Dylan - One Year Later
Dylan
One year later …
The last twelve months have flown by in the blink of an eye, and they’ve been the best twelve months of my life so far.
I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in … probably forever.
Liam and I have officially been a couple for over a year now, and we’re both incredibly happy.
We knew it was going to be difficult, keeping it from everyone at work, so we decided to make it public at the annual Valentine’s Day ball earlier this year.
This morning, for my birthday, he asked me to move in with him permanently.
To be fair, knowing that I was paying money in rent, it wasn’t really up for negotiations, and he more or less demanded I live with him to save my money.
He's so thoughtful, always thinking about me and not just himself, and trying to make my life as normal as possible. But how does one live a normal or ordinary life when they’re dating a billionaire?
Even though I can have everything and anything I want, I choose this.
Him. Liam Samuels for all my eternity. This year for my birthday, I decided I wanted something different instead of just spending it in front of the fire watching television.
We both agreed on a road trip to Niagara Falls.
Liam kept insisting that he pay for the entire trip because he wanted it to be his birthday gift to me, even though I’ve told him for the past two birthdays in a row that I don’t want any gifts from him.
And despite the constant arguing and wonderful make-up sex afterward, we agreed on a compromise, that I would drive the Jag and pay for the fuel, and even that took a lot of arguing.
I’ve never taken her on a long drive before, so this was the perfect opportunity.
My hand rests on the stick, and his fingers intertwine with mine as we cruise along the highway.
We’ve been driving for the past six hours, and it’s almost dark but according to the GPS, we should reach Niagara Falls just after 9p.m. which would give us enough time to check into the hotel, have a quick bite to eat and crash.
It’s our first New Year’s Eve away from home together and I want to make it a special and memorable one.
“Are you tired? Do you want me to drive?” Liam asks.
“No one but me drives this car, Liam, you know that.”
“Like how I’m the only one who drives my Ferrari?”
“Do I need to remind you that you were drunk? And had I let you drive that car you probably would have killed us both.”
“That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
“It’s the truth,” I tell him.
He rolls his eyes in typical Liam fashion, he’s so fucking sexy when he’s frustrated, but he’s also a stubborn asshole who won’t admit when he’s wrong.
Aside from the waterfall, there are a lot of beautiful sights to see in Niagara Falls, and I haven’t been to Canada since I was a kid.
Experiencing this with Liam for the first time will be special.
The business is still thriving, Liam actually employed three more staff this year, and he also gave everyone in the office a raise.
But with success, also comes stress, and after a stressful year, it’s time to just decompress and forget the buzz of work for another year.
He removes his hand from on top of mine, then places it on my thigh and then slides it toward my groin.
“Liam?” I warn.
“What?”
“I’m driving a vehicle, that means there’s a chance we could have a very serious accident. Don’t start something you can’t finish.”
“Party pooper.”
“But you love me, right?” he asks.
“I do, and don’t you ever forget that.”
I smile at him, then bring his hand to my lips and kiss the back of his palm, keeping my eyes on the road.
I love this, it’s so peaceful out here, just the two of us and nothing out ahead except the open road.
A gas station comes into view, I glance down at the fuel gauge and unsure how much farther it is to the next gas station and not wanting to risk running out of fuel, I decide to pull up.
After filling the car with gas and grabbing some supplies, we hit the road again. The sun is starting to set now and although it’s supposed to be cold this evening, it’s rather mild outside. I press the button to lower the roof and continue driving with the breeze blowing in our faces.
“This is nice,” Liam says.
“It is.”
He tilts his head backward so that it’s resting on the headrest of the seat. He closes his eyes and inhales a deep breath, then exhales.
“This thing purrs along the highway, my ass is getting a great workout right now.”
“Yes, please. You’re sexy when you’re jealous, and seeing as we’re only a couple of hours away from our destination, I’d be all turned-on by the time we got there so we could make quick work of relieving my sexual frustrations.”
“Quick work? Since when have you ever wanted sex to be quick?” I ask.
“Good point,” he replies.
Some two hours later, I find myself pulling into the guest parking lot of the Hilton Niagara Falls.
After checking in at reception, the woman behind the counter presents us with our keys, and orders one of the bellboys to assist us with our bags.
We walk over to the elevator and step inside and when the doors slide closed, we commence our ascend to the top floor.
I’m starving and exhausted after driving all day, and I think after a nice meal and a soothing shower, I’ll sleep like a baby.
When the doors ping open on the top floor, we step out onto the corridor, and the bellboy leads the way to our room.
He swipes the master key over the card reader and pushes the door open, places both bags on the floor by the bed and then bids us farewell.
Liam pulls some money out of his wallet and hands it to the man who thanks him before walking out, closing the door behind him.
