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Levi woke to the sound of Jon sobbing. Jon was half-laying on top of him. His face was buried in Levi’s chest, his arms around his waist, and a leg haphazardly draped across him.

He gently placed his hand on the back of Jon’s head. He let it slide down to his boyfriend’s neck. His brain stuck on that. His boyfriend!

“What’s wrong, babe?” He hoped his hand was comforting.

“It’s nothing.” Jon looked up at him. His eyes were red.

“Nothing, eh? Well, it sure looks like something.”

“I just had a dream that was so real it scared me. In the dream, I woke up on Alicia’s couch. Everything that had happened since I met you was a dream. I panicked looking for you. I ran all over town. Someone else was living in our house. The bar was some god awful hipster boutique. I was glad when my scream didn’t wake you, and I’m sorry if my crying did. I promise they are tears of joy because I have you.”

Levi’s brain mulled over the words Our House . He embraced Jon and whispered. “It’s ok now, babe. I’m here. I’ve got you and I’m not letting go.”

“You promise?”

“Well, I mean, I have to let go right now because I gotta go piss, but yes, I promise.”

Jon laughed as he rolled over. “What’s the plan for today?”

Levi made his way to the bathroom. He tossed the question around in his head. He hadn’t thought about what they would do, having been hyper-focused on not chickening out and saying the words to Jon. What were they going to do?

“I was thinking we could just play it by ear. I mean, we don’t have anything specific we have to do. Why don’t we get some breakfast first? I think I saw a place on the way here that was open when I got here yesterday and had a nice view of the ocean.”

When he came back into the bedroom, Jon was sitting up, his legs crossed under the sheets. Levi smiled at how amazing he looked in the morning light. “This weekend is to celebrate your job…and us . I know I’ll be happy doing damn near anything as long as I’m with you, so I’ll leave it up to you.”

Jon smiled, and Levi could see his eyes moving up, then back down. “Well, if we are going to go anywhere, you might need to put some clothes on first…and quick, before I decide we are staying in bed all day.”

Levi smiled and could feel his blood rushing to his face. He turned and walked over to the dresser where he had stashed his clothes the previous morning and slipped on some briefs, followed by his shorts. He turned and walked over to the bed. Jon was smiling.

“Levi, I have to ask you something. Did you completely change over the week I was gone? Don’t get me wrong, I loved you when I left. But now there is something about you, there is something different—and I don’t know how, but I think I love you even more.”

Levi sat on the bed and put his hand on Jon’s shoulder. “I love you too, babe. Basically, I walled myself up when I met you. I fell for you when I saw you from the stairs outside the bar. It scared me, so I prepared myself for you to be a straight frat boy asshole. Then, after everything happened, I didn’t want to put any pressure on you or scare you out into the street, so I kept the walls up. Does that make sense?”

“It does, and it doesn’t. But what’s past is in the past. I can look back and see part of you shining through the facade, but I am so happy now to see you. To really see you.” He touched the ring dangling around his neck. “Don’t think I don’t know where these words came from. I meant every word that night. That song. It was magic. I was afraid too. Remind me to give Gus a big hug when we get back home.”

Levi cupped his cheek and kissed his forehead. “I will. I’m getting hungry, babe. Let’s get some breakfast.”

“Levi, did you happen to bring extra shorts I might wear? I’d hate to overdress in khakis and a polo shirt.”

“Shit! I forgot to give you the other bag!” He ran out of the room and quickly returned with a shopping bag. He was beaming as he handed it to Jon. “I told you. I got you. There’s even a pair of flip-flops in there.”

Jon examined the bag’s contents and smiled. “I swear you are the most wonderful man in the world.”

Levi kissed him again. “Put them on and let’s go. My stomach’s growling.”

They finished dressing and hurried out the door. Levi drove them up the coast and found an open restaurant.

They ordered coffee first. Jon was examining his menu, smiling but not saying a word.

“So, have you thought about what you want to do today?”

Jon simply smiled. The server returned, and they ordered. Jon settled on a stack of pancakes with a fried egg and sausage. Levi ordered the same.

“Jon, are you being coy?”

