otters.
Who were never going to lose each other again.
33
Wes
It was just as well Hayden had decided to buy this place at the end of the summer, because even now that September had hit, I was still sweating through my shirt as I worked on sanding down the old weatherboards.
He’d said there was no rush—we could take our time and open next summer, which gave us a solid nine months to renovate—but also, like his dad, his idea of renovating was a complete remodel.
I’d already promised to help Mr. Lewis with the living area—he’d decided it needed a little more structure to separate work from play, and casually mentioned that he wanted plenty of space for the kids.
When Hayden and I started having them.
I’d laughed, but the idea had kind of stuck. I wasn’t about to ask Hayden right now, but… maybe one day.
I could imagine a lifetime with him, a couple of kids running around our feet—and then making us tear our hair out as they got older and started making all the most fun, terrifying mistakes we’d made.
Hayden would’ve been so good with a teenager who had a problem only Dad could solve. And playing with a toddler would be good for him.
“Wes?” Hayden poked his head around the corner, startling me out of visions of him chasing a couple of giggling kids down the street, covered in ice cream and having the time of their lives.
What cooler possible dad could you have than the guy who runs the ice cream parlor in town?
“Yeah?” I asked.
“When you’ve got a second, could you come inside? There’s something I need your help with. It’s… semi-urgent, but no one’s dying.”
I looked at the weatherboard I was working on, with just a few inches of unsanded wood left to go. “Can I finish this?”
“How long’s it gonna take?” Hayden asked.
“Like three minutes,” I said, with absolutely no idea how long it’d actually take. I hadn’t been timing myself. I’d been lost in the work, and the fresh air, and the sense that I was doing something that mattered to the man I loved.
Even if he was trying to drag me away from it.
Hayden glanced inside, then back at me, then inside again.
“I think it could wait three minutes,” he said. “Whenever you’re ready.”
I laughed to myself as he disappeared again. I loved him so much, even when he was kind of being a pain in the ass.
If this was the worst he ever got, I could handle it. Even now, instead of being annoyed, I was just… laughing fondly.
There was a happy life ahead of us. I didn’t know a whole lot about anything to do with romantic relationships, but I knew by now that even on our worst days, our first instinct was to comfort each other. That had to be a good start, didn’t it?
I finished up the sanding in what I hoped was about three minutes, lifting up the hem of my t-shirt to wipe the sweat off my face as I walked inside.
“Did you book a stripper?” a familiar voice asked, pitched high with glee.
I dropped my shirt to see Seth, Mark, Andre, Isaac, Mr. Lewis, and Hayden, all standing around a huge ice cream cake, in front of a hand-written sign hanging on the wall behind them that said Happy Birthday Wes.
“I think you’re meant to say ‘surprise’,” Andre said wryly.
“Surprise?” Hayden tried, hands open, an unsure half-smile on his face.
I looked between him, and the cake, and the decorations, and the crowd of friends he’d assembled for me, and completely forgave him for being more or less useless all day.
He’d been busy doing this for me, and I hadn’t even noticed.
Hell, I’d forgotten it was my birthday at all.
I closed the distance between us in two strides, grabbing him by the hair and pulling him in for a kiss, happiness and gratitude overwhelming as I held him tight.
A wolf whistle from Mark, of all people, wasn’t quite enough to break the kiss.
When I did finally pull back, Hayden was pink from his hairline to his collar, the fingers he had braced against my stomach trembling slightly.
“I was afraid you’d be mad at me for forgetting,” he murmured. “I didn’t forget.”
“I can see that,” I said, leaning in for another, softer kiss that set off a round of cheers behind us.
“They’re so fucking cute,” Seth enthused.
“Cake’s melting,” Mr. Lewis said, which was exactly the cue I needed to break away from his son.
Not for long, though. I never