Kept Man: Firsts and Forever Stories

A guy in his late teens with pink hair stepped forward and said shyly, “Hi, Mr. Mazari. This is our way of saying thanks for all the lessons. They’ve been really great.”

Then the group started to play Evermore on their guitars, and after the instrumental intro, every single person around us began to sing along. Micah looked around in amazement, and he was so touched that tears ran down his cheeks. I wrapped my arms around him and held him securely.

Once the song was done, everyone applauded, including Micah. Then he was swarmed by his students. They started to introduce themselves, but he said, “I know who you are.” He addressed them by name as they took turns hugging him. He had a different, sincere compliment for each of them, and by the time he finished, they were all glowing.

I was so proud of Micah. It hadn’t been easy for him to put himself out there like that, but I could see he’d gotten as much out of those lessons as his students had.

About an hour later, after cake and upbeat conversation and lots of laughs, Micah told Nana, “We need to get going, but thank you so much for this. It meant a lot to me.”

“You’re a good egg, Micah,” she said, as she patted his cheek. “I expect you two to come for dinner as soon as you get back from vacation.” He promised we would.

After we said goodbye to everyone and climbed back into the SUV with Ash and Wes, Micah murmured, “That was absolutely extraordinary.”

“Yeah, Nana’s really something,” Wes said, as he started the engine.

“It’s more than that,” Micah said, as he took my hand. “I really feel like I’m part of a family. I haven’t felt that in years.”

“That’s how I feel, too,” I told him. “I was afraid to open up for a long time, but I’m so glad I finally let my guard down and let my found family in.”

When we pulled up to the private charter terminal sometime later and got a look at the sleek jet Micah had booked for us, Ash grinned and said, “Fancy.”

“It’s a really long flight, and I want Jasper to be comfortable,” Micah said, as we climbed out of the SUV.

The pilot and copilot came over and introduced themselves as crew members whisked away our luggage, and then Micah and I took turns hugging Ash and Wes. “Promise me you’ll check in a lot,” Ash said.

I promised I would. When he let go of me, there was a lot of emotion in Ash’s blue eyes, and I asked, “Why do you look like you want to cry?”

“I’m just so happy for you, Jas,” he said. “Do you remember this time last year? We were both single and wondering if we’d ever meet the men of our dreams. Now look at us!”

I straightened my glasses and smiled at him. “So much has changed, but one thing never will. You’ll always be my family, Ash.”

“Ditto. Now get on that fancy plane before I start crying, and have the best time in Thailand! Also, be sure to pay attention in your cooking class. Wes and I are obviously expecting you to make us a feast to christen your new kitchen when you get back.”

“That’s definitely happening,” I said.

After we said goodbye to our friends and boarded the jet, Micah and I got comfortable in a pair of white leather recliners, and I whispered, “This is so exciting.” He smiled at me and took my hand.

The crew buzzed around us and prepared for departure, and soon we were taxiing toward the runway. I started to get nervous, but Micah kept holding my hand during take-off, and that was wonderfully reassuring.

Once the plane leveled off, I grinned at Micah and asked, “Is that a bedroom at the back of the plane?”

“It is. We’ll both want to get some sleep at some point, since this flight is over eighteen hours.”

I shot him a look. “Yeah, that’s definitely what I’m thinking about. Sleeping.”

He chuckled at that, and then he got up and led me to the bedroom. We kicked off our shoes and got comfortable on the bed, and I said, “Alone at last.”

“Finally!” Micah took me in his arms, and I sank into his kiss.

We landed in Thailand early the next morning. Because we were in a smaller jet, we’d been able to fly directly to one of the regional airports, instead of having to switch planes in Bangkok.

I was completely awestruck as we left the airport in the Jeep Micah had rented. We drove for about an hour, through lush, green countryside that was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Both of us kept talking excitedly and pointing things out to each other.

Eventually, we arrived at a beautiful, secluded villa on a pristine stretch of shoreline. We had plans to do a lot of exploring while we were in Thailand, but for the first few days we both just wanted to relax at the beach.