Just Say Yes

Deryke

1 year from the beginning of the book

Max is walking around in a jock because his ass still stings. It’s a good thing he planned this surprise appointment for the second day we arrived on Kala. I can’t imagine sitting in an airplane seat for several hours as we fly from an island in the South Pacific all the way across to the eastern side of the US with fresh tattoos.

Yes, tattoos. There’s a bite mark on his left ass cheek and a subtle tattoo of a handprint slap on his right, as well as some carefully added bruising that very obviously came from fingerprints. Honestly, his ass is now a work of art.

Not that it wasn’t before. I haven’t stopped smiling when I see how his ass is now permanently claimed by me. That shit is never coming off. No, I haven’t been walking around half hard since.

Was it awkward when I bit his ass in front of someone? Yes. Was it awkward when I slapped his ass and his dick perked up? Fuck, yes. But Max didn’t want a random bite mark or handprint tattooed on his body. He wanted mine.

I hadn’t known he’d planned this. And yet, I can’t imagine Max using any other gesture to show me his love. This is just the kind of reckless chaos that Max would create.

Yet, that Max hasn’t been around in ages. It took him a long time to truly get comfortable with himself, but I think he’s getting there. He’s relaxed. Peaceful. There’s still a mischievous glint in his eye most of the time, but he’s no longer making headlines for anything other than hockey.

I’m proud of him. I’ve never been prouder of anything or anyone—including my own accomplishments—in my entire life. He’s overcome so much.

To see this man blossom and finally find the person he was always meant to be, to become someone that even he’s proud of, has been a ride. It’s been beautiful. Just like him.

I can’t stop looking at him. At the way he holds his head up with confidence. How he stares down at someone when they bring up his past or try to get him to be that Max again. Once, he would have told me he’s broken. But just the other day, Max said he’s healing.

We’re walking down the stone path out of the residential neighborhood on Bane Island. We’d just visited Laiken and Elijah to catch up. Tomorrow, we’ll be taking a private ride in Onyx and Cash’s sea observatory boat. I tried to tell them we didn’t need a private tour, but Cash insisted. I’m not sad about it and I know Max will love it, too.

Max pulls up short and I stop. He’s staring at a house, so I try to determine what he’s seeing.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he says and takes a single step closer. “Is there something wrong?”

I raise a brow, looking between Max and the house. “I have no idea.”

His eyes flicker to mine and he gives me a wide grin. He squeezes my hand. “Come on.”

Max leads me to the house. It’s only when we step up to the front door with a lockbox that I notice the ‘for sale’ sign out front. Max tries the handle and sighs. He lets go of my hand and cups his so he can peek in through the window.

“Do you know where the real estate agency is on Bane?” he asks.

I nod. “Yeah. You want to look at this house?”

Max turns, giving me a shy smile. “Yes?”

With my hands on his hips, I pull him to my chest and press my lips to his. He sighs into me, leaning his body weight against mine. Letting me hold him up.

“So… I’d like to buy a house here,” Max says, looking up at me through his lashes. I love that bashful look. I don’t see it often anymore, which I also love. It means he’s comfortable with me. But sometimes, it comes out and I just want to squeeze him when I see it. “I want us to buy a house. Maybe when we retire, we can move to Kala? Well, part-time if you don’t want to live here full-time. Or we can just get a vacation home here. People do that, right?”

I also love when he rambles while nervous or unsure about something. He’s always very aware of me and conscious of the fact that we’re in this together. I think he suspects that there’s nothing I will tell him no to, so he generally balances anything he says with some follow up so there’s no pressure.

Pressing my thumb over his cheekbone, I touch his soft skin, bringing my hand back until I can cup his head. “You thinking of retiring?”

Max shakes his head and shrugs at the same time. “Maybe? I don’t know. I think more and more about hockey and… maybe I’m done with it. You know? I’ve been discussing it with Willa, but I still don’t really feel set in either direction.”

Willa is his therapist. He adores her and still talks with her twice a week. Including while we’re on Kala. We’ll be heading to the tech building every week for an hour and I’m not at all upset by that. His mental health has been my number one priority since finding him a year ago as a fucking potato.

I hadn’t planned to fall in love with him. Funny thing happened, though.

