Page 113 of Mr. Naughty List
The crowd cheered, though Aaron had to laugh. Cool was a bit of an understatement. He and RJ had traveled the world. First as part of a tour with a rock group, and then with a female-led country band. The latter had taken their young families on tour with them, and Aaron had been hired to be the kids’ teacher. In fact, the band was going out again in the spring to support a new album, and Aaron and RJ would be going with them.
Constance was able to go with them on the US legs of the tours. It turned out she traveled well, and Aaron preferred to keep her close. When they went abroad, though, Constance stayed with his cousin Dem Buns in Aaron’s apartment. Dem Buns—well, Frank, as he preferred to be called for obvious reasons—was getting his Bachelor’s Degree from U.T., so taking care of Aaron’s apartment and cat was a good way for him to keep costs down.
Aaron and RJ had been home only five times since they’d first left, and only for a few days at a time. Aaron hadn’t talked to his mother since his final text with her (she had kept the casserole dish), and he’d spent his first holidays without her quite happily, going between his dad’s place and RJ’s folks’ house. Doug and Betsy were as in love as ever, and possibly trying for another kid, if the hints dropped during FaceTime calls were any indication. Carter had thankfully moved on from his crush on RJ and now had a boyfriend his own age. A sweet little guy with glasses and a mop of curls. Aaron thought they were adorable together.
Still, this trip was their first visit back to Knoxville that had lasted long enough to catch their breath and make some plans. RJ had made the most of it, rehearsing and playing more Christmas shows, and making another batch of songs to upload to Spotify. Aaron had sorted out the details of their next tour and put his grandmother’s Sapphire Regal up along with a host of Christmas decorations. He’d really nested in cozily and enjoyed the downtime, making everything in the apartment “just so” for both of them. Yes, Aaron loved the time off, but he also adored their whirlwind life together.
He’d never imagined he could be so free.
“But this next year…” RJ gave a smirky grin, nailing Aaron with his gaze. He put his guitar on the stand and wiped his palms on his jeans. “I was thinking about a way it could be even more fun.”
Aaron blinked. Whatever RJ was talking about was news to him. More fun? Had he already booked another tour for the second half of the year?
“Aaron?”
Aaron straightened up and stared at RJ, sweat slipping down the back of his neck. When would he stop wearing sports jackets to these shows? He always got too hot.
“Come up here.”
Aaron blinked at him, but when the crowd started shifting restlessly, looking his way, he did as he was ordered, his heart pounding and his head awhirl. Was this…? Could RJ…? No. That was…he wouldn’t. Would he?
When he reached the stage, RJ tugged him up next to him. “This is Aaron. He’s my lover,” he announced to the crowd to a mix of very vocal reactions, though it was mostly positive. A few girls looked disappointed. “We started out as a Christmas fling, but you know how those tend to end, right? It’s either true love or tears. No other way out of a Christmas fling.”
The crowd yelled and laughed. Aaron laughed, too, but his heart was beating so fast that he sounded giddy.
RJ squeezed Aaron closer, sweat glistening on his exposed collarbones above the wide neck of his T-shirt. “I told Aaron once that if we wanted to last as lovers, then we had to act like we’d last forever. Remember?”
Aaron nodded, his throat going tight. Oh, wow. Was this…?
“Because love is trust,” RJ said to the audience, with a sly smile cast toward his mother who now stood with Doug in the front row. Where had they come from?Oh, wow.There was his dad, too. Oh, God, this was really happening. “So we did. We acted like we’d last, and now it’s been two years”—more cheers from the audience—“and I love him more than ever.”
The room echoed with screams at that proclamation.
“He loves me, too,” RJ said, looking down at Aaron, and his eyes were soft with affection. “I know because he gives me everything he has, all the time, every time. I’m lucky. You should all be as lucky as me.”
Aaron eyes burned with tears, and he opened his mouth to speak, but RJ shook his head and put his finger on Aaron’s lips.
“I’m not done yet,” he growled gently, but he punctuated it with a smile. “Two years ago tonight a couple of assholes stood this guy up—yeah two in the space of a few hours. Ouch, right?” Aaron winced, but RJ grinned. “And I’m grateful to both of them for passing up this man every single day of my life. Also, they weren’t just assholes, they were idiots, because they missed out on the best person in the world. But I didn’t. I was smart.” His grin turned wicked. “I took him home and—”
Laughter and cheers roared.
RJ winked at Aaron. “And I fell in love with him. Christmas miracles and all that stuff. Being his lover has been the best thing to ever happen to me. But I’m hoping that after tonight, we won’t call ourselves just lovers anymore.” He released his hold on Aaron quickly, and Aaron’s legs went weak when RJ dropped to one knee. A shiny ring materialized from the depths of RJ’s jeans pocket. He held it up and the Christmas lights played on the gold. The room exploded with joy and the sound of shaking tambourines. “Baby, will you make my dreams come true again tonight?”
Aaron’s heart filled with so much joy it overflowed, and he didn’t bother wiping at his streaming eyes as he put his palms on RJ’s shoulders to steady himself. He nodded vigorously, already mouthing yes, as RJ went on, “Aaron Danvers, will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes, yes! I will!”
RJ rose up and tugged Aaron to his chest as the sound of tambourines and shouts of congratulations filled the air, along with a rousing clatter of piano keys as Madison added to the cacophony.
RJ kissed him so long and deep that Aaron was panting by the time their lips broke apart. They clung together as the band started to play, and they swayed to the music. Suddenly, Aaron recognized it as Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again,” and he started to laugh, remembering that it had played from the Market Square skating rink that first night just after RJ had kicked out the patio chair and told him to take a seat.
“What do you say, Mr. Danvers,” RJ said into his ear, careful that the mic didn’t pick up his words. “Now that you’re my fiancé, do you still want to pretend you’re on my naughty list tonight?”
Aaron nuzzled RJ’s throat, pressing a kiss to the place where he felt the beat of his pulse. “I do, yes. Yes, I do.”
“I do,” RJ repeated back, eyes warm with love. “Yeah, I like the sound of that.”
THE END