Home （27）

April

"Will you just tell me where we're going already?" Ryker complained, as JT had been driving them in Audrey's clown car for the last 20 minutes.

"We're almost there, Mr. Impatient."

"The suspense is killing me, Banner."

JT, having pretty much nailed down a passing grade in rhet 2 at this point so close to the end of the semester, had decided to skip his class on this Tuesday afternoon and take his boyfriend on a much-needed and much-deserved date.

As it'd turned out, the two of them having been forced to spend so much time apart had only strengthened their bond. They met up every day for lunch; regardless of their schedules, they made it work. But, Ryker had been swamped with work for his classes, and JT, knowing how stressed he was, decided to treat him to a day of fun.

"I've never known, let alone dated someone as dorky as him, Aud. What kind of a date do you take a mega-dork on, anyway?" he'd asked her the previous night as they ate dinner together while watching Love Island.

"I might have a couple ideas," she'd replied, setting her plate down and reaching for her phone.

"Hey, no rush. Finish your food first, OK? " he told her, knowing that sometimes she needed to be reminded of how important it was to eat. " Then we'll talk about it."

They'd finished eating, and Audrey came up with a great idea about which JT was super psyched, as it was right up Ryker's alley. "Thanks, babe. This is exactly what I was looking for," he said, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. "So, uh, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"What does this look like as we get older?"

She'd cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I understand, stud."

"I mean…alright, theoretically, let's say this, I don't know, like, works out for the long term. What's that look like?"

Audrey sighed. "JT, it looks like whatever we want it to look like. Is there a reason you're asking me?"

JT knew it was something he had to tell her, but he wasn't sure how she'd take it. He'd jumped up from the couch and begun pacing. "Um, so, listen. I…I don't know…how to say this, exactly…"

"Just say it. Jacob, you know I support you no matter what."

He thought back to the purchase he'd made a few days ago, then took a deep breath. "I wanna marry him. Not, like, right now, but someday, I wanna be his husband. And I want him to know that I wanna be his husband."

Audrey nodded slowly, a slight smile forming on her lips. "Then you make sure he knows that, OK? JT, you and Ryker have something special. Really special."

He'd rushed to her, dropping to his knees in front of her and taking her hands into his. "But you're a part of it, too. You know that, right?"

"I do, JT. But it's…Ryker. He's your number one, whether you'll ever admit it to me or not."

"And none of it matters if you aren't a part of it, Aud. Say you'll be a part of it. Please?"

"Of course I'll be a part of it, JT. I can't…even imagine a life without you two goofballs in it. But, just so you know, I understand the connection you share with him, OK? And I'm not threatened by it in the least. I'm happy to see you happy, Jacob. Truly."

"You have arrived," the GPS said, as they approached the sign that read, "Historic Penn's Cave and Wildlife Park. Entrance."

Ryker audibly gasped, clapping. "Shut up! I've always wanted to visit Penn's Cave. You…Audrey put you up to this, didn't she?"

JT side-eyed him, then shrugged, as they pulled into a parking space. "It's entirely possible she may have had a hand in this." He turned the car off. "Did you know that some caves take hundreds of thousands of years to form? They discover new caves every year, and there are, like, tons of known caves that have yet to be mapped or explored."

Ryker leaned over, interrupting his boyfriend's infodump with a kiss. "I love you."

"Samesies," JT said, kissing him back, then opening the door. "Come on. This is gonna be so fucking cool."

The cave tour began with them descending 48 steps to the dock entrance, since the entire tour was given by boat. JT, whose attention should have been all over the place, could focus on nothing but the absolute joy on his boyfriend's face as he clung to every single word their tour guide shared about the stalagmites, stalactites, and the history of the cave. Noticing Ryker shivering at one point, as the cave was chilly, he slid up behind him and wrapped him in his arms, resting his head on his shoulder and certain that if he were to die right then and there, he'd die a happy man.

Afterward, they took a fully guided bus tour of the 1,600-acre nature preserve. And again, JT watched with pure happiness as his boyfriend sucked up every bit of info about the geology, biology, and geography of the area…minus any mention of birds.

It was truly a nerd's paradise.

The bus made a stop at an outdoor butterfly garden, and as the boys wandered around apart from each other, they both turned around excitedly to find each other when a monarch butterfly landed on each of their arms.

"Nerd, look!" JT called quietly to him, holding out his arm as Ryker held his out as well. They slowly and gently placed their arms side by side, putting the butterflies in close proximity, where they turned toward each other and seemed to communicate briefly before flying away simultaneously.

Immediately, they both began weeping, certain that their moms had just paid them a visit to let them know they saw them and approved of their relationship.

"You know," Ryker began, as the bus headed back toward the parking area, "a spiritual interpretation of butterflies is that they represent change, transformation, or hope. I think the universe might be trying to tell you something, baby."

JT smiled, leaning back against his boyfriend's chest in the bus seat. "Well, the universe is gonna have to wait, because all I wanna do is focus on this moment with you right here."

Once they'd left the cave, JT drove them to the nearby Talleyrand Park, where there were gorgeous views, including several bridges that crossed over a beautiful, crystal-clear trout stream. "You're spoiling the shit out of me today, Banner. What gives?" Ryker asked, as they entered onto one of the bridges, hand in hand.

As they approached the center of the bridge, JT stopped, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small box.

"JT?" Ryker asked nervously, as he watched JT open it slowly, revealing two rings, one black and one silver. Part of the silver one's top fit into the black one.

"So, I brought you here today because," JT began, lifting the darker of the two rings from the box, "I want you to know how much I love you and that I cannot live without you. I debated even doing this, knowing how crazy it is, but when those butterflies landed on us, I kinda took it as a sign."