When someone would ask me if I had plans for my future—wife, kids, house, career after hockey—I always kind of shrugged it off and went with the answer they expected. But really, I never actually had a plan. Hockey was my only immediate plan. I know I’ll likely retire in the next decade. Probably sooner than that. And I know I’ll find something fulfilling to do with my time. I knew I’d find happiness.

But I never actually had a future that I could imagine. It was an open book. It never bothered me before. I knew one day that future would be filled; and unsurprisingly, at the time, I assumed that meant with a wife and kids.

My future is now in technicolor. All filled with the vibrancy that is Max Latham. There’s no question about my future anymore. It may not have solid details, but I can see us vacationing together. Raising kids together. Growing old together. My future has a face. It has feeling.

Max did that.

“But you want to look at houses now?” I ask.

He nods. “Yes. I think I do. Can we?”

I kiss him again. “Anything you want, Max.”

We both know I mean that quite literally. There’s been nothing he’s ever expressed wanting, that I wouldn’t give him.

He smiles. There’s still a hint of shyness in it but it’s overflowing with happiness. “Will I be allowed in, only wearing a jock and my ass hanging out?” he asks as we walk down the street, now with direction.

I chuckle. “Pretty sure that clothing is optional everywhere on Kala,” I tell him. “I can’t think of a single place I’ve been where I haven’t seen at least half the patrons in nothing but a Speedo.”

Max sighs. “Every place should be like this.”

I laugh, shaking my head. Mostly, he’s not wrong.

We step inside the real estate office—after checking thoroughly for a ‘no shirt, no shoes, no service’ sticker, and find that the small open space has less than a handful of people inside. The agents are dressed similarly in shorts and a variation of the company shirt. However, there’s a mix of short, snug-fitting shorts and more business casual. There’s also a cropped tank shirt and a polo shirt among the agents. I’m guessing that, like most places here, as long as it’s clear that you’re an employee and you’re professional, you can dress how you like.

“Hello,” one of the men says. “Liam Sullivan.” He offers us his hand.

I shake it. “Deryke. This is Max.”

Max shakes it after.

“What can I do for you?” Liam asks.

“We want to buy a house,” Max says. “Preferably on Bane Island, but I’m open to other places.” He looks at me for confirmation, and I nod.

“We have a handful. Are you looking to purchase an already existing house or build brand new?” Liam asks, leading us further into the office. He’s one of the few men in here dressed more traditionally professional.

Max looks at me with his brows raised.

“Buy. Unless we don’t see anything we like, then we’re open to building.”

“Wonderful. Let’s talk about what you’re looking for,” Liam says, gesturing to the seats on one side of a round table. He brings a tablet to him and taps around for a minute. “Let’s start with must-haves.”

It doesn’t take us long to go through what we have to have, what we’d like, and what we don’t like. Honestly, it’s almost as if Max and I were meant to live together. Our likes and dislikes conveniently line up. It wasn’t just me agreeing to make him happy, either.

Not that it happens often. I’ve always been rather laid-back but I’m not a pushover. If there was something I truly didn’t like in our time together, I’d have said so. More times than not, I’m trying something new. Nine out of ten times, I enjoy it.

“That leaves three houses from the available inventory,” Liam tells us. “Are you free to look now or would you like to schedule viewings another time?”

“Now,” Max says, grinning widely. He’s not sitting. He’s leaning over the chair after telling Liam that he just had both his ass cheeks tattooed.

Liam’s eyes widen when Max turns to show him. His cheeks flush red, and he quickly turns away. Max is pretty proud of the moment, while also apologizing for making him uncomfortable. I’m not entirely convinced he’s sorry at all.

The first house is super close to Laiken and Elijah; I can see their house when I look out the window. But that entire house needs to be updated, which isn’t something we are opposed to, but I think Max wants to move in before our summer vacation is over and that wouldn’t be possible if we chose that house.

The second house is on the edge of the residential development and I know as soon as we walk in that Max’s heart is set. It has a unique design with a hammock and hanging chair in the living area. Our bed would be on a platform with a little hidey cave underneath, which the previous owners had set up like a hidden library, but Max thought it could make a great sex nest.

(Liam flushed brightly again.)

The bathroom is a tropical paradise of tile work, an antique wet table turned into a sink with a petrified wooden bowl sink on top. Honestly, it is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. The entire house.

“This one,” Max says. “I don’t even want to see the third. I don’t care what the price is; I’ll pay cash.”

“Easy,” I tell him, pulling him back. “We should see the third house.”

