He tossed his keys into the bowl near the door, then followed the scent of garlic coming from the kitchen.
His stomach rumbled in response, a not-so-subtle reminder that he’d had a granola bar for lunch and that had long since burned off.
“What’re you makin’?” he asked when he pushed the door open to find Gage standing at the center island.
“Lasagna.”
“And garlic bread?” he asked hopefully.
Gage pointed to a baking pan layered with Texas toast coated in butter and garlic.
“Figured we’d have dinner, then maybe watch a movie.”
Travis was more than willing to do whatever Gage wanted to do tonight. “As long as we’re naked while we do it.”
“Which part? Dinner or movie?”
“Both?” Travis chuckled, moving toward Gage. “I don’t care.”
Unable to help himself, he cupped Gage’s face and leaned in for a kiss. It wasn’t urgent, not even sexual, really. Just a gentle press of lips to lips, a comfort he knew he would never be able to live without.
When he pulled back, he smiled. “I have somethin’ for you.”
Gage’s eyebrows lowered. “I’m not sure how energetic I’ll be until after we eat.”
Travis let the words sink in, then he barked a laugh. “I wasn’t talkin’ about sex.”
“Well, that’s a first.”
“Look who’s talkin’.”
Gage rolled his eyes.
Travis pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, drawing Gage’s attention to it.
“What’s that?”
“A confirmation.”
“Of?”
Travis passed it over. “Read for yourself.”
When Gage took the paper and began to unfold it, Travis lowered to one knee before him.
“March twentieth. Three o’clock,” Gage read.
Travis reached up, pulled Gage’s hand down so he could look in his eyes. “Marry me, Gage. Marry me on March twentieth at three o’clock.”
Gage smiled as he grabbed Travis’s wrist and pulled him up. “I’ll marry you any day, anywhere, any time.”
Travis kissed him again, this time a bit more urgently. “Good.”
“Where’s this gonna take place?”
“At my parents’ house.”
Right by the tree Kylie had requested they plant.
Chapter Twenty-Four
One week later
Thursday, March 11, 2021
They’d been at the coast for nearly a week. Five days to be exact. They’d made the trek on Sunday and would be leaving on Saturday, which as far as Trey was concerned was both not long enough and too long at the same time.
Oh, it had nothing to do with the relaxation. That had been incredible. Five days of nothing to do but sit down by the water, catch a nap in the warm breeze, or walk along the beach. That had been pretty much all he’d done, having promised himself he would unplug from the real world, just like his brother requested.
It had been just what the doctor ordered.
And the company wasn’t half bad either.
Trey reclined in one of the many lounge chairs they’d scattered over the sand, beer in hand. Baz, JJ, Charlie, Reese, Brantley, Holly, and Luca were sitting around the campfire, laughing at the stories they’d coaxed out of him.
It was Brantley’s fault. If his brother didn’t react so dramatically, Trey wouldn’t find so much amusement in telling them.
“Then there was this one guy,” he continued, locking eyes with Brantley.
“Do not go there,” Brantley growled.
“I don’t even remember the dude’s name,” he lied. No way could Trey forget Danny Musket, but it was more enjoyable this way. “Somethin’ like mustard, or muscle.”
“Musket,” Brantley grumbled.
“Yes!” Trey lifted his beer in a mock toast.
“Danny Musket!” JJ shouted. “Oh, my God! I forgot about him. Y’all were all up in each other’s business.”
“We were not,” Brantley denied.
“Oh, they were,” Trey confirmed. “One night, I was on duty—”
“Fuckin’ mall security,” Brantley hissed. “Not a cop.”
“Anyway. I stopped in at E-Z’s for a cup of coffee—”
“Pork rinds and Dr. Pepper,” Brantley corrected, exactly as he always did.
Trey grinned. He loved how easily Brantley denied but always made the proper adjustments to the tale.
“—when what did I stumble upon?” Trey laughed. “There I was, mindin’ my own business, strollin’ through the parkin’ lot—”
“Checkin’ out the beer delivery guy,” Brantley noted.
Yes, yes, he had been checking out that guy. Never did get anywhere but Trey had found him rather impressive. Tall and layered with muscle. Yum.
“—when somethin’ caught my attention.”
“It was Danny’s Toyota truck,” Brantley said quickly. “You claim it was rockin’, but I call bullshit.”
“My story…”
“Your lies,” Brantley groused, taking a pull on his beer.
“Wait,” JJ interjected. “Danny worked at the convenience store, right?”
“He did.” Trey glanced around at all the faces. “And that particular night he was gettin’ some action—exactly his words—while on his break.”
“He did not say that,” Brantley huffed.
“It’s very possible he did,” Trey said. At this point, the story was so convoluted, he had no idea if it was really Danny Musket. However, Brantley seemed to recall the incident, so Trey was apt to go along with it.
“I never knew you got busted makin’ out in a parked car,” JJ said, laughing at Brantley.
“What about you?” Brantley said, turning his attention to JJ. “I remember the time—”
JJ reached over, smacked her hand on Brantley’s mouth. “Don’t you dare! I mean it.”
Brantley, in a quick and easy move, flipped JJ around so she fell in his lap, his arms banding around her so she couldn’t hit him.
“She and Dante were havin’ sex under the bleachers at the homecoming game,” Brantley blurted.
JJ shouted, wrestled out of his hold, and smacked him on the arm.
Trey laughed along with everyone else. Yeah, he was glad they’d decided to do this.
It had been a difficult few months, and it was nice that they could kick back and enjoy a few days off.
“By the way, for those of you lookin’ to tie one on tonight, don’t,” JJ warned. “We are goin’ to the aquarium tomorrow. No matter what. It’s our last day here and I am not gonna miss out.”
“I’ll go with you,” Trey promised at the same time Baz and Charlie did.
“What about you two?” JJ asked Holly and Luca.
“We’re in,” Holly answered for both of them, laughing when Luca grunted.
“It’s gettin’ late,” Reese said. “I think I’m gonna head in.”
“Me, too,” Brantley said as he got to his feet.
Trey was content to sit right there, the breeze off the ocean fanning the flames, keeping it relatively comfortable.