42. Tobias
42
Tobias
I finished washing up in the bathroom. Whatever Elijah had planned for tonight, I wanted to be ready for it.
Ready. Ready.
Thank you, Google.
Clean, prepped and ready to go. I’ve been thinking about having Elijah topping me for a while now. Honestly, I’ve thought about it ever since we started having sex and I saw that gorgeous expression of pure bliss spread across his face whenever I was inside of him.
The only thing holding me back was…
Honestly, Derrick’s voice was inside my head.
It’s always been there, taunting me. He always knew exactly what to say to make me feel disgusted with myself for wanting something so pure as Elijah.
Nothing about this feels wrong. Loving each other and showing each other our love isn’t wrong.
I swallowed deeply, looking at myself in the mirror one more time.
Derrick doesn’t have control over me anymore. Not here. Not with Elijah.
I wiped my face off and patted it dry with the hand towel.
I opened the door to be startled by a happy Elijah, bouncing on his tiptoes.
“You all set?” He smiled, holding out his hand.
“You have no idea.” I breathed out.
He gave me a curious look before handing me a blanket.
“Cover yourself up. We’re heading outside.” He smiled.
I swung the blanket over my shoulders and wrapped myself up. He draped an extra blanket around his shoulders, grabbed my hand, and led the way.
It was clear that whatever he had planned was set up in the loft. I’d like to think this was ‘our spot’.
The lights were shimmering on the top, so I could tell he had the little lights turned on. We followed the pathway he had paved off towards the boathouse until we stepped inside.
It felt warm in here, which was a nice surprise.
As I walked up the steps, I couldn’t help but smile, realizing the loft was warm thanks to the space heaters he’d set up in the corners.
The cot in the middle of the room was cleaned off to make room for clean sheets, more blankets, and a few pillows. It was surrounded by a couple of battery-operated candles, my favorite snacks, and a little rectangular green gift-wrapped box on the end.
I looked at Elijah, “What are you up to?”
“We’re going to spend tonight in here. I set up a projector so we can actually watch a movie on the wall.” He rushed behind the cot to show me the projector, which made the sheet hung on the opposite wall make so much sense.
“You’re so adorable.” I shook my head, taking it all in.
“Say you love it.” He said, his voice slightly shaky.
I looked at him, shocked. Did he think I wouldn’t love this? “Elijah. You did all of this for me. You’re…you’re incredible.” I stammered.
“Good…” He exhaled, his eyes scanning my face. “I want you to open your present.”
I smiled, nodding my head. “Okay.”
He led me to the cot, and we both sat down.
He lifted the mysterious green box and placed it on my lap.
I darted my eyes from the box to Elijah and back again. “What could you have in here?” I shook the box next to my ear but heard nothing.
“Aaaand now it's dead. Great," he joked, grinning. "Come on! I can barely take it,” he pleaded, biting his thumbnail between his teeth.
Okay, I was done torturing him. I had the biggest smile on my face as I tore the lovely forest green wrapping paper from the box.
I'll never know how he managed to put all of this together while we were attached to each other 99% of the time.
“I can’t believe you did all of this,” I said, opening the cardboard box. My smile faltered when I saw what was waiting for me inside.
It looked like a big book, with a design that resembled a forest on a foggy day. It was so beautiful. In the middle of the book was a message written by Elijah himself. I could tell it was his neat handwriting from anywhere.
On it was the few but powerful words: “The Summer We Found Us."
I tilted my head to look at him with furrowed brows. He met me with watery eyes and gave me a slight shrug.
I looked back at the book and opened it to reveal a few pictures. They were of me this past summer, throwing a football to dad in the backyard. We were both laughing as I was clearly passing him the ball. He was lunging for it, which made me throw my head back.
I looked down at the next picture. It was of Gwen and me cooking lunch together. I remember we had been listening to music. We stood beside each other with aprons on, smiling and having a great time.
The next picture below shows Elijah and me looking at each other as we play cards at the kitchen table. Gwen or dad must have taken this picture. I looked at him with so much love that I could see it written all over my face. Elijah was laughing because he was clearly winning like he always does.
I kept flipping the pages. Another one of dad and I, arms around each other's shoulders as we walked down the street.
Another one where we were out on the paddle boards on a sunny morning.
Had he been snapping pictures of us the whole time?
I wiped my tears off the page before flipping over to the next page and then the next.