"Baby?"

"This is not an engagement, OK? But this is a promise. A promise that someday, I'll be your husband. That is, if you want me to." He reached for Ryker's right hand and waited for the nod of approval before placing the ring on his ring finger. "Yeah?"

"Fuck yeah," Ryker responded, tears streaming down his face.

"OK, wow. That's a fucking weight off my shoulders," JT said, breathing a sigh of relief as he removed the other ring from the box and slid it onto his right-hand ring finger.

"So, does Aud…I mean, what about Aud?"

"She knows. I told her. And there's a third ring, but she doesn't know about that one yet. You see how mine fits into yours, but look. There's another spot where hers will fit into mine. Oh, and check out the inside."

They both slid the rings off their fingers, and Ryker examined them to find that an "8" had been engraved on his, and a "7" had been engraved on JT's.

"And hers has a ‘4', I presume?" Ryker asked.

JT nodded. "Without you both, I'm just holding my breath."

"Are you…are you sure about this, baby?" Ryker asked cautiously.

"Ryk, I'm not sure about much, OK? And I know we're young. I get it. But so were Ty and Ryan, and look at them. What I'm sure about is that I won't ever love anyone the way I love you."

Ryker shrugged. "OK. I'm in."

"Yeah?" JT asked excitedly.

"Yeah. I mean, if our moms are cool with it, that's gotta mean something, right?"

Ryker wrapped his arms around JT's neck and the two stood making out in the middle of the bridge, not giving a single fuck who was watching.

Home.

???

"Alright, that's all the time we have for today, guys. Don't forget, the final character analysis papers are due this Thursday. Not Friday, not next Thursday. This Thursday. As in, two days from now. If anyone has any questions, stick around and I'll be happy to answer them. Otherwise, have a great day, get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather, and I'll see you soon."

Audrey waited to see if anyone stuck around, but seeing as all of her students had logged off, she shut down her laptop and turned around to find Ryker and JT sound asleep on the bed, with JT spooning Ryker and drooling all over his hoodie.

She walked over to the bed and cleared her throat loudly, startling both of them awake. JT sat up quickly and Ryker yawned. "Going to get coffee, huh?"

"Sorry, your shit was so boring it put us to sleep. I'm glad you're not my professor," JT teased, prompting her to grab a nearby throw pillow and smack him with it.

"Don't listen to him, Aud. I found it riveting and exhilarating. Awe-inspiring, if you will."

"Oh, quit kissing my ass, Ryk," she said, smacking him with the pillow as well. "Caffeine. Now. Come on, up."

The three of them walked over to Starbucks since it was a gorgeous day and neither of them had anywhere to be for another few hours. After ordering their drinks and a muffin for Ryker and Audrey to share, which had sort of become their thing, they grabbed a table outside.

"Oh, damn, I forgot to get a straw," Ryker said, looking over at JT, just like they'd rehearsed.

"I got it," Audrey said, getting up like they'd known she would. "I need to snag a few more napkins anyway."

Ryker watched her walk back inside the store, then gave JT the green light. He dug into his backpack and grabbed the box, reached across the table, and set it down next to her half a muffin.

"You remember what to say?" JT asked, and Ryker nodded. "Good. I really think it will be more, like, meaningful if it comes from you. Alright, here she comes."

She sat down, handing the straw to Ryker and setting the obnoxiously large stack of napkins on the table while both boys looked at her. "What? I need more…"

"Napkins for your purse and your car," JT finished for her, smirking. "God, you're old."

"Oh, shut it. Anyway, I didn't really get to ask, but how'd your date go today?" she asked, winking at JT. "Did you enjoy the cave, Ryk? I figured it'd be something you'd like. Jess and I went there over the summer and it was…"

She stopped talking as she reached for her muffin and noticed the box. Her eyes repeatedly flicked between it and their faces. "What, um…what's this?"

"Open it," Ryker said softly.

Picking up the box, she tilted the lid back to find a rose gold ring, and upon looking over at the boys again, noticed that they'd both laid their right hands flat on the table, revealing a ring on each of their ring fingers.

They removed their rings, showing her how they fit inside each other, then they motioned for her to add hers, which completed the set. "Um, guys…"

"It's the three of us," Ryker said, his voice shaking a bit. "It's not me and JT. It's not you and JT. It's the three of us. We've all had our fair share of loss, of trauma, of pain, and we ended up here for a reason, right? That's what we said when we agreed to start this. It's not an engagement, nothing like that. It's just a reminder that we're here for each other, and that we all have our place in this thing. I don't ever want you to feel less than, Audrey. What JT and I have is special, but so is what you and JT have. And we want you here. I…want you here."

"Look inside," JT said, handing the ring back to her.

Her hand trembling, she flipped it over to see the "4" engraved on the inside of the band, then smiled when they showed her the "7" and "8" in theirs.

"I…don't know what to say, honestly," she finally responded, slipping the ring onto the ring finger of her right hand. "But fuck it. I'm in."

"Yes!" Ryker shouted, jumping up from the chair and rushing over to hug her, both of them in tears as they opened the hug to let JT in.

The three of them stood there hugging for what seemed like ever, JT scanning and noticing that a few people were staring, some of them whispering and making faces.

"When you meet the right people, the ones who wanna help you, don't push them away. Things might look…a little different with them, and some people might judge, but fuck ‘em."

Ryker pulled away, leaving JT and Audrey to hold each other tighter.

"I love you, Aud," he whispered into her ear, then kissed her cheek. "I wouldn't have gotten through this year without you. I don't wanna risk trying to get through the rest of my life without you, either."

"You won't ever have to, stud."