One

Link

I t was the night before Thanksgiving and once again I was at the downtown bar with the gang, waiting for Andy to get home from Sacramento. Only this year was going to be different. Andy didn't know it, but I was going to ask him something I'd wanted to ask for months. Well actually for years. He'd always held my heart even if he didn't know it, and now I hoped we could make it official and get married.

"Are you nervous?" Toni asked while giving me a critical look with a raised brow. The rest of the guys crowded in close to listen while I hunched over the bar and tried to ignore them.

"About what?" I asked and met her eyes with what I hoped was a warning look while trying to control my urge to swallow my nerves.

Her answering eye roll told me it hadn't worked. "You know what. Fuck, Link, all of us have been keeping your secret for months now and, well, I mean look at poor Curt there, his head's about to explode." She waved her hand in his direction as he looked up from his beer and at each of us obviously having no clue what she was talking about.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," at least four of us said, and Erik patted him on the back before walking over to where his husband Sam was sitting at one of the small tables.

"But seriously, do you have a plan? Or are you just going to spring it on him?" She leaned in close enough that none of the others could hear, which I was thankful for.

"I have no clue. I mean I know he'll say yes, but he really has no idea about what I have planned. What if he's not ready?"

"Link, I'm pretty sure he's been ready since high school, he was just waiting for you to catch up."

"He didn't know about me in high school, you know that." I knew Andy had been gay for as long as I could remember, but he hadn't known I'd had feelings for him the same as he had for me, not until I finally got up the nerve to tell him.

"Oh, my g—look, it's going to be fine. You love him and I know he loves you more than anything. Now just do what you came here to do, and it'll work out." She walked off to the end of the bar to get someone a drink while I tried again to swallow without throwing up.

"Link don't worry. Andy loves you. There's no way he'll say no, and if he does, I will personally help you kick his ass," Erik said as he took a seat on the stool next to me. He'd met his husband Sam at this same bar a few years ago when Sam had come here with Andy to get out of the city. When I met Sam, I never would have imagined a city boy like him would come here to live, but since then there'd been a few more additions to the small town of Occident that were former city folk.

"Thanks, Erik, but we know how crazy you get in a fight. I don't think Andy could survive it these days." We both laughed, and memories of when we were out of control kids streamed through my mind. We'd all grown up together and it had been a wild childhood filled with riding our bikes around town, swimming at the town pool after dark, and getting into any trouble we hoped we wouldn't be caught in.

"Sam's been working on the barn. It's going to be beautiful. I never thought of having a winter wedding there, but he's made it look perfect. It's even nicer than it was when we got married."

"You guys are the best. I know I've told you this already, but if you need anything just let me know. I want it to be perfect for him, and he loved the idea of getting married there. Your wedding was beautiful and convinced him how nice a country wedding could be." After Sam and Erik got married in their barn and Andy mentioned how much he liked that idea, I couldn't stop thinking about it. So, one day when Andy was at work, I drove over and talked to them. They both agreed to let us use their barn and now here we were.

"Are you sure he hasn't figured it out yet?" Erik asked.

"Not that he's said. But he's sneaky as hell when he wants to be, so hopefully I'm right and he has no idea." The ring felt heavy in my pocket, but also right, and I couldn't wait to slip it onto his finger. We'd been living together here in Occident for a few years now, and he still worked in Sacramento a couple of days a week. It was a long drive, but he didn't seem to mind, and I knew he wasn't ready to give up the business he'd worked hard to build.

"He's clueless. Every time I've seen him at work and around town, I've asked little questions just checking if he suspects, and I'm sure he doesn't," Sam said and slid his arm around Erik.

"You didn't let anything slip, did you?" I asked, even though I knew for a fact Sam would never do that, but my nerves were strung tight.

Sam gave me the same deadpan look Toni had earlier. They were all sick of me keeping this secret and involving them in it. But it wasn't something I could do on my own. "When's he getting here?" Andy's brother, Stu, asked as he walked up behind me.

I glanced at the clock above the bar before answering. "Should be soon, he left a little over an hour ago."

"Morgan is sitting at the equipment yard on the edge of town. He's going to call when he sees him go past then haul ass back here. If I were you, I'd go out front like you do every fucking time he pulls into town. Don't do anything different or you're going to throw him off. You know he can sniff out a secret like nobody's business." Stu had changed a lot since he'd met Morgan. Another city boy; he'd fallen in love with Stu after being dumped here. Stu had always been distant, but we'd just put it up to him being a single dad. All that changed when Morgan came to town.

"Thanks, Stu, I appreciate it." I drank down the soda I'd been sipping, not wanting to have a bit of alcohol until I knew for a fact he'd said yes.

"Don't worry, Link. Andy loves you more than anything, and I know he can't wait to get married to you." Probably hoping to show me support he patted my back, but I was so tense it didn't accomplish that at all. "Wow you really are tense." I squirmed away from him, making him laugh and hold his hands up.

"I'm going to go wait out front," I said and left before any of them could stop me. It was cold and nearly dark even though it was only around five o'clock. Taking a deep breath, I blew it out slowly and hoped for calm. Just then Stu stuck his head out the door.

"He's just passed the city limits," he said and gave me a thumbs-up making me laugh. I didn't miss the sullen way Stu had always been, but I was still getting used to this new version. He was just so fucking happy. But then I thought of Andy, and I got it. He was in love and happier than he'd ever been. I was lost in thought when I noticed Andy's car at the four-way stop. He turned onto Main Street, and I waited for him to get closer.