we haven’t been together long, but I’ve been thinking.” He pulls on my head until he has full access to devour my lips. “We can move to New York and give this happily ever after notion a go. See if it suits us. Do the college thing, or whatever—”
I kiss him with everything I’ve got. There aren’t any other words he could’ve chosen that would be any more perfect. Nothing else he could’ve given me for my birthday would’ve resonated so much love in my heart. I melt into him, knowing every choice I’ve made in the past few months, each time we felt a spark between us or looked into each other’s eyes, have all led to this one, untouchable moment of pure bliss.
He pushes on me, gasping for air. “So that’s a yes?”
“Of course it’s a yes.” I kiss him long and hard before breaking away, grinning. “Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?”
We make love underneath the stars. It’s awkward and slow as I’m afraid every movement will hurt him, but his desire takes over and we quickly fall into our usual rhythms and pleasures.
Life doesn’t always have a happy ending. Adam most likely will never be totally healthy again. We’ll always have to monitor his blood sugar. He’s getting an insulin pump soon, and he may even need another transplant one day. I know there are probably even more health-related obstacles to come.
As I ungracefully scream out into the endless starry night with a toe-jerking orgasm, I know a lifetime of these priceless moments with Adam will never be enough.