Page 91 of Catch Me If You Can

“Okay, grab the lube. It’s in my bag,” he says, squirming beneath me and nudging me off.

“And then we order room service, throw on someBrooklyn 99, and pass out. I’m wiped—and we’re meeting Sarah at Trinity Park at noon—” I ramble as I get out of bed.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. There’s a lot of talking happening and not enough frotting,” he teases, resting his head on his hands while he watches me wander across the room.

I reach into the left side pocket of his bag and freeze the moment I feel something small and solid.

My breath catches in my throat.

He never told me which pocket to check.

Slowly, I turn around. My mouth goes slack. My palms start to sweat.

He’s kneeling behind me. Naked, just like me. His eyes are glassy.

“Caleb—”

“Nathaniel, what are you—?”

“A few years ago, we were right here, in this same room. Doing the same thing. Only you were about to commit your life to someone else.” He swallows, then reaches out and takes myhand in his. “You chose me that night. And you’ve kept choosing me ever since. You’ve never stopped chasing me. And the truth is—I’ve never stopped chasing you, not since the day we met.”

My throat tightens.

“I promise to keep choosing you every single day, for the rest of our lives. As long as you’ll have me.” He smiles nervously.

I drop to my knees, meeting him eye to eye. I take both of his hands in mine.

“There hasn’t been a single day since meeting you that I haven’t thought about you. You’ve made every one of my hopes come true. And there’s not a single part of me that wants to live in a world without you. Forever’s not long enough. Yes. A million times, yes,” I breathe, pulling his mouth to mine.

We stay like that for a while—laughing, touching, kissing. When I finally open the small box, there it is: a silver band, simple and exactly my style.

He justknowsme. He always has.

Who would’ve thought we’d end up here?

Two best friends. Chasing the same girl. Falling for each other instead—and loving every second of the ride.

The End