Out for the Holidays and Out for Gold (Out in College 8.5)

The only truly uncomfortable moments occurred when Dad bumped into my mom at the bistro. She claimed to be fine with seeing him again, but it was awkward as fuck. That was their problem, though. I had more than enough on my plate.

Did I mention that I’d signed on to give Crowley and a few of the other wingmen from the national team some one-on-one training? If there was any way to get back to the Olympics in four years, I was all for it. If not, I wanted to help the younger guys achieve their dreams. Maybe we’d get closer to gold one of these days.

But my dreams were closer to home now. In fact, my biggest dream was sitting beside me talking about a sandwich. No joke.

“…toasted ciabatta, salty prosciutto, sweet onions, arugula, brie. It was to die for. I also want to try making a jalapeño cheddar meatball sandwich. Sounds kind of good, doesn’t it?”

“Mmm, sure.”

Derek shot a sideways glance at me. “You okay? You seem pensive.”

“Me? Nah, I’m fine,” I lied, sliding my feet under me to kneel in front of the cooler. “Speaking of cheddar, I think I brought some cheese. Want some?”

“Any crackers?”

“Of course.” I opened the cooler, held the top and stared, unseeing, at the label on the wine bottle.

Okay. I could do this. Not a big deal…no, wait—it was a big deal, but it was a good deal. The best deal of my life. I couldn’t fuck this up. I couldn’t—

“You forgot the crackers, huh?” he chided, pulling me from my reverie.

That was the push I needed. I unzipped a side pocket in my backpack as I dropped the cooler lid and turned to Derek on one bent knee. The humor in his eyes faded to curiosity, then shock.

“Will you marry me?”

“Uh…”

“Wait. Don’t answer yet. I have a speech planned. It’s short, ’cause you already know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And since we’ve lived together for a while, I don’t have to warn you that I forget to put the top on the toothpaste sometimes and I’m a mouth-breather when I sleep. Translation…I occasionally snore. But what you might not know is this…” I took a deep breath and reached for his hand. “You are my horizon, my true north, and my very best friend, Der. You inspire me, you challenge me, and you make me want to be a better version of myself. You’re the smartest, coolest person I know. I’m so proud of you. I’m so…fucking in love with you.”

“I love you too,” he choked.

“Hmm. Well, I’ve loved you since the day you tried to drown me in that scrimmage in college when—”

Derek laughed and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “I did not try to drown you. You faked it for a foul.”

“And I got you to notice me, so I won.” I smiled. “No interrupting. I still have a speech here.”

He bent his head to hide his monster grin. “Okay.”

“I want to grow old with you. I want to fix our house and fill it with kids someday. I want all the adventures, all the craziness, and all the quiet. I want you.”

He nodded profusely. “You have me.”

I met his gaze, then opened the small velvet box.

“So…will you marry me?”

Derek launched himself at me, tackling me to the sand and slamming his mouth over mine. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

I scrambled to my knees to find the box. I pulled the gold band from its pouch and slipped it on his finger. “This was the gold I really wanted.”

He beamed at me. “That was corny.”

“I know.” I kissed the ring, then tilted his chin and pressed my lips to his. “But it’s also true.”

And it was.

I wanted a lifetime with this man. I wanted forever, and something told me the odds were in our favor. We’d come out in the deep and had been through so much, but our future looked exceedingly bright. Anything was possible if we went for the gold…together.