Page 114 of Back to You

As the group bustled about getting settled and pulling out their books, Lake came crutching it in the front door.

“Go sit down,” Brandon said immediately.

“I’m okay to stand up!”

“I’m serious, go sit down and put that leg up.”

The octogenarians were distressed by Lake’s injury and began clucking over him, pulling him down into their ranks.

Brandon walked over to distribute the last of the ladies’ drinks and turned to Lake. “Okay, hit me.”

“Hit you with what?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh! Well, I was at the doctor’s office and I remembered that I didn’t finish the problem sets I wanted to have done today. So I went into work and everyone was all, “Are you sure you’re okay to be here?” And I just got tired of it so I came here. I really can get around okay, people don’t have to keep babying me,” he finished with a pout. On Lake, it was adorable, and the ladies all cooed at him.

“How much coffee have you had today?” Brandon checked.

“Just one cup,” Lake said, pouting harder.

“Okay. Marcus, one nasty latte for Lake.” He turned back to look at Lake, then added, “And one chocolate chip cookie, warmed.”

“You’re a nice man,” Lake said earnestly.

Brandon crossed back over to the counter just as Michelle and Steven walked in. She went over to pay her respects to the book club first, and Steven joined them at the counter.

“Hey guys,” he said as Michelle walked over.

“Are you still sulking?” she asked her brother.

“No,” he said sulkily.

“What are you not sulking about?” Marcus said.

“Nothing,” Brandon said with a warning look to his sister. She rolled her eyes and turned to the coffee pot.

He was just relaxing into the rhythm of the cafe when Ethan and Nia walked in.

“Hey!” Brandon said, thrilled to see his boyfriend. “What are you two doing here so early in the afternoon?”

“There was a malfunctioning fire alarm that kept going off,” Ethan said. “They finally just told us to head out for the day while they get it fixed.”

He walked over to the counter to give Brandon a kiss, then helped Nia go through the menu to decide what she wanted. Once they’d ordered, they headed over to check in with Lake, who was now happily munching his way through his cookie.

Brandon looked around at the crowd in the cafe, people he considered family and friends … and the book club. He felt a sense of rightness come over him, and made his decision.

Now was the right time.

He rounded the counter and walked over to Ethan, interrupting him mid-word and pulling him up from his chair.

“Brandon, what’s wrong?”

Then he gasped as Brandon went down on one knee.

“Ethan,” Brandon said, ignoring the burst of excitement all around them. “I have loved you almost since the day I met you. I can’t imagine ever not loving you. I want to live with you, and love with you, and laugh with you, all the rest of our lives. We know now that nothing will keep us from finding our way back to each other. We know what to do to keep from making the same mistakes. You’re it for me, Ethan. So I have to ask …” He pulled the ring box from his pocket and opened it. “Will you marry me?”

Ethan stood with tears in his eyes and nodded emphatically. “Yes, absolutely I will!”

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