Random One-Shot Collection (MxM) | Completed

Don't Forget That I Love You

"Vinny, baby, there you are! I was looking all over for you." I exclaimed, rushing over to the park's bench facing the duck pond.

He frowned and shook his head. "You've got the wrong person."

I winced as pain dug into my heart, so I put on a brave face and quietly apologized. "I'm sorry, I was just looking for my husband. You look identical."

His soft blue eyes gleamed. "Husband?"

"Yes, we've known each other for fifteen years and have been married for five. He sometimes disappears for a little while and I always find him on this bench."

"Why is that?"

"Because this is where we met. This spot is important to him just as much as he is to me." I replied softly, tears gathering on my eyelashes.

A hand landed on my head and I looked up to see him fiddle with his dark brown hair. Again, I wanted to cry. But I held back as he ripped his hand off my head.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

I chuckled. "It's okay, I didn't mind that at all."

"How did you meet your husband?" he asked, quickly changing he topic to distract himself from the "embarrassing" action he'd just done.

I smiled. "Well, I told you we met at this bench. But the story of how we got there is a little more detailed. Are you sure you want to hear?"

He nodded. "Yes, please."

"All right, good." I replied with a broad smile, then explained, "My sister had her second child in the hospital a couple blocks from here and I was a bit overwhelmed with work issues at the time, so I came here to relax and organize my thoughts before going in to see her. My now-husband was in the midst of training for a marathon at the time and happened to need a break when I was there. I was immediately attracted to his good looks, so I was hoping he'd be into someone like me."

"What do you mean by that? You're very attractive."

I blushed and turned my head. "Th-thank you."

When I returned my gaze to his face, his lightly tanned skin was flushed beet-red. He quietly apologized. I waved it away with a smile.

"I was between jobs and feeling very terrible about my appearance at the time, so seeing a hot twenty-something guy—around my age—stretching next to me was nerve-wracking. But he said something first and let me know that he'd approached me because he thought I was attractive. I felt like spring had blossomed, even though it was the start of summer." I laughed, making him chuckle as well.

"Right, um, what's your name?" he asked with a shy smile.

"Travis," I replied. "And yours?"

He hesitated and looked away, but I knew what was troubling him. I pushed off the bench and knelt in front of him. His fingers twitched as I lightly grasped them.

"Vinn," I whispered, and he suddenly looked relieved.

His soft blue eyes met my face again and tears appeared on his eyelashes as I pressed my lips to his knuckles.

"I'm sorry," he breathed, letting the tears fall. "I'm so sorry, Travis. I don't mean to hurt you like this—I never wanted to hurt you at all."

"I know this is hard for both of us, Vinny. But we're getting treatment for you to be able to fight this brain disorder off so we can live happily together again."

Vinn nodded and curled down to meet my lips. "Thank you, love. I'm so sorry you have to bear with me during these bouts of forgetting, but thank you for staying and loving me all the same these past two years since I was diagnosed. And I'm really sorry for not telling you sooner when I'd noticed the signs. I let it get so bad when we could have gotten treatment earlier."

"I forgive you, Vinny. You were scared, so I can understand why you didn't tell me sooner. But I love you and I'm still happy to be with you." I smiled warmly, pressing kisses to his knuckles again as Vinn blushed.

My heart warmed and pounded in my chest. I'm hoping our time together would be remembered for longer this time.

I helped him up and hugged my husband tightly, gently kissing his head. "Let's go to the next session, Vinny. Afterwards, we can go to that Thai curry restaurant you like and maybe stop at the store to get whatever we want for dessert. "

Vinn's smile was blinding and I was beyond happy from just seeing it again. My beloved chuckled at my expression and held out his arms.

"All right, love. One kiss before we go?"

I nodded and dipped my head to meet his lips. His arms wrapped around me and then tightened, so I relaxed and deepened our kiss. But I backed off when I felt resistance. I braced myself for the onslaught of emotional pain, but Vinn merely needed to breathe. I quietly laughed while he slapped my chest, then took his hand to lead him to the car.

"Travis, please don't forget that I love you."

After those words were spoken, I turned back to look at my husband and saw that he was gone again. Even though I wanted to curl into a ball and sob, I swallowed thickly and smiled gently at the confused man I was holding hands with in this moment.

"Hi, my name is Travis. What's yours?"

I cannot say goodbye, even though it does hurt to stay. I love my husband too much to leave him, even to this very special day of our meeting and wedding anniversaries.

And, with that, we're finished with this collection book.

Just like Vinn said, don't forget that someone loves you. I may just be a person typing behind a screen, but I care about you.

I hope you enjoyed reading (or rereading) this old collection!

Take care, I love you all very much, and I'll see you in another book in the future. <3

- Alessa (Kelpie) xoxo

Completed: 9/28/2023
Word count: 1036