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Jon was packing his work computer to head home. It was a few minutes past noon and couldn’t wait to look Levi in the eye and tell him those three simple words they had both been avoiding for so long. He grabbed his bags and headed out the door. One of his new coworkers—James? Sam? had told him there was a decent coffee shop near the bus station. They’d offered to give him a ride, and he politely declined. He had time to kill, so he thought he’d just walk that way. He wished he could call Levi, but he was helping Gus with yard work.

As he approached the door, he thought he saw a familiar shape in the parking lot.

“Damn I’m hallucinating. That’s just great,” he mumbled as he pushed the door open.

“Jon!” he heard his name echo across the parking lot.

“What the…” his voice trailed off. He saw Levi running towards him. At least he thought it was Levi. He had never seen Levi wear shorts in public, let alone the loose-fitting button-down shirt (that was only half-buttoned). His hair was shorter too. He looked younger and happier than the man Jon had left in Derecho less than a week ago.

“Let me help you with those” Levi grabbed his bags from his hand.

“What? How? When did you get time to get a haircut?”

“Gus insisted I come down and pick you up. No need to wait for a bus. And that’s not all…but that’s another surprise.”

Once they loaded everything into the Jeep, Levi grabbed him and kissed him. Jon didn’t care if anyone could see. He embraced Levi and breathed him in.

Levi broke the embrace first. He was smiling more than Jon had ever seen. “Get in. Don’t worry, I didn’t bring the blindfold.”

They pulled out of the parking lot and turned towards the beach.

“Are you taking me to the beach? I didn’t bring a suit.”

Levi reached over and took his hand. “Babe, I’ve got you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll see.”

They turned onto Seawall Boulevard. Jon squeezed Levi’s hand. It was a beautiful day, and he was in a jeep with the man he loved. The top down and the salty air blowing through their his hair. He was in heaven. He was lost in the beauty of the moment, and it was as if time had stopped when they pulled into the drive of a little beach house.

“Where are we Levi?”

“This is Gus’s place. He’s been holding out on us. I never knew about it.”

Jon could taste the salt in the air and realized his mouth was open. “He never mentioned it or came down?”

“Not once. He gave me the key and said we could stay here til Sunday. But we have to be at his place for dinner Sunday night.”

“A weekend away? Just us?”

“To celebrate. And don’t worry, I got you a suit. If it doesn’t fit, we’ll figure something out.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Let me carry your stuff in. you wait here for a sec, and you can think about it. Ok?”

“Ok, but I’ve missed you so you can’t take too long. That would be cruel and unusual.”

“I’ll be right back.” Levi grabbed his bags and rushed inside.

Jon was awestruck by how sexy and confident Levi was today. Something had changed. He could hear the waves crashing behind him as he watched the door. He thought, “This is perfect. We’ll go for a walk on the beach this evening and I’ll tell him then. I know Gus said not to wait, but this is too perfect a setup to not take advantage of it.”

Levi stepped back out and walked towards the jeep. He took Jon’s hand in his and led him up the steps. He opened the door. “After you.” He smiled and motioned Jon through the door.

A trail of rose petals led to a small table with a blood-red tablecloth. In the center sat an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne with a small platter of chocolate-covered strawberries. He felt Levi’s arms wrap around him.

“Do you like it?” Jon nodded. Levi stepped in front of him and took his hand. “Jon Doyle, I should have said this a long time ago, but I’ve been an idiot.” He looked into Jon’s eyes and smiled. His emerald eyes cut through Jon’s entire being. For a moment, time stopped. “I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment I first saw you and I’ll love you for as long as you’ll let me.” He paused. “I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine.”

Jon could feel tears forming, and his words choked in his throat. “Levi, I. I. I love you. I am yours and you are mine.” He shuddered as Levi embraced him. He felt a tear against his cheek.

“You do?” Levi’s voice quaked with uncertainty.

“I do. I love you more than life itself.”

Levi pulled back and wiped a tear from Jon’s eye. “Aren’t we a pair?”

Jon laughed.

“I have something for you” he pulled a small pouch from his pocket. He opened the drawstring and pulled out a leather cord. On it was a ring. He placed it around Jon’s neck and whispered, “Look at the inscription.”

