Beautiful Boy(61)

My feet moved, taking me closer to one of the walls in order to get a  better look. My fingers itched to touch the paper, and I had to hold my  hands against my chest to keep from doing so.

A man sitting on the edge of a boat with a scuba tank attached to his  back. A mask covered half his face and he had a snorkel in his mouth,  but I knew it was Mike. Two legs ending just above the knees became the  focal point until my gaze reached the ropes of muscle that wound up his  arms as he gripped the ledge he sat on, holding himself up.

I craned my neck to see Nolan, and the pride on his face settled deep  within my chest, warming me from the inside out. He jerked his head,  somewhat of a nod to encourage me to keep looking at the photos. So I  did.

Mike was in a lot of them, but there were a few of another person I'd  never seen before. He had darker skin than Mike and slightly longer  hair. But the biggest difference between him and Mike was the fact he  had both legs, yet his left arm ended right below the elbow.

"There were other guys on the trip?" I asked without taking my eyes off the pictures in front of me.

"Yeah, a couple of Mike's friends."

I wanted to ask if they'd all been wounded, but I kept my question to  myself as I gradually went from shot to shot, taking in every detail I  could. I didn't want to rush it, to miss anything.

Halfway down the line, I found myself frozen in front of one. It was of  Mike with a man on either side of him. His arms were around their  shoulders as they held him up, his body dangling between theirs. It  wasn't a posed shot, meaning Nolan had captured an action in still form,  and I assumed it'd been taken as they carried Mike to the back of the  boat in preparation for his dive.

Vulnerability embedded in strength.

I had to force myself to move on. The emotions that one photo evoked  were too much to handle, proving just how talented Nolan was.

Finally, toward the end of the line, I came to several nudes. I'd never  seen such elegance before. All were tastefully done, each photo taken  with such care. Instead of his assets being the main focus in each shot,  Nolan managed to capture the humor in Mike's eyes, the way they lit up.  Even without seeing the widespread grin on his face, the creases next  to his eyes made it obvious.

"He wanted to take a piss off the boat," Nolan said behind me, capturing  my attention. "He wanted to prove the only body part you needed in  order to accomplish that was a dick."

The way Nolan's face lit up as he recalled his memory showed a very  different man before me than a week ago. Even after the revelation my  own lost photos brought forth, he hadn't seemed this content. The  thought of him finding true happiness filled me with excitement and  ease.

I spent a little extra time observing the last photo, not wanting it to  end. But once I finished taking in every detail, I slowly turned back to  the center of the room where Nolan had been standing.         

     



 

Except he wasn't standing there any longer.

At some point, he'd lowered himself to the floor on one knee. I quickly  moved to him, unsure of what had happened. But just as I began to kneel  down in front of him, he grabbed my hips to restrain me, to keep me  upright.

"What's going on?" My voice came out shaky, full of panic and fear. Yet  it all vanished once I allowed myself to take him all in.

For the first time ever, Nolan seemed at peace.

"My whole life I've done what everyone else has asked of me. I've been  the person everyone has seen. I was the son of a senator, an academic,  the star of the football team. You were the first person to see  something else in me. Later, I was the war hero. The wounded soldier.  The cripple who couldn't manage to get it together. You saw something  different. I went to school, got a degree, and started my own company.  No one besides you noticed the complete lack of passion in me. I love my  job because it's mine. However, you were able to see my love for  something else. Not only did you see it, but you encouraged it. When  everyone viewed me as a man, you never stopped seeing the boy-the boy  who loved the camera, the boy who found happiness in the littlest  things … the boy who had fallen in love with you."

My heart sped up until it furiously pounded in my chest, pulverizing me  from the inside. I'd grown so focused on his words, his voice, until no  other sound existed. Other than Nolan, everything else around us  vanished, as if a curtain had been pulled, cloaking us in our own  moment.

"I plan to make a few calls tomorrow. I don't want to sell my share of  the business, but I do want to hire someone to take over my  responsibilities. I want to free up my time so I can start taking  pictures again. And I want to do it with you. However, I don't want to  take pretty pictures … I want to capture the strength in the weak. The  courage in the wounded. I want to show the beauty in what everyone deems  ugly." He paused to take a breath and hold my hands between us. "What  do you say? Do you think we can do this? Together?"

With tears falling from my face reminiscent of a torrential downpour, I  nodded, unable to form words. I fell to my knees, wrapped my arms around  his neck, and buried my face into his shoulder as my sobs racked my  body.

This is what I'd been waiting for.

"You haven't heard the stipulations yet."

I lifted my head and studied his face. His eyes had lost some of the  light, but he didn't appear to be upset. In fact, he seemed slightly  nervous, apprehensive. Instead of talking, I stared at him, giving him  the time to continue on his own.

"When I said together … I meant it. Completely together, as one. I don't  want it to be Novah Johnson and Nolan Richards. It has to be Nolan and  Novah Richards."

The insides of my nostrils burned, the backs of my eyes stung, and my  throat felt as if it'd fallen into my chest and my heart had sunk into  my stomach.

"Or, you know, your name first. It doesn't matter, just as long as you have-"

I silenced him with my lips, swallowing his words. I poured my answer into that kiss, leaving no room for doubt.

"Wait, wait, wait," he said, carefully pushing me away. "I had this  whole thing planned out, but it seems I didn't take your reaction into  account. I bought a ring this morning, and I haven't even given it to  you yet."

"I don't care about a ring."

His eyes locked on mine and his body grew rigid. "I want to do this right. So please, can you stand back up?"

I fought against the smile straining to take over my face and did as he  asked. He drew a black box from his pocket and held my hand between us.  My breathing had grown erratic and desperate, yet his remained slow and  steady.

"Novah … I told you fifteen years ago that you were the most beautiful  girl I'd ever laid eyes on, and that has never changed. I fell in love  with you when I was eighteen, and that also has never changed. I want to  spend the rest of my life with you, not because I depend on you or  because I can't live without you-because I can. Wait. That came out  wrong. I can't live without you, but not because …  Shit."

I took a small step closer and held his face in my hands, forcing him to  look up at me. "If you don't hurry up and ask me, I'm going to take  that ring and put it on myself and ruin this perfect plan you have."

A slow smile formed, and then it quickly took over his entire  expression, crinkling the skin around his eyes. "Will you marry me?"

"Considering you've already threatened any possible future husbands I  may have, I think it's safe to say yes … I will marry you." I fell to my  knees once again and pulled him into me for a kiss.         

     



 

"This is a package deal, though. You know that right?" he asked with the  tip of his nose against mine. "You're saying yes to marrying me as well  as working with me in business. Oh, and having my children at some  point."

Just the thought of carrying his babies caused excitement to burn bright  inside me. "Yes … to all of it. I've been unlucky in the dating  department, and I'd always blamed you. But I know now it was all for a  reason. It was to keep me available for when you made your way back to  me. I now know I was never unlucky in love, because I've had yours this  entire time."

"God, I can't wait to start my life with you."

I kissed him again-I couldn't seem to get enough of him. "Who says we  have to wait? Why can't we start now? It can begin with you putting that  ring on my finger."

His airy laugh floated over me as he opened the box in his hand. Even  though I'd seen the box, knew what was in it, understood what it meant, I  hadn't given it enough thought to expect what it actually looked like.  The large princess-cut diamond sparkled in the light, surrounded by a  wide band decorated with invisible set diamonds. It stole my breath  away. Literally. I didn't think I'd ever breathe again. It had to have  been at least two carats in the center stone alone.