Page 25 of Habibi: Always and Forever

RINGS AND OTHER THINGS

NASH

N ash’s apartment, now belonging also to Damon and Taylor—his boyfriends, his everything—was an explosion of pink roses, tulle, and enough glitter to be seen from space. It was very likely always going to exist in the apartment, but Nash didn’t care. As it turned out, he’d do anything for Taylor.

Sweet Taylor who’d caught wedding fever but patently refused to marry only one of his boyfriends. Taylor had been adamant about it, so Nash and Damon did what all good boyfriends would do when the love of their life was hell bent on breaking his own heart—they ignored him.

Taylor was currently being distracted by Milo, who had a last-minute drag emergency he needed help with. There was no emergency; it was all a ploy so Damon and Nash could transform their living room into a wedding venue.

“Maybe we overdid it.” Nash glanced around at the sea of flowers. Pink was Taylor’s favorite color, and they’d done their best to drench the apartment in it for the occasion.

“Have you met Taylor? There’s no such thing as too many plants, flowers, or glitter.” Damon reached for Nash. Cupping his face, he swiped a thumb over his cheek. “Well, for Taylor, anyway.”

“What if he hates the idea?” Nash stuck his hands in his pockets and checked to be sure the rings were still there.

While they weren’t getting legally married, this was still the most important day of their lives.

Nash just hoped that Taylor wasn’t upset at being left out of the planning of it. Or the knowledge of it.

He and Damon had decided to keep it between themselves—and Milo, of course. He had been all too happy to run interference for them.

“How much longer until they get here?” Damon glanced at the clock, then around the room. “We still have to get dressed. And I think this is as good as it’s going to get.”

“Milo is going to send a text when Taylor leaves.” Nash slid closer to Damon and wound his arms around his waist. There wasn’t a day that went by where he didn’t wake up knowing he was the luckiest guy on the planet. He’d marry them both if he could.

The world was an imperfect, sometimes scary place, but having Damon and Taylor by his side made everything bearable. Beautiful. They brought happiness into his life. Sunshine and plant lights and a joy that couldn’t be commodified.

“We should get changed.” Damon leaned in and kissed him, soft and fucking perfect, and Nash’s heart swooned in his chest. Damon was the one who’d thought to surprise Taylor again like they’d done when they asked him to move in.

And though he’d said no at the time, opting to live alone for a while and continue his journey of self-discovery in a place he felt good about.

Eventually he’d moved in, though he’d had to rehome a few dozen plants, but even Taylor understood that he could get carried away with his ever-evolving plant nursery. His plants were his passion. His children. Some of them had names. Some of them were only temporary guests. But he loved them all.

Damon kissed him again, his mouth lingering longer this time. He teased Nash’s mouth open with his tongue and let out a soft groan, grinding himself against Nash as he deepened the kiss.

Nash pulled back and shook his head, but he’d been unable to hide his smile. “We need to wait for Taylor.”

“That’s not a rule.” Damon reminded him that they didn’t have to wait to be intimate.

It was a rule they’d established early on in the relationship, and it had gone a long way to keeping things even between them.

They never had to wait or ask permission or feel guilty about seeking pleasure and connection with one of their partners.

But today was different.

“It is on our un-wedding day.” Nash grabbed Damon, spun him around, and smacked his ass. “Now get changed.”

“What about you?” Damon turned and tried to reach for him again, but Nash batted his hands away.

“My stuff is in the bathroom. Yours is laid out on the bed for you.”

Damon swooped in and stole another kiss. The smile he gave Nash was dazzling, but it was the twinkle in his eye that made his knees go weak.

“See you soon,” Damon promised, raking his gaze over Nash like he was committing him to memory.

Nash watched him until he was in the bedroom with the door shut and only then did he find the ability to move his feet and make himself go into the bathroom to get dressed.

Though this day had originally been arranged for them to surprise Taylor with the perfect commitment ceremony, it also meant a lot to Nash.

He never really thought he’d get to have this.

Growing up, he was the weird bookish kid.

The one who was always daydreaming. The one who sucked at sports and was always picked last.

Until now.

Damon and Taylor had both chosen him, and that made him the luckiest man in the universe.

* * *

DAMON

T-minus five minutes until Taylor was due to arrive and Damon was holed up in his room fighting with his tie. Ties weren’t in his skill set. Button-ups he could handle. He could even fold the little pocket square properly, but ties had always evaded him.

