The weather is crappy, the fire is crackling, dinner is cooking, and Makai is nervous.<br><br>He's having dinner with his boyfriend Nolan, and there's something extra special about this date. He planned it all perfectly in his mind and rehearsed exactly what he wants to say. But now, when the moment has presented itself, Makai struggles to find the words.<br><br>Maybe the gift he has waiting will say it all.

A Tale of Nine

The events tonight have played out the same way.


Once he opened the door and I stepped over the threshold I sighed, the tension eased from my body. It’s truly the strangest thing.


Dinner, of course, was perfect. It’s always perfect. Every single second with Makai is absolutely wonderful. We talk about everything under the sun and instead of heated disagreements, we discuss facts and opinions, and he gets me thinking. Even if the conversation ends, the silences are comfortable and comfortable silences are underrated.


Still, tonight I could tell something was bothering him, something weighing on his mind and distracting him from us. Was he feeling his own anxiety? Was he planning to break up with me?


I let myself be swept up in the romance of Michael Bublé on the radio, the snap and pop of the fire, sitting across from the man I adore.


Chapter 14