Jon held it up so he could see the words Y ou Know I Love You So

“Levi…” his words failed him. He wanted to say ‘I love you’ until he couldn’t speak. No sound would come out. He grabbed him by the neck and kissed him more passionately than he ever had before.

“Jon?” His voice a whisper.

“Yes?”

“As much as I don’t want this moment to end, you need to go make sure at least one of the swimsuits I picked up fits before we completely lose track of time. Besides, I can’t wait to see you modeling them.” He flashed a sly grin and nodded towards a bag on the floor.

Jon pulled him tighter and kissed his cheek. “Ok babe.” He let his hands trail down Levi’s body as he broke their embrace. “I’ll be right back. No peeking.” He smiled as he grabbed the bag and ran towards the back. He dumped the bag’s contents onto the bed and laughed as he inspected the two swimsuits in front of him.

“What?” Levi was on the other side of the door.

Jon slipped out of his clothes. “I know which pair you want to see. I’m gonna be just a second.” He looked at the first pair, which he knew was the pair he would wear outside, a pair of black and teal board shorts. They looked like they would fit, but he tried them on just to be sure. He slipped them back off and stepped into a red speedo. He’d never worn a speedo before and kept readjusting himself in the mirror. It looked good, and part of him hated he didn’t have the confidence to wear it out to the beach. “Levi, are you ready?”

“Hell yes!”

He turned the knob and threw the door open. Levi’s eyes went wide. His mouth opened as if he were speaking, but no sound came out.

“They both fit perfectly. I like them both, though I may not be ready to wear this one out in public yet. This is all for you.” He put his hands on his hips. “Do you like it?” He turned around slowly.

Levi was on him as soon as his back was turned. He felt Levi’s arms slip around his waist and his breath on his ear.

“I love it, but I agree. I think I might murder anyone who looks at that perfect ass the wrong way.” Jon tilted his head back onto Levi’s shoulder. He felt lips against his skin. “Let’s walk this way. I’m pouring us some champagne. Why don’t we go out to the patio? And don’t even think about changing out of those just yet. No one can see us out there.”

“Well then, you need to lose some clothes, too. I’ll grab the strawberries. You bring the bottle and the glasses.” He grabbed the plate and walked towards the patio.

There was a pair of Adirondack chairs with a table between them. He placed the platter on the table and looked around. There was a gas fire pit, and over to one side was a hot tub. A privacy screen surrounded the patio but was lower facing the beach to provide a view of the water. Jon sat in one of the chairs. He heard the door open. Levi came around in his own speedo. “Damn, you are looking good in that. Pour me some champagne.”

Levi laughed. “I love you so damn much. I don’t know why it took a kick in the ass to finally say it.”

Jon looked at him suspiciously. “What do you mean? Wait. You said coming to pick me up was Gus’s idea?”

“Yeah. He jumped my ass the other day about how I needed to let go of all my hangups and tell you I loved you. He came up with this plan for me to pick you up and for us to stay here.”

“That’s interesting…because he basically told me the same thing on the drive down here. He said I needed to stop waiting for the right moment and just tell you.”

They looked at each other.

“That son of a bitch!”

“Well…I do love you, Levi. So it’s not like he set us up. I guess he saw it and just figured he’d push us in the right direction.”

“He’s up to something. Let’s not say anything at first. Let him think he got one over on us, then we can casually ask him about it.”

“I dunno…all this scheming’s making my head hurt. I almost told you the other day, but I stopped myself. You are the sweetest man in the world. You make it hard not to love you.”

Levi smiled and looked down.

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by that. What’s wrong, Levi?” Jon reached out and took his hand.

“Just hit wrong. I’ve been dreaming about my mom recently.” He sighed. “But that’s enough of that.”

Jon smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

“I love you, Jon. Nothing changes that. This weekend it’s about you. It’s about us and no more of this kind of talk. Now we need to figure out supper. I was too busy planning the first part. I never got around to planning supper. The one thing I do know, though, is the earlier we eat, the earlier I can get you naked in that hot tub.”