Finally giving up, he sighed and took his rumpled tie to Nash. Nash, always composed, knew exactly how to tie it. He slid the silk around Damon’s neck and tugged him close. Before he began, he stole a kiss.

“Are you nervous?” Nash asked, lowering his gaze to focus on the tie. He looped the fabric over itself, wrapping the tails around each other with a mystifying skill that Damon had never mastered.

“Pffft. No.”

Nash raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, yeah. Asking him to move in is one thing, but a surprise commitment ceremony? What if we fucked up? What if he wanted to plan it? What if he wanted his family here? I know we like doing things just the three of us, but should this have been one of them?”

“The good thing about a commitment ceremony is that we can have as many as we want. We can have one for the family. We can let Taylor plan the biggest, splashiest, most plant-laden affair he can manage.”

“He’d probably rent out an entire plant nursery.” The knot in Damon’s chest loosened when Nash finished with the tie and smoothed it down. “You do know that Colby is going to murder us in our sleep, though.”

“No, he won’t. That would make Taylor sad, and he still has his big brother wrapped around his little finger.”

Damon admired the way Nash was so confident about these things. So collected. Meanwhile, Damon’s nerves were doing a tap dance, rattling him down to his bones.

In his pocket, Damon’s phone buzzed. He fumbled it taking it out and nearly dropped it but managed to hold on. “Milo says Taylor is on his way up.”

Damon looked around the room to see if everything was ready. They should have gotten more flowers. And they could have hung more twinkle lights, but Nash had promised they had plenty already.

“Bab.*” Nash held Damon’s face in his hands. “Breathe.”

“You’re too calm.” Damon sucked in a breath that did little to ease his nerves. “Why are you so calm?”

“Because I trust that everything will be as it should. Taylor is going to walk through that door, and we’re going to surprise him with a dress, and he’s going to probably cry at some point and ruin his make-up. And if he doesn’t, we’ll ruin it for him later in ways that are far more fun.”

“Right. Okay. You’re right. We’re panicking for nothing.”

“We? Excuse you. You’re all panic. I’m all disco.”

Damon wrinkled his nose. “That was terrible.”

“Oh, I know.” Nash smoothed Damon’s tie down again. “You look gorgeous.”

“So do you.” They’d opted to keep their attire simple. A couple of suits they purchased so they could take Taylor to nice places and show him off. They’d purchased new ties for the occasion. Matching black ties with hot pink pinstripes. Taylor was sure to approve.

“Get the dress. He’ll be here any second,” Nash said, giving Damon a gentle push toward the top secret hiding place. They’d stored the dress in Nash’s office, tucking it away in his closet. Usually it was filled with books and other writerly things, but they’d cleared a space for the dress to hang.

Damon was thankful for the task. If he had to stand there and stare at the door, he’d go insane. In his mind, Damon felt the clock winding down. Ten… nine… eight. He went into Nash’s office and crossed the room, sliding past a stack of books Nash still had to sign and ship. Seven… six… five… four.

He paused in front of the closet and then slowly reached for the handle.

“Hurry up, Damon. I heard the elevator,” Nash called from the front room.

Three… two… one.

There was no dress.

No dress.

Damon looked at the floor, panic rising now like a tidal wave. His skin was clammy and tears burned his eyes. “Nash. It’s gone!”

He bolted out of the room.

“Nash, the dress…” Damon bit his tongue as the door swung open and Taylor walked in.

He couldn’t breathe.

Relief. Confusion. Happiness. More confusion.

Taylor waltzed in wearing the dress that had been hanging in the closet earlier that day.

The dress was backless with a halter top and the whole thing was lace from head to toe.

It dragged on the floor a little, pooling at his feet, even though he had heels on.

His hair and make-up were also done and in lieu of a bouquet, Taylor had a small potted flowering plant.

“Surprise.” Taylor beamed at them, joy radiating from his triumphant smile.

“You look beautiful,” Damon said, scarcely able to breathe.

“You look perplexed.” Taylor stepped into the room a little farther. “Allow me to explain, but it’ll have to be quick.”

Damon crossed the room, his hands fluttering at his sides as he tried to reach for Taylor’s hands, but he was still holding onto that little flower pot. “Please explain.”

Taylor’s smile softened. “The surprise was a lovely idea, really, but if you’re going to recruit someone for a surprise, it can’t be Milo because he tells Colby everything. And Colby has a big mouth.”