“I am.” Jon’s smile grew. “I think I just want to spend the day with you on the beach. Let’s run to a store and grab some groceries so we don’t have to go back out again. Besides, you’ve spoiled me with your cooking. It’s better than most of the shit we buy at restaurants, anyway.”

Levi chuckled. “I don’t know about that, but I appreciate it, and I think it’s a great idea.”

“That’s just the start, but I’ll tell you the rest later.”

When the server returned with their food, Levi inquired about the nearest grocery store. The server gave them directions, then added. “Y’all picked a great weekend to come down. The water is pretty this weekend. Normally it’s a brown color, sometimes with a tinge of green. I think the storms off the coast affected the currents, because the first thing I noticed this morning was that it was bluer than it normally is.”

“Well, thank you. That’s why we’re looking for a grocery store. We’re staying at a house down the road, and thought if we bought groceries, we could just stay on the beach all day.”

Jon smiled as he began eating. Levi smiled because he loved seeing Jon smile.

After settling the check, they headed to the store and rushed through. Then back to the beach house.

Once the groceries were carried in, Jon announced that it was time to go to the beach and ran to the bedroom to change into his board shorts. Levi smiled and shook his head. Jon’s giddiness was adorable.

Levi was putting the last of the groceries up when Jon’s voice echoed from the bedroom. “Levi, I’ve been thinking. Let’s spend the rest of the morning exploring. We can walk down the beach and just enjoy the scenery. Maybe get some photos. I know I want to commemorate this trip. We can do some selfies and get some candid shots of each other.”

Levi felt his smile drop. He was glad Jon was in the other room. He didn’t enjoy having his picture taken, but he couldn’t say no, could he? “Whatever you want, babe,” and prayed his lack of enthusiasm wasn’t apparent in his voice.

Jon came running back in. “These feel so good. I know you don’t like how they look as much as the speedo, but what do you think?” He turned and arched his back, then turned to face Levi.

Levi pulled him close and traced his finger up Jon’s naked torso. “Sometimes it’s not just about how much you show, but in how the cover fits and these fit beautifully.”

Jon grabbed his hand and kissed it. His blue eyes pierced Levi’s soul. “Oh really? Well, go get yours on. I want to see as much as I can and get back here for lunch. Then we leave the phones here and go swimming.”

Levi hurried off to change, and within minutes, they were on the beach. They stood hand in hand, staring at the unending horizon. Jon rested his head on Levi’s shoulder. “This is heaven, isn’t it?”

“Anywhere is heaven, as long as I’m with you.”

Jon lifted his phone and quickly framed a selfie. “God Levi, you look so damn good. I don’t want to hear you bitch about not being photogenic or just not liking having your picture taken. These are just for us. Maybe I’ll send this one to Gus, though. Proof that we’re having a fun time and not just moping around.”

They walked down the beach, hand in hand. People were coming out of the houses, but they didn’t care. They just snapped photos of each other, the beach, or anything that caught their eye, as if they were the only people in the universe.

Levi couldn’t remember ever being this happy before. He grabbed Jon’s phone away from him.

“Hey!”

“I’ll give it back in a sec. I want you to go down by the water and I want to get some artsy shots of you. Once I get those shots, I’ll give it back.”

Jon sighed, “Ok,” before running towards the water.

He stood at the water’s edge for a moment, Levi wasn’t sure what he was about to do. He turned and fell to his knees, laid his hands on his thighs, and yelled, “Something like this?” He tightened his muscles to show off and gazed back at Levi.

“Perfect” Levi took the picture. Jon changed poses a few times. Levi couldn’t believe the number of pictures he was taking, normally he couldn’t care less. But Jon was his, and he wanted to have the happiness of this day to live forever.

Jon insisted he get the same chance for pictures. Levi obliged even though he felt more awkward and doubted the shots of him would be nearly as sexy as the ones he took of Jon. Not that he doubted Jon’s photography skills. He doubted his ability to exude sexiness. Jon was delighted, though, and that was all Levi cared about. Once he was finished making Levi pose, Jon joined him by the water. He took Levi’s hand in his.

“Let’s head back. I’m getting hungry.”

They started back toward the house. Hand in hand.

“What are you wanting for lunch?”

“Oh, babe, I’m not hungry for food.” Jon smiled at him.

Levi felt his heart stutter and walked faster.