“I’m being serious, college boy.” I jab my fingers under his pits, and for one glorious moment, panic strikes his face as he lets out a bark of laughter. I let go and bring my face close to his. “It may take me some time to realize this is my life now. Be patient with me. It may take me some time to trust the happiness I’m feeling after so long of truly believing I’d live the rest of my life alone.”
He sits up and puts his arms around the small of my back with me still straddling his waist. We lock eyes, clutching each other. In this moment, neither of us are vying for power. We gaze into each other’s eyes as equals.
“But despite all that uncertainty,” I tell his eyes, “there’s one fact I know absolutely for sure.”
“That my hair is perfect today?” suggests Hoyt.
“Nope.”
“That I’d win in a tickle fight?”
“Doubtful.”
“That I look hotter with my clothes off?”
I press my lips to his, shutting him up. That I love you, I’d tell him, answering the riddle, but our kiss deepens too fast. Then our hands become involved. Soon, I’m sure neither of us remember what the hell we were even talking about. Just as certainly as there is a bed beneath our bodies, heat between our lips, and a summer’s worth of sweat down our backs, the love Hoyt and I share is something I will soon learn to never doubt.
The End.