Page 54 of It’s Only Love

“Babe, you know I love you, but if it’s long, hard, and rhymes with Rick, I think I’m gonna have to take a raincheck. I’m wiped out.”

I can’t help laughing. “Rick? Seriously? Fuck, you and your one-track mind. No, I have a surprise for you upstairs.”

He turns in my arms, linking his hands behind my neck, his eyes shining as he looks up at me. “Uhhh, I love surprises! Is it a year’s supply of Fireballs?”

I groan, tipping my head back, closing my eyes. “Like you need more sugar, baby. ”

“Bummer.” When I open my eyes, I find him pouting at me. I boop his scrunched nose.

“You’re cute when you pout.” I lean in and claim his lips in an open-mouthed kiss, my tongue dipping out, licking along his bottom lip.

His taste pulls a deep groan from my chest, and my dick thinks it’s go-time.

“Fuck, even your pout tastes good.” I lick my lips.

“Okay, give me five minutes, then come upstairs.”

Dennis frowns. “What’s going on?”

“Just give me five minutes, then come join me in the bedroom.”

He raises a brow at me. “And you’re sure this doesn’t involve Rick?”

I laugh, shaking my head. “No. And please don’t call him— it —Rick,” I groan.

“Gotcha!” He does the whole pointy finger-thumb thing at me. “Five minutes, not a second more.”

I jog up the stairs to the second floor.

When I designed the house, I knew right away that I wanted it to be small and practical, but cozy.

I selected materials that would blend in with the stunning natural surroundings of our property.

The house is built from western red cedar planks with gray doors and thermal windows to withstand the cold during the winter months.

For the inside woodwork, along with the kitchen, I used mostly fir with hardwood floors made from oak.

The back of the house, which faces a forested area, is made entirely of glass, with a glass door leading to the back deck.

We’ve kept most of our land fairly wild to ensure habitats for insects and wild animals.

When it’s too cold to sit outside in the evenings, you still get the feel of being close to nature.

The glass wall also gives the house a light, airy feel.

Upstairs, we have our bedroom and two smaller rooms. One room doubles as a guest room and home office.

The other room will be a future kids’ room.

For now, we use it to store some of Dennis’ outdoor gear until we finish the annex in the backyard.

It turns out that I love building stuff and designing it too.

Jon even jokes that I should look into getting a degree, maybe as an architect or a building contractor, but I don’t know about that.

I’m happy doing landscaping for now, but I may consider it one day. Who knows?

When I reach our bedroom, I head straight for the built-in closet where I put Dennis’ surprise earlier today, hidden behind a quilt. I remove the quilt and slide out the large painting. I already put the screws into the wall across from our bed this morning, so all I need to do is hang it up.

When I’m done, I take a few steps back and take in the spectacular image in front of me.

Fuck, I hope he loves it. It cost me a small fortune, but Dennis is worth it.

I love spoiling my guy. My guy. Shit, now I’m tearing up.

I blink a couple of times and focus on the painting.

It looks exactly like the photo I took a while back before heading into the studio of a local artist who does these amazing scenic paintings.

It’s late in the day now, but I know it will look even more stunning tomorrow when the sunlight from the skylights hits it and brings out all the nuances of blues, grays, and greens.

We weren’t planning on installing skylights in the slate-shingled roof because they’re pretty expensive, but Jon and Sarah gifted them to us as an early housewarming present.

Like Jon said, “I kinda owe you, Mike, for finally taking my youngest off our hands.”

“Five minutes!” Dennis yells from downstairs, and it sounds like he’s standing right by the stairs.

“Come on up, baby!” I yell back as I sit down on the bed, waiting for him. He must have run up the stairs or cheated, or likely both, because seconds later he stands in the doorway panting, just about ready to burst with pent-up excitement.

“Where is it? Where’s my surprise?” He grins, bouncing on his feet—my very own little golden retriever .

“C’mon.” I pat the bed next to me, and he walks toward me. When he reaches me, I pull him close by his belt loops, and he leans down and kisses me long and hard, then plops down next to me with a sigh.

The moment Dennis notices the painting will stay with me forever.

The surprise on his face as he takes it in.

When he recognizes what it is and where it’s from, the bewilderment gives way to awe.

His wide eyes coast along the large image, his mouth slightly agape, as he takes in all the little details.

The stormy-gray sky with the sun peeking from behind the clouds.

The ocean he loves so much, and teaches kids about every day, making them love it, too.

The sandy-golden beach that stretches for miles and miles.

Eventually, he turns toward me, blinking. “But that’s…” he whispers, and there’s a wet sheen to his eyes, turning them into a liquid amber color.

“I know.”

“But how?” he shakes his head, then looks back at the painting. “When?”

“A while back,” I say, wrapping my arm around his shoulders, tugging him against me. “Do you like it?”

“Mike!” he gasps, his laughter coming out in small puffs. “It’s my favorite place. I love it!” He sniffs, turning toward me. “I love you . And this house you built for us. And this…” he waves at the painting of the ocean. “It’s just perfect. Thank you, Mike.”

“You’re welcome. I know we couldn’t afford to build a house with an ocean view, but now you can still wake up to it every morning and fall asleep to it every night.”

He leans in and kisses me, a tired smile on his lips. “I don’t need a house with an ocean view. I want this house, this life, right here with you and the snoring ball of fur on our kitchen floor. That’s what I’ve always wanted. ”

“I want this life, too,” I say, kissing him back. “For a long time, I didn’t know I wanted it, because I didn’t think I could have it. I didn’t dare dream of it. But with you, I’m not afraid anymore.”

“We can have anything we want, Mike. As long as we’re together.”

I nod, exhaling. There’s no tightness in my chest. Not anymore. There hasn’t been since Dennis came home. “Welcome home, baby,” I whisper against his neck.

“Welcome home, Mike.”