Max frowns. “As long as we can get the paperwork moving while we’re walking to it.”

I chuckle, kissing his neck. “You really want this one?”

He nods. “It’s perfect. I can see us here. I can see our son in that second room.” Max turns dark eyes on me and once again, I can see a hint of bashfulness in him. “I even have a name for our son.”

“You do?” I ask, my smile far too wide.

Max nods again. “Ezlo.”

“That’s a great name,” I tell him. His eyes light up. “Your last name or mine?”

Once more, he turns shy. I love the way his cheeks flush. “Actually, I want to hyphenate my name. Latham-Schneider. If that’s okay? And our son can have our hyphenated names.”

I kiss him far too inappropriately for company. But I can’t help it. How this man just touches my heart is a talent. I fucking love everything about it.

“Yes,” I tell him. “Yes, to all that.”

It takes three weeks for the closing to get finalized. We paid for an extra quick closing because Max was insistent that we sleep in the house before our summer was over. Never mind that we can and probably will extend the trip. Honestly, we might as well just begin to plan spending the entire summer here after the Gays Can Play cruise, which was a fucking trip, by the way.

Liam hands us our keys and Max drags me out of the office. He’s in shorts these days, his tattoos having healed. I’m almost sorry for it since I’ve only become more obsessed with his ass now that my claim is permanently on his skin.

But little does this man know, I have a surprise for him. Something I ordered and picked up while he was in his therapy meetings.

Max opens the door and steps inside. He stops in the middle of the living area and takes a slow look around. The smile on his face doesn’t slacken. There’s contentment in his entire body that I fucking love to see.

As I watch him, I think he’s imagining the future. Watching it play out before him. The summers here until we retire. Then our retirement. Our family. Will we become islanders now?

“I love this house,” Max says with a sigh.

“Good,” I tell him, remaining where I am because I want to take him in. His smile. How happy he looks.

He glances at me with a grin, his eyes shining. “We own a house together. We bought it together.”

“We did,” I say, smiling back.

His smile falls a little. “You like it, right? You didn’t just buy it with me because I love it?”

“I love it too. It’s perfect.”

Max’s smile returns and he continues to survey the area. He doesn’t speak. When his back is toward me, I close the door and move behind him. Max continues his slow circle until I’m in his sights again. Then he takes a step back and looks at me on one knee before him with wide, shocked eyes.

I had an entire speech prepared. Declarations of love and how he’s changed my life. Mushy stuff about how I want to spend every waking breath with him and fuck, I’ll happily be buried with him when we die. I had the whole thing planned out. Memorized.

But as I stare at this man, none of those words are adequate. Nothing I say will ever do justice to describe the way I feel for him.

“Marry me, Max?” I ask.

Max stares, his lips parted. Eyes filled with tears. His hands shake as he tries to catch his breath. “You want to marry me?” he whispers.

“More than anything.”

“But… why?”

“I’ve never met a person more beautiful than you. No one has ever made me feel even a fraction of what you do. There’s nothing I want more than to spend my life with you as my husband.”

A tear slips down his cheek and he blinks rapidly. “I just… I don’t know if I deserve you yet.”

“Max.”

“But I’m trying. I’m getting there. I think.”

“Max. Just say yes. Tell me you want to marry me.”

“Yes,” Max says, sniffing. “I think I wanted to be your husband last summer. But Deryke, I’m not—”

I stand and press my mouth to his, taking him up in my arms and holding him while I kiss his insecurities away. “Do you love me?”

Max nods. “So, so much.”

“Do you want to spend your life with me?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to be my husband?”

“Yes. More than anything.”

“Then just say yes, Max. Will you marry me?”

More tears cascade down his cheeks as he gives me a watery smile. “Yes.”

I place the ring on his finger and then hug him tightly. For a minute, he holds me just as desperately as I do him. But then I feel him take his hand away and I know he’s looking at the ring.

“You like it?” I ask, after several minutes pass.

“It’s perfect,” he whispers.

It’s simple. Damascus black, with ‘beautiful’ carved into it.

“I can’t wait to spend our lives together,” Max says, hugging me again.

“Honey, we already are living our lives together.”

Max sighs, leaning his head on mine. “Take me to bed, Deryke. Fiancé. Make love to me in our new home.”

I grin. Good thing I had the foresight to have a mattress delivered at closing.