Once Upon a Second Chance (Once Upon a Holiday Story #1)

Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Daniel

The festival was perfect. Best one to date, and I had a feeling it had everything to do with the man currently walking beside me toward the carousel.

I didn’t want Aaron to go away tomorrow…a week from now…ever. I hadn’t felt this alive in my entire life, even with Cole. And I’d loved that man with my whole heart.

Huh.

“You okay, Daniel?” Aaron’s expression was full of worry.

“Yeah, just…you ever just been walking around minding your own business and then a realization hits you like a snowball to the face?”

The corner of his mouth curled up. “Yeah, I have.”

My family stepped onto the ride but I waved them away, gently tugging Aaron with me to a secluded area.

“Uh, what are you doing?” He released a breathy laugh.

“If you could stop moving all over the world, where would you want to land?”

“Land?”

I inched closer and took his face in my hands. “Where would you want to call home, Aaron?”

“There is nowhere, Daniel.”

“What?” I cocked my head to the side. “You don’t want any place to call yours, to call home?”

He rolled his eyes and sighed, clearly exasperated with me, but I had no idea why.

“I’ve spent a good portion of my life searching for a place to put down roots, but after a while I stopped because it never happened. I gave up because it seemed impossible for me. I was happy to survive each day. Dreams were— are —dangerous for someone like me, so I never thought about what home looked like.”

I rested my forehead to his. “I hate that for you.”

“Jane gave me this book. She’s sweet but odd, and it was as if she saw who I was under these clothes you bought me. She could see the bruises I had on the inside.” He snorted. “I don’t have to read it, though.”

“You don’t? Have you already?”

He shook his head. “I know what the main character in the book was searching for, and it dawned on me that no place in this world would ever be right, because I’d still be alone.” He kissed my lips. I was sure my family could see, but I didn’t care.

“And you don’t want to be alone?”

“I like my own company but no, doing life by myself made me understand all the shitty cars, rat-infested hotel rooms, dingy basements, abandoned warehouses, they weren’t home. Your house, it’s not a home, Daniel. But right here…” He pressed his hand on my chest. “That’s home.”

“And I’m in Everlasting Springs.”

“Yes, you are.”

“So then if you could land any place in the world, where would it be, Aaron?”

His blue eyes twinkled under the Christmas lights above us. “Wherever you are.”

“You mean that?”

“I do, but there’s one thing missing.”

I’d give it to him. Whatever it was, I’d make sure it was his by morning—anything to keep him beside me and in my arms.

“What?”

“Purpose, Daniel. I need to find that part of myself.”

“Like a job?” I’d give him one.

“Yes, but on my own.” I opened my mouth to say something, but he covered it with his hand. “On. My. Own.”

“You’ve done everything on your own. Sometimes we need help and while I can appreciate you wanting to be an independent and responsible person, you need to stop thinking you’re not worthy of the good things offered to you in this life.”

“You’ve done so much for me and I know if it wasn’t for you, I’d probably be dead right now. You have helped me.”

“I want to, though. I like helping.”

He laughed and kissed me again. “I’ve gathered that. Thank you.”

“Does that mean you’ll let me?”

“Nope.” He patted my chest and moved around me toward where my family was hopping off the carousel.

“Stubborn man,” I mumbled.

“I heard that.”

I couldn’t bear sleeping without Aaron for another night, especially after our conversation at the festival. He wanted me, us. Sure, he was being a mule about letting me help him, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from making sure he knew I was with him in this no matter what.

Once the house was silent and everyone was tucked away, I tiptoed down the hallway to his bedroom. The light under his door meant he was either still awake or he’d fallen asleep with the light on. I knocked softly.

A moment later the door opened, and Aaron stood there in just pajama pants.

“Daniel?”

Maybe I should have asked if I could come in, but I was desperate to touch him. I slipped inside, shutting the world out, and crashed my lips to his.

For the next minute it was tongues, teeth, and delicious moans. When we broke away, he was gasping for air and laughing.

“I’m too old for you,” I blurted.

“What?” He was clutching the front of my shirt. “That’s ridiculous.”

“It is, isn’t it? I can’t do anything about our ages. It keeps rattling around in my brain. I see you looking young, virile, and it hits me that I’m too old for you.”

“You’re not. I’m older in my soul. I’ve lived a thousand lives, seen things and done things most eighty-year-olds never have.”

I nodded. “Would you spend the rest of my life convincing me of that? Any time I begin to feel like I’m robbing the cradle, will you do everything in your power to make sure I remember that?”

“If the rest of our lives is what you want, then yes, Daniel. I…I love you.”

I smiled, my heart beating so fast I feared it would break through my chest. “I love you too, Aaron, and that’s the point.”

“I’m confused.”

“I’d need you to help me, to remind me that our love is ageless. Only you can give that to me, and I’m vulnerable in the fact that it’s something only you can do.”

“Okay…”

“When you love someone, you do what you can to make them happy, feel safe, and know they’re not alone.”

“I’ve never been in love before you, but that makes sense.”

“If you’re going to do all that for me, Aaron, you have to let me help you in return for the rest our lives.”

Realization dawned on his face. “You’re sneaky.”

I pushed him back, stopping when we reached the bed and collapsed on it. I pressed my body against his and grinned.

“We both have power in this relationship, Aaron, not just me.”

“I’m starting to see that.”

“So, here’s how this is going to go. I’m going to make love to you tonight. I’m going to lick and suck every inch of your skin. When you’re begging for my cock, I’ll fuck you while the sun rises and all either of us will be able think about is where I end and you begin.”

“I’m liking this plan.”

“Later”—I pecked his nose—“we’re going to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We’ll see my family off and then stay wrapped around each other until the ball drops, signaling a new year and the beginning of both of our second chances.”

“That…”

“I’m not done. Then, Aaron, we’re going to help each other through everything. Our days will begin with us and end with us, and you’ll set down the thickest most sturdiest roots right here in Everlasting Springs, and no one will be able to pull them out. Our home will be this.” I kissed his lips, eyes, and finally his chest.

“Oh, Daniel.” Tears leaked from his eyes.

“No score-keeping, no comparing, Aaron. Let me love you, because I sure as hell want to be loved by you.”

“Fuck, I love you, Daniel. Yes, I want all of those promises.”

That night, I kept the first of them all. Aaron and I didn’t untangle from each other. Only after the sun rose did my arms loosen, and that was simply to readjust my hold.