A soothing shower was all I needed to help me relax and by the time I walk back out into the bedroom, there’s a room service cart resting by the table. Liam sits at the table scrolling through his phone, and when he notices me, immediately slides it back into his pocket.
“Everything okay?” I ask him.
“Yeah. Just getting in early and wishing everyone back home a Happy New Year before we both pass out.”
“Did you tell them the news?” I ask.
“And what news would that be?”
“About us living together.”
“Not yet. I figured we could tell them together when we returned.”
I nod and give him a smile.
The view from this room is beautiful, I move from the bed and walk over to the window and pull open the curtain.
I stare down at the lit-up Niagara Falls, where people have already started gathering for the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
One thing Liam has taught me this past year is stepping out of my comfort zone.
From swimming nude in the beach, to fucking against a window for all of Chicago to see, and almost having a broken penis.
I suppose I had never really lived my life before officially getting to know Liam.
Every day with this man is an adventure, and I love the idea of waking up and not knowing what the day is going to bring us.
I stare out into the dark for much longer than I anticipated and then feel him rest both his hands on my shoulders.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he asks.
“It is. Have you been here before?”
“Many times. I love Canada, especially around this time of year. It's so magical and full of life, so many tourists and events,” he says.
“If I’d have known, I would have organized for us to go somewhere else.”
“And why would you do that? Everything about this moment is just perfect. Being here with you is like me reliving it all over again for the first time, because I get to do it with you.”
With his hands still on my shoulders, we stare out the window as the crowds below us grow larger and people gather around the waterfall.
“Want to go down for a closer look?” Liam asks.
I shake my head. “No. I don’t want to leave here, ever,” I say.
“You know that can be arranged, right? Just say the word and I can buy us a nice villa, anywhere you like.”
“Pack up our lives and move to Canada huh, just like that?”
“If that’s what you want.”
“It was just a passing thought, Liam. I don’t think I could ever leave Chicago, well, not right now anyway.”
“We’ve certainly come a long way, haven’t we?”
I nod. “And how the hell did we get here?” I ask.
“I believe it all happened when I woke up hungover that morning after the Christmas party. You were standing in my kitchen looking all sexed up wearing nothing but your tight work pants.”
“All sexed up, huh? I could definitely say the same about you.”
“Or maybe it was the spectacular fuckfest up against my window that made you realize you couldn’t be without me.”
“There you go again, being all arrogant and so full of yourself.”
“Are you going to deny it?” he asks.
“No.”
“Good, because this time I want the upper hand.”
“Upper hand?” I inquire.
“Come, let’s go sit,” he says, taking my hand and leading me back over to the bed.
As we sit on the bed, I look at him and raise my brow, then look around the room as if waiting for something or someone to jump out and scare the absolute crap out of me.
But instead, he pulls me against him, crushing his lips onto mine, our tongues meet and our gentle sighs fill the silence of the room as we kiss.
I snuggle closer to him, enjoying the feeling of his warm body pressed against mine, and I have to repeatedly tell myself that this man is mine.
All mine.
And I don’t ever intend on letting him go.
When his lips leave mine, he looks into my eyes. “Dylan?”
“Yeah,” I reply, my voice barely audible.
“I have something for you.”
“Again? I thought we agreed, no presents under any circumstances.”
“Yeah. But I think you’re going to like this one,” he says with a smile.
“Oh?”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small red velvet box, then he slides off the bed and positions himself between my thighs.
“You’re the one for me, Dylan. Everything from that first moment that we met, our first words to one another, right through to this moment and the very end.
Every breath I take, and the air that I breathe is all because of you.
I wake up every morning and remind myself that when it comes to you, life doesn’t get any better.
Every day you make me fall more and more in love with you, and I know we’ve never really spoken about it, but I want to spend the rest of my life waking up next to you every morning.
I want to live every day as an us and not just a me because without you, my world doesn’t exist.”
My eyes well up with tears, as his beautiful words seep deep into my brain. I place my palms on his cheeks and pull his face toward me for another kiss. This time the kiss is sweeter and poignant, and I feel like I’m kissing him for the first time all over again.
“I can’t imagine a world without you in it either,” I admit.
“So …” He lifts the lid on the tiny red box, revealing a gorgeous, silver ring within. “Do you want to wear this for a while?” he asks.
“How long were you thinking?”
“Say forty or fifty years?” His eyes lock with mine as he continues. “Dylan Lewis, will you marry me?”
I look up at him while I’m at a complete loss for words and see his eyes glisten with tears.
“Yes. One hundred million––billion times yes.”
Our lips meet through smiles and the taste of tears on our tongues.
My heart is so full right now, and my stomach is full of butterflies, the good kind.
He removes his lips from mine and pulls the ring out of the box.
He grabs hold of my left hand and slides the ring over my wedding finger, then covers it with soft, sweet kisses.
“I love you, Dylan Lewis.”
“And I love you, too, Liam Samuels.”