The pictures were stunning. Elijah knew exactly how to capture the moment. And these moments were all mine—all for me, with the people who matter most to me.
My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. These were all so special. I wanted to stare at them forever.
“Tobias,” Elijah wrapped his arms around my neck, kissing me softly on my temple. “You’re okay.” He soothed me.
I didn’t even realize I was crying. “I just…I love it so much, Elijah.” My voice was so hoarse, but I really needed him to know.
He looked at me with compassionate eyes.
“I didn’t have any pictures of me and him.” I trembled. “I’m just…really thankful.”
He clasped the back of my neck and drew me into a tight hold. “I know, baby. I’m so glad you love it.” He rubbed my back.
The soft music playing in the background of a speaker and his rubbing my back made me calm down a bit. I sniffled, sitting back up.
“Wow, you’re really good at giving presents.” I laughed through my tears.
“I’m not even done yet.” Elijah laughed.
I looked at him, shocked. “What? Seriously?”
“Yeah!” he said excitedly, dunking his hand in his back pocket. Out came a black, thin-laced necklace. It had one silver ring slid on and a thin black band wrapped around it right in the center.
“Woah,” I said, bringing it closer to my eyes. It looked just my size. “This is so nice,” I said, sliding it on my finger.
Elijah beamed up at me and bit his lip, watching my excitement. “It’s not a proposal or anything, but–”
“Well, I’d think not. We’re only 20.” I laughed. Even though I’m 99% certain the answer would be yes anyway, despite our age. But I’ll keep that fact to myself for now.
“But,” he continued, grabbing my hand into his. “If I remember correctly, we once promised each other that we’d always be together. No leaving. So, I wanted you to know how much I intend to keep that promise. The ultimate promise of all promises.” He sounded nervous.
I dropped my smile and really listened to what he was saying. He breathed in deeply.
“This is…a promise to you. A promise that there’s no more running. No more shutting you out, ever. It’s a promise to always be open and honest with you, even when it’s difficult, even when it’s the last thing I want to do.
It’s a promise to always stick by your side so you always know you’re never alone. Because you’re never alone, Tobias. You never were, and you never will be.”
“Holy shit.” I looked at him with wide eyes. “Elijah, this sounds a lot like a vow.”
He swallowed deeply, shaking off what I said with a laugh. “Honestly? Yeah, it is. Because I will ask you to marry me one day, Tobias. That day will come, and I hope to God that you’ll say yes when I ask… because you’re my soulmate. You’re the strongest, most resilient, most incredible person I’ve ever known, and it’d be an honor to be loved by you for the rest of my life. Because I know—I know I’ll never stop loving you.” He breathed.
My lips parted slowly. “Elijah.” I breathed. “I’m so fucking in love with you.” I leaned in, pressing my lips to his. He tasted so sweet as he curled his fingers through my hair. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to hear from him, and I can’t believe it’s actually come true.
He leaned back, disconnecting our lips. I almost whimpered.
“Let’s get this on you.” He said, sitting up on his knees and crawling behind me on the cot. He grabbed the necklace from my neck and fastened the clasp behind me. The ring dropped perfectly on my chest. Not too big, not too small. “If you ever feel like I’m far away or you’re not sure how I feel about you. I want you to look down at this ring.” He wrapped his arm around my neck, hugging me from behind. “But, I’m going to make it my personal mission to never let you feel like that. Ever.” He held me so tightly, saying these sweet words in my ear.
I held on to his arms and closed my eyes, sinking into this feeling.
“How’d we get here?” I asked softly.
“I have no clue, but I’m so happy that we did.” Elijah let go, sitting beside me again.
“Elijah…Thank you.” I breathed, looking into his eyes.
“Tobias, thank you .” His words hit me like a brick. I know he meant so much in those words. Thanks for everything, he was saying.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I lunged for his mouth like his lips were the only things keeping me alive. Our connection is just too powerful to ignore. He immediately climbed on top of my lap, rubbing his erection on my waist back and forth. I gripped his hips, feeling his rhythm rub against my dick. “Elijah,” I moaned.
He licked my bottom lip before tugging on it gently with his teeth. “Yeah?” He panted.
I looked at his eyes as he lifted his gaze from my lips to my eyes.
I took a deep breath. “I…I want you to fuck me.”
He took in a sharp breath, understanding my words. “Are you…are you sure?”
I nodded and smiled softly. “As I’ll ever be,” I answered.