Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 19458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
We just sort of stare at each other for a moment, one that I don’t mind.
I hear a soft chuckle and turn to see the whole gang and their BFs lined up in the hall, Evan with his hand over his mouth as he clearly works to keep from laughing.
“No, please,” Derek says. “We’re all enjoying the show.”
Evan can’t hold in his laugh anymore. He releases it, as uninhibited as when he karaokes Alanis Morrisette’s “Ironic.”
“Whatever,” Trav says.
“Ah-hem,” comes from beside us, and I turn to see Frankie, wide-eyed, as though he needs something. “We have that thing to take care of.”
Shit. In my excitement about finding Travis and being swept away by him once again, I’d momentarily forgotten that I still have to pull off this fucking proposal.
“What thing?” Travis asks.
“We have lights to put up,” Frankie says as he grabs one of the boxes we came down here for.
“I’ll help you,” Travis says, releasing me before starting for a box, but just as quickly, he stops himself.
“No, you have to help me out with that other thing,” Cody interjects. “Remember?”
Travis shakes his head like he feels stupid for having forgotten. “Oh, that’s right. I have something to do. How about I go help him, and I’ll see you when Miss Laurie Firebomb’s doing her thing?”
“That sounds perfect,” I say, relieved that I might actually have a chance to save this.
Travis starts to head off but stops himself and turns back to me and takes me like he did before, his lips pressed against mine as he pushes me against the wall.
I feel this desire rush through me, this feral need for him that he still has a way of evoking, even after all the time we’ve been together.
It’s electric.…It’s primal.…It’s so Travis.
Everyone heads out, except for Frankie and Hayden, who tells Cody he’s going to help me and Frankie with the last of the decorations.
I head upstairs and slide into the outfit Hayden hid for me before he hands me the velvet box with the ring in it.
“Can you help me with this?” I ask, turning away from Hayden and throwing the suspender straps over either shoulder.
Hayden clips them to the back of the trunks before I approach the cabinet and retrieve the cuff links and bow tie.
When I turn to them, Frankie is spread out across the bed, resting his head against his palm. Hayden stands at my side. He approaches and fixes my tie before stepping back to check his work.
He scans me like he’s looking to make sure we haven’t forgotten anything. As his gaze reaches the white swim trunks, his mouth hangs open.
“What, is something wrong? Are they ripped?” I ask, looking down. “They better not be, I spent a lot of—oh—”
The fabric of the white trunks I wear is not as thick as I’d imagined. In fact, it’s slightly see-through, apparently.
Frankie starts laughing. “Oh wow,” he says.
“Jesus, this is what I get for not trying it on before today,” I say.
“Wait, wait,” Hayden says. “I have an idea.”
He opens the cabinet and pulls out a box of tissues.
“Put these over your dick.”
I doubt this will even work, and I’m nervous that the lines of the tissue might show, but fortunately, putting it over my dick works perfectly, and the fabric is thick enough that you can’t even tell that the white beneath it isn’t part of the suit.
“Oh, wow,” I say. “Hayden, that was amazing.”
“I got you, man.”
They head out to join the others outside.
I stay on board while Miss Laurie Firebomb makes her way through the list of sponsors.
The end of the dock is being used as a stage to present to the attendees, most of whom are in the water or on boats not far from the shore. She’ll make it to the end and then call Travis and me up to thank everyone for coming. Then I’ll head out and get to enjoy the surprised look on his face when he sees me heading up to greet him in this getup.
“And now, I would like to ask two very special people to come to the stage,” Miss Laurie Firebomb says. “The people who have put this incredible event together…” She goes on, discussing some of the other projects we’ve worked on together this year, and all I want is for her to skip to the end so that I can finally show Travis just how much I love him. “They are none other than the organizers of this event—Travis and Gary.”
I take a deep breath before heading up to the dock.
I’m giddy as I hop off the boat and greet Miss Laurie Firebomb, who is just a few yards down from me.
“Ooh, what have we here?” she asks as she turns to me, facing away from the audience that crowds the water at the dock. Friends we’ve known for a long time and some people I’ve never met pack onto a line of motorboats tethered together a couple of yards into the cove. A few large rafts and tubes float closer to the shore.