Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 3

together after a night of hot celebration sex? He's just said "yes...I'll marry you," and they could not stop finding ways to express their joy with every bit of their bodies.
    Their first day as fiancés. Every breath, every action, it's all fresh and new and charged with emotion...like lust.
    Sincerely,
    Richard

    genre: contemporary
    tags: sweet-no-sex; established-couples; humorous; weddings
    word count: 4,253
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    FIRSTS AND FOREVER
    by Elizah J. Davis
    Noah sleeps fitfully, the way he only does when he's stressed or excited, and wakes up before the alarm goes off, which in and of itself is a small miracle. He's never outgrown the feeling that weekends are for sleeping in, and there was a point early in their relationship when he thought that Aaron's insistence on early morning jogs might actually be a deal-breaker. Luckily, he'd decided to forgive such an egregious character flaw.
    Luckily.
    Noah looks at the ring he's wearing and grins. Bits and pieces of his dreams come back to him. They were all in some way related to getting married – the wedding, the honeymoon, picking out tuxes. There is no end to the amount of shit his sister will give him when he tells her. Maybe he'll just tell her about Aaron proposing and skip the dreams completely.
    The thought of Aaron's proposal makes him smile wider, and Noah has to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud.
    ****
    "That was really good," Noah said, pushing his plate away.
    "It'd be nice if you didn't sound quite so surprised. I can cook." Aaron leaned back in his chair, then moved forward again, overly fidgety, even for him. "So, uh." He scratched his chin, cleared his throat, and sat back in his chair again.
    "Okay, what's going on?" Noah took a sip of his wine and tried not to let his imagination get the better of him. He had no idea why Aaron would feel the need to butter him up with a nice dinner, but his obvious nervousness was making Noah anxious. "Are your parents coming to visit again? Because—"
    "No!" Aaron cut him off with a laugh. "No, I just—Oh, fuck. Hold on." He jumped up from his seat to run back into their bedroom and jogged out again before unexpectedly plopping down on the ground at Noah's feet. He sat there for a moment, his arms draped around his knees, his fingers wrapped around something Noah couldn't see from that angle. He took a deep breath. Then another.
    "Aaron," Noah said cautiously, only to have Aaron shush him.
    "So, I love you," Aaron finally said to his hands with a profound look of concentration. "And I don't really know how this goes, so, uh. Marry me?" He looked up at Noah, his head tilted as he reached out, uncurling his fingers to reveal the two rings he had sitting in his palm. "I actually wasn't sure about the ring thing, what the protocol was on that. I mean, as far as engagement rings went. For, y'know, guys. Which we are. Ah, fuck. You're going to have to make up a better proposal when you tell this story later. If, I mean."
    It was the "if" that finally clued Noah into the fact that Aaron was babbling like an idiot because he was scared , and that was enough to shake him from his stupor. He laughed and grabbed the rings from Aaron's hand before sliding down onto the floor next to him. "Were you really worried I was going to say no?"
    "Shut up, I'm trying to be romantic," Aaron said, giving him his infamous puppy dog eyes. It was the same look he'd used to convince Noah to go out with him in the first place. "So, just to be clear, you're saying yes, right?"
    "Yeah, I'm saying yes." Noah leaned forward and grabbed the back of Aaron's neck to pull him into a kiss. "And your proposal was romantic as fuck."
    "Damn right it was."
    ****
    It was unexpected to say the least, and Noah's surprised that Aaron was able to keep it a secret at all. He's never had much of a game face.
    "You're laughing at me."
    Noah starts at Aaron's sleepy mumbling. He didn't realize he was awake. "Am not."
    Aaron rolls onto his side and snuggles up against Noah's back, wrapping his arm around his waist. "Are too. I can hear you laughing in your head. Pulled me out of a dead sleep."
    "Shut up, it did not."
    "Seriously. The bed is practically vibrating. You're totally interrupting my beauty sleep." Aaron smiles against the back of his neck. "What time is it, anyway?"
    Noah looks at the clock and winces. "Sixish."
    Aaron laughs at him then, because he knows exactly why Noah would be awake at six a.m. on a Saturday.