We drank in silence for a moment, and as I watched him, nervous excitement swelled in my chest. I glanced at my watch—no one would be here for another fifteen minutes or so. There was time.
I took a deep swallow of beer, and as I set the bottle down, said, “I, um, have a present for you.”
“For me?” He laughed. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know. But…” From the stack of gifts I’d brought for my daughter, I took a small, flat box and slid it across the table. “This is for you.”
He smiled as he pulled it closer. “Is it something appropriate to open in public?”
“I would’ve given it to you at home if it wasn’t.” I nodded toward it. “Go ahead.”
He slid his thumbnail under the edge to cut the tape, and my heart went into overdrive as he carefully lifted the lid. Inside, nestled in tissue paper, was a leather bracelet. It was similar to the collar I’d given him a year ago, but a higher quality leather and a much nicer buckle. Something that would last a long, long time.
“Wow,” he said. “This is really nice.”
“I thought it might be more comfortable at work. Instead of wearing the collar under your tie.”
He met my gaze, eyebrows up.
Yes, Rick. I smiled. I noticed all those times you tugged at it and fussed with it.
“Try it on,” I said, my mouth suddenly dry.
As he slowly withdrew it from the box, I held my breath, waiting for his gaze to make it to the gold buckle.
Metal clinked quietly against metal. His eyes flicked downward, right to the buckle, and he froze. My heart stopped.
He looked at me. “Jon, are these…”
“Yes.” I took a deep breath. “They are.”
His fingers slid down the leather, to the buckle, and on to the pair of dangling gold bands. “You’re serious.”
“Completely.” My heart hadn’t pounded like this the day I’d admitted in front of my now-ex-bosses that I was in love with him.
He gently freed the rings from the buckle. “I thought you said you didn’t want to get married.”
I nodded, moistening my dry lips. “Yeah, I did. But that was before I knew what it was like to be with you.” I took his hand, closing his fingers around what would hopefully be our wedding rings. “Look, I’ve bought four engagement rings in my life. Three of them felt exactly the same way. Like I might as well, now’s as good a time as any, so why the hell not? This time…” I struggled to find the words. After a moment, I slid my other hand under his, only distantly aware of just how public our affection was just then. “Rick, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a submissive, and you’re also everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner. I’ve had some strong connections with people before, and I’ve been in love before, but with you…” I chewed the inside of my cheek. “I can’t even describe it. All I can say is that I’ve never felt like this for anyone. And I want to make it permanent.”
Rick put his other hand over the top of ours and squeezed gently. His eyes were fixed on our hands, his lips taut and unreadable.
“Rick,” I whispered. “I love you. Will you marry me?”
“Shouldn’t…” He gulped. I held my breath, waiting for him to finish the thought that creased his forehead. And then he cleared his throat, and his eyes flicked up and met mine with a mischievous, bratty sparkle in them. “Shouldn’t you be down on one knee?”
I arched an eyebrow. “I was planning on putting you down on both knees later, but I—”
“That works, that works.” Slowly, he smiled, and the brattiness faded in favor of something much more sincere. “And absolutely, yes, I will.”
The rush of relief made me laugh, and I squeezed his hands. “God, I love you.”
“I love you too.” He grinned. “Did you really think I’d say no?”
“I—” I brought one of his hands up and kissed his fingers. “Let’s just say I was hoping a lot harder for a yes than I was the last few times.”
He laughed. As he turned his hand over, we both looked down at the two rings. “So, do we wait to put these on until we get married? Or, what?”
“We’ve made our own rules from the beginning.” I picked up one of the bands from his palm. “Kind of seems like we could do the same now.”
He picked up the other, holding it between his thumb and forefinger and turning it so it caught the light. “What do you think we should do?”
I studied the rings for a moment. “It took me forty-five years to find you, and another two to work up the courage to ask.” I looked in his eyes. “I don’t think I want to wait to put these on.”
“I don’t either.” He reached for the ring in my hand but hesitated. “May I?”
I nodded. He picked it up, steadied my hand and carefully slid the gold band onto my third finger. The cool metal made my skin prickle. It wasn’t my first wedding ring, but for the first time, I felt like this would be my last one.
I took the other ring, and as I held his left hand, I paused. My throat tightened. “We’re really doing this, aren’t we? I mean, this part is just rings, but…”
His fingers curled around mine. “It’s not just rings.”
Our eyes met. He swallowed. So did I.