Flames

Future, Tense, part 1

Since he came from a small town, Seth always found real fireworks—not the ones that drunken idiots tended to shoot off on the Fourth of July, but the city-grade kind—somewhat magical. Watching them bloom over the ocean while cuddled up on the beach with Becky made New Year's Eve even better. Helping Becky warm up when they got back to her place was the best part of the night, of course, but she had managed to sleep through her phone dinging incessantly while he hadn't. Since she was curled up against him, it was a challenge to grab their phones from the bedside table, but he eventually managed to get both. All he could do to Becky's was turn the volume down, but he didn't have to scroll far through Twitter on his to figure out why Becky was getting a ton of late-night—technically early morning—messages: Andrade had proposed to Charlotte.

Seth worried that the light from his phone would wake Becky up, but she barely stirred, so he looked at some of Charlotte and Andrade's pictures as well—avoiding the comments as a matter of habit. He knew they were somewhere in Mexico, and they seemed to be on a boat, dressed up as if they had just come from a fancy dinner. And you proposed to Becky on some random-ass day while wearing board shorts. He hadn't thought about those details much before; what had mattered to him was being in a place Becky loved, in a quiet spot where they could bask in the moment together without worrying about a bunch of strangers watching. His main goals had been not losing the ring and not saying something stupid.

"And you say I spend too much time on the stupid Twitter machine." Rubbing at her eyes, Becky moved just enough to be able to look at his phone; her curiosity apparently didn't outweigh her desire to be comfortable. "Aw. He finally asked!" Becky smiled and kissed Seth's cheek. "Andrade called me a month or so ago and was asking some questions about Charlotte. I figured he was planning to propose soon." She started reaching over Seth's chest to grab her phone when she looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Seth handed Becky her phone. "Nothing. Just thinking."

Becky set her phone aside so she could hold Seth's face in both hands and make him look at her. "Don't. You're comparing things in your head. I know you are. Rings, locations, whatever. I don't care about that. I never cared about any of that." She sat up enough to kiss him, wrestling his phone away from him and going into one of his photo galleries. The one with all his pictures from Hawaii was easily one of the largest on his phone, both because he loved the scenery and he had taken an absurd amount of pictures of her. "Look," she demanded, holding the phone in front of him and dimming the brightness a bit to spare their sleepy eyes. "Am I happy? Are you happy?" She flipped through over two dozen pictures, some of them of her alone and others with them together, doing the most everyday things possible. When he finally nodded, she closed the photo gallery and gently tossed his phone to the foot of the bed. "That's what matters, isn't it? The glamour and all that makes Charlotte happy, and that's fine. I don't need it, and that's fine too." She kissed him again, pressing close and reaching with one hand for the blanket.

"I know." Even to Seth his voice sounded sullen. "But—" He started to gesture at Charlotte and Andrade's pictures before he remembered his phone was out of reach. That's what engagement photos were supposed to look like, weren't they? Not just like any other vacation photo where you had to zoom in to even see her ring. "I know that stuff doesn't matter to you—"

Shivering, Becky sat up, tossed her phone down by Seth's, and straddled his lap. "Does it matter to you?" she asked softly, resting her forehead against his. "When I say I don't need it, that's all it means. If you want the fancy—"

"No." Seth wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to his chest as he kissed her. "But we already get enough scrutiny. Now people are going to compare what I did to what Andrade did and. . . ."

"Let them." Becky gave him a long kiss before nuzzling his neck. "I don't care what anyone else thinks. Are you happy?"

Seth raised an eyebrow and chuckled. Becky was naked and in his lap, and they actually had a bit of time off; why wouldn't he be happy? "Yes. But that's not the—"

"It is the point. It is completely the point, you beautiful dope." Becky moved back just enough to reach between them and position his cock so she could ease down on him. "If it would make you feel better, though, you can re-propose to me each time we're in a different country. . . ."

"Re-propose?" Seth slid his hands down to her ass and urged her forward. Any insecurities he had about the proposal were completely his own; there was nothing she could do or say to dispel them. If they were both awake, though, they might as well enjoy the interruption.

Becky shrugged as she wrapped her arms around his neck and started to rock her hips gently. "People renew their wedding vows all the time. Why not do multiple proposals? I wouldn't expect a new ring each time." Her gaze faltered a bit as she added, "Unless you're having second thoughts. . . ."

"Never." Seth shut his eyes so he could concentrate on how good Becky felt, curling his fingers around her hips when she started to speed up. "Don't. Just . . . slow, please." He kissed her shoulder before resting his forehead against it.

"You're lucky I love you." Swearing softly in a mix of Irish and English, Becky slowed down, but it didn't stop her breathing from going ragged.

"I know I am." Becky had only been teasing, but Seth knew how fortunate he was. Some days he still couldn't believe she had ever agreed to go out with him, let alone accepted his proposal.

Becky's patience wasn't as strong as her endurance, but each time she tried to speed up, Seth thwarted her. It meant they came almost in unison, and she curled herself around him as she caught her breath. "I'm luckier," she whispered against his shoulder, cuddling in close.

Holding on to Becky as best he could, Seth stretched out and drew the covers over them both. "Then I'm the luckiest." That was one title no one could take away from him, and he would work to be worthy of it—happily, willingly, gratefully—every day for the rest of his life.