“Nice to meet you, Ricardo. Eh, King Ricardo. King Silva. Mr. Silva. Mr. King Si—”
“Ricky is fine,” my dad said, laughing as Shy’s cheeks turned as red as rosebuds.
“All right, Dad, I’ll let you go. Thank you for calling me. It really means a lot. Coming out is the scariest thing I’ve ever done, and now I can see that it’s also the most worthwhile thing, too.”
“Of course, Nick. You deserve happiness, and you already seemed to have found it.” And through the pixels, I realized then that my father had shed tears of his own, a rogue glint of wetness shining at the corner of his face before he brushed it away.
“Goodbye, hijo, and Feliz Navidades.”
“Feliz Navidades, Dad.”
Shiro shouted a merry Christmas from off-screen. My dad gave a friendly wave before another tear slid down his cheek. The call ended, his image freezing on his big grin before cutting to black again.
I looked to Shiro, feeling both exhausted and relieved and ecstatic, all in one nerve-racked package. I pulled him in for a kiss and held him against me.
“I can feel your heart beating through your shirt,” Shy said, putting his hand against my chest and looking up at me.
“I’ve never been more scared.”
“I’m so glad he came around to the rainbow side. I told you he would just need time. Thankfully it wasn’t too much time.”
I kissed the top of his head. The deliciously fruity scent of his shampoo filled my nose. “My mom has a way with words. I’m sure she worked her magic.”
“Yeah, but I think your dad would have come around regardless. His love for you is obvious. He wouldn’t have been upset for long.”
“Thank you for being there for me, too.”
Shiro looked up at me, the light of the torch dancing in the pools of his golden brown eyes. “Of course, Nick. I’ve got your back. Always.”
“Always?”
“Always.”
I couldn’t keep my lips off him. I kissed him again before saying, “And I’ve got yours.”
“Oh get a room, you two!” shouted a voice from off to the side. We both looked, seeing Ace and Rex walking away, the cutie bartender walking in between them, all three of them with their arms looped behind the other. “And when you do, give us that room number! We’ll be over with our party of three,” Ace said over his shoulder with a wink, sticking his tongue out.
They left toward the ship, leaving me and Shy laughing, Shy’s cheeks blushing again.
“Looks like they’re gonna have a good night,” Shy said.
“And I plan on having an even better one.” I grabbed him and dipped him, kissing him, claiming him right there on the beach. In that moment, I had zero doubt about one thing:
This Christmas truly turned out to be one for the books.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Shiro Brooks
I kissed Nick softly, on the cheek first before pecking my way to his lips. He gave a tired little groan and stretched under the covers before flipping over, his naked body pressing against mine as he threw an arm over me and pulled me into him, stopping the kisses. I slipped into little-spoon mode and curled my body into his, crossing my ankles with him. His erection throbbed against my ass, making my own morning wood twitch in response. I looked out the open window of his bedroom, the morning sunlight filling the space, causing tiny dust motes to pop like sparkles in the air. Outside, the winter sky was cloudless, an expanse of azure stretching out for what seemed like infinity from my vantage point on the bed.
“Good morning,” Nick said sleepily into the back of my head.
“Merry Christmas, babe.”
“Feliz Navidades,” Nick replied, sounding slightly more awake.
His hand traveled the length of my side, stopping on my hip, his fingers just inches away from my cock.
I flipped back over, facing him, our dicks rubbing together. I pushed my thigh between his, feeling his balls press against my skin. I smiled and kissed him again. I knew I could never get tired of waking up like this. It had been close to a month since Nick and I had slept naked and in the same bed together. Ever since our relationship began, we both worked hard to make sure not a lot of time passed until we saw each other again. Nick would fly me out to Spain or he’d fly to Miami, or we’d end up flying somewhere entirely new together. So long as we were together, then it didn’t really matter where we were.
It helped that we didn’t care about the paparazzi anymore. I didn’t have to worry about sneaky shots, since there were already plenty of photos of us kissing. It meant Luna’s dad had to go find a new gig (and a new wife, since Theresa dumped his sketchy ass).
This morning was extra special. Not only was it Christmas and I was waking up in Nick’s arms, looking out at the view of a beautiful palace rose garden dusted in pristine white snow, but it was also our one-year anniversary. It was last Christmas that Nick and I became official, marking the beginning of the best year of my life.