Because I Want To - Grace R. Duncan Page 0,53
toward the box.
Adam looked down and took out the next piece of paper. The rest of the gift was separated by tissue paper. Adam started to reach for it, but Matt held up a hand.
“Wait, first, okay?”
“Okay.” Adam looked like he didn’t know what to do with that, but he didn’t say anything more, just opened the last piece of paper, then puzzled over it. “What’s this? Is this…?” He frowned. “An apartment listing?”
“Yes. I’m trying to show you how much I want to make a life with you. That’s an apartment that’s just on the edge of Oakland, within a short bus ride to the library and campus. It’s not too expensive, includes most of the utilities, and is even on the first floor. I already talked to the landlord. We’d qualify for it if you want to apply, though your parents also said that we could have the guest bedroom upstairs for a nursery. We can even pay rent, so we’re not just living off them.”
Adam started blinking rapidly, and Matt’s eyes widened in alarm. Shit! He floundered for something to say and reached out to take Adam’s hand. Adam waved the paper at his own face, then set it down and took the napkin to wipe the initial tears. He took a deep breath, then another, then spoke. “I’m just… you’ve put a lot of thought into this. I don’t… I mean….”
“I can’t get rid of your fears entirely. I know this. It’s going to just take time, but….” Matt cleared his throat. “Look at what’s left?”
With a glance at Matt again, Adam set the napkin aside, then pulled the tissue paper out of the box. He lifted out the little baby shirt that said “Cute like Papa, smart like Daddy” on it, then glanced down, and his eyes widened almost comically. “Matt…?”
Matt took a deep breath. His hands shook, but he figured this was one time he should be nervous. He slid out of the booth and down onto one knee next to Adam’s side. He tugged the box over, then plucked out the matching gold rings and held them out on the palm of his hand. “I want you, I want to be with you, for the rest of our lives. I’ve been saying it since we were little, that we’d be together forever. I didn’t really understand what that meant when we were five or six, or even ten or twelve. But I meant it then, and I still mean it. I want you, our baby—more, if you’re willing—and a life with you. So….” Matt swallowed hard. “Marry me, Adam?”
By the time he finished, tears streamed down Adam’s cheeks. He covered his face with both hands for a moment, and Matt’s heart pounded. Finally, he dropped them, grabbed his napkin, and swiped his face, though the tears didn’t stop yet.
“I… I’m sorry.” He sniffled. “I’m sorry, Matt. I let my fears get the best of me. I—”
“You have every right to them. It’s okay.”
Adam shook his head. “It’s not. But… I mean, I still don’t know when I can let them go—”
“You won’t, not for a long time. But… you could start by saying yes?” Matt bit his lip, his heart pounding still.
“Shit, I didn’t say it, did I?” Adam asked, blushing bright red. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
The relief nearly made Matt dizzy. With a shaky hand, he picked the slightly bigger of the two rings and took Adam’s right hand, then slipped the ring onto his finger.
“My turn,” Adam murmured, and held his hand out.
Matt gave him the other ring and his own hand, and a moment later, his right ring finger held a matching gold band to Adam’s.
Matt had a feeling the grin on his face wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. He kissed Adam soundly, and when he pulled back, it was to applause. His face turned as red as his shirt, but he was grinning still. He took his seat again, and his smile got even wider at the happiness on Adam’s face.
“Well, then, let’s eat. We have some other celebrating to do, right?”
That grin was a wee bit wicked. And went straight to Matt’s groin.
“Uh, yes. Yes, we do.”
Chapter 23
Adam couldn’t seem to stop playing with the ring on his right hand. He hadn’t expected Matt to propose in a million years. In the time since he’d found out he was pregnant, so many things had happened that had surprised him, and his knowledge of his best friend