He Changed Me (BoyxBoy)

Epilogue: Part Two

Travis POV

Flashback cont'd

            Midnight was drawing near. Most of the guest left after I called Seth outside. I had left them together to "socialize" but they were already leaving. By 11:30, the house was empty, the catering crew had cleaned up, the furniture was back in place and mom was making coffee as usual. On Christmas Eve, we didn't go to sleep until wee hours in the morning.

            Michaela came tumbling in the sitting room pajama clad from head to toe. She had her mop of curly locks in a bun on top of her head. The sleep mask she wore held the loose strands in tack. She had Bob Marley pajamas on—long sleeved t-shirt and pajama pants. On her feet were a ridiculous pair of Mickey Mouse bed slippers but that's Michaela for you.

            "Who's the buff army dude?" She asked no one in particular. She even pointed at him. Someone needs to work on her communication skills.

            "That's my brother, Hunter," Seth answered.

            "Nice to meet you, Hunter. I'm Michaela. Seth's my brother so I guess you're my brother."

            "Pleasure to meet you, Michaela."

            "I'll hug you or something when I get back. I need my crack. Mom! I want coffee!"

            "I apologize for my sister," I said to Hunter. All he did was chuckle. Hunter was interesting. We spoke on the phone a few times and we texted too. He was nothing like I imagined him to be—he was a lot like Seth, give or take a few traits. They kind of looked a like but Hunter looked his age more than Seth did. The only thing that sort gave Seth's age away was his scruff. I loved him scruff. It made his sexy lips stand out.

            "What?" Seth asked. If it weren't for him asking me I wouldn't have noticed I was staring at him. I checked my watch and decided that it was time.

            "Get your coat. I want to show you something."  He had questions in his eyes but he didn't ask me anything. I would've had questions too. It's almost midnight and I want to show him something outside.

            Seth came with his coat on but unbuttoned. I grabbed mine that was on the back of the couch from when I had picked up Hunter. I slipped my fingers through his and walked to the kitchen where the back stairs was.

            "Why did I need my coat if we're just going upstairs? And your hands are kind of shaky and moist. Are you okay?"  

            "I'm okay," I said looking back on him. We got to the top landing and I opened the door that, on more than one occasion, had been easily mistaken as a closet. What that door led to was mom's Zen garden. Seth saw it and he stopped walking. I stopped too to give him a few minutes to take it in. The garden was made up of mostly green plants but it also had small trees and other flowers that didn't die in the wintertime. There was a pond that's really a fountain in the center of it all. The pond was temperature controlled so it wouldn't freeze up. Gravel and rocks surrounded the pond, which was surrounded by wooden flooring. Mom had the idea down to a T. The white Christmas lights were just the icing on the cake.

            "It's beautiful."

            Time was running out. I took his hands in mine so that he were standing face to face. His hands were cold but mine were warm because I was nervous and my blood was pumping through my veins. "Um." I lost my thoughts. Everything I was going to tell him was about what I felt for him. Everything I felt for him just came tumbling like a rolling stone. "I love you. I love you so much."