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She hums. “I won’t lie and say that doesn’t make me happy to hear. He’s a good one, Joey. He’s good for you.” “Yeah,” I say, that lump back in my throat.
He’s so beautiful. So open, even then. It astounds me, when I think about how he grew up. It would have been easy for him to close himself off. To guard against all the hurt in the world.
Instead, he’s one of the most genuine people I know. He’s utterly transparent and trusting. Damn near fearless, as far as I’m concerned.
Brad makes no move to get up and head that way, so I run my hand up and down his back, my other on the outside of his thigh. I’ve never been with a single other person as physically affectionate as Brad.
“I’m really lucky to have you,” I tell him seriously. He stills, pulling back to see my face. “Yeah?”
What I said to Brad is true. I’ve felt lucky since the moment he came into my life. When I saw him laugh and felt it like a physical blow to my sternum.
When he hugged me the first time and didn’t let go.
When he became my friend, listening when I talked and sharing his own stories—his ow...
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When he asked me to kiss him because he wanted proof that what he ...
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Every time he’s touched me, cuddled me, slept with his head on my chest. Every press of his lips to mine and the way he smiles...
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Those eyes, so green, always laughing. Always happy and kind. His honesty. His go...
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I’ve felt lucky every day since meeting this man, and I know I’ll continue being the luckiest person alive. Bec...
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Yep, that’s the one. I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving that man. I can’t wait.
“You really love him, don’t you?” “Fuck, Birdie. I do. He just… He makes everything better, you know? It’s like…”
I look at my boyfriend again, my chest feeling so damn full it’s a miracle it doesn’t burst.
“Joey is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. He’s my other half in a way I didn’t know was possible. It’s not that he completes me. We just…work together, like we were always meant to find one another and become something bigger than our individual wholes.
“I just love him,” I go on. “Different than how I love you, but just as meaningful. He’s going to be the person I live with. Start a family with, maybe. He’s going to be there in the mornings as I drink my first cup of coffee and at night when I need a warm pair of arms to help me fall asleep. I’m going to grow old with that man. And I’m going to love him every step of the way.”
He laughs, his arm coming around me as he lays his sweatshirt on the back of a chair. “You can do just about anything you want to me, bub. I’m yours, remember?”
Molten brown eyes hold my own for only a beat before Joey’s mouth is on mine. He attacks me with a sort of hunger at odds with his usually calm demeanor, and I don’t fight it.
It sure feels as if my heart could fly away given the chance, if only to find a home within this man looking at me with love in his eyes.
I don’t know what I did to deserve his affections, but I won’t ever take for granted this beautiful soul at my feet. I won’t ever give him up. Won’t ever let him question what he means to me.
“You’re mine, bub.” “Yes.” “And I’m yours.” “Yes,”
“Anything you want, anything you need, I’ll give it to you.” “Please,”
“I love you so much it hurts,” he says vehemently. “And I never want it to stop.”
He’s everywhere. Holding me up. Surrounding me.
His voice at my ear, telling me how much he loves me, how good I am, how he’ll never let me go. His lips brushing my cheek, stubble like sparks against my skin.
It’s him. He’s what I was missing. The home I never had.
There’s an ache in my chest thinking about it, about what might have happened if Joey and I had never crossed paths or become friends. Or if I’d simply never realized the depth of my feelings for him.
Follow your heart. I close the notebook, setting it aside as I glance at the man sleeping beside me, the one my heart guided me to.
Flicking off the lamp, I curl against his body, right where I belong, a smile on my face I know isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Over four years ago, Joey Delgado became a friend. He’s still that. Always will be. But he’s also the love of my life. He’s the person whose smile I wake up to each morning. He’s the one to greet me after a long day with a hug. He’s the one who can settle me with a simple press of his lips to mine. That’s love. That’s what love is capable of. It’s grounding. Reassuring. It’s comfort and safety and that bubbling in your chest that never quite goes away. It’s the reason we’re here today and what led to step ten.”
“This list is quite possibly the best thing I’ve accomplished in my entire life. Because, as it turns out, it was ten ways to accidentally fall in love. And every step led me to you.”
A tear slips down Joey’s cheek, one he quickly wipes away. I let my own fall, not willing to look away from the man who tumbled into my life at the moment I needed him most. The one who loves me for me and always has.
“I thought I was finding myself,” I tell my husband. “But instead, I found you. So here’s to Joey Francis Delgado-Bradley.” I lift my champagne glass off the table, and b...
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“To my husband. My gym-bro turned bestie turned partner. My confidant and supporter. My great love. Here’s to a lifetime of bennies and laugh...
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“Happiness,” I recall. “On our first non-date date, you said if you could wish for anything, it’d be happiness.” “I found that with you.” “Fuck, Joey.”
His eyes catch mine, so full of love I have trouble swallowing.
“Every day with you is my new favorite day, bub. Yes, we have fun. But more than that, you make me so damn happy I have trouble remembering what that word meant before you. You made it something different. Something our own. I’m so unbelievably lucky I get to spend...
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It’s strange to think back to the day I met Joey. When I felt like a lone bee in search of some sort of companionship. Turns out I didn’t need a flower at all.
I guess it’s pretty fortuitous I found myself tripping headfirst into accidental love with him. It led us here, didn’t it? Walking down the aisle together. Saying our I dos. Sharing a kiss as husbands. Fuck. My husband.
Maybe our road to get here was full of twists and turns. But I’m thankful for every single step that brought me closer to Joey. I married my friend. My kangaroo. I guess now all that’s left to do is be ridiculously happy together.
