Page 68 of Love Notes and Late Nights
Harris pushed his hair behind one ear and smiled brightly. “Congratulations. How does it feel?”
Wolf couldn’t articulate the finality of putting his words on paper. Emotions were running through him like an electrical current, but one feeling was most prevalent. “It feels like I have closure.”
The letter was his therapist’s idea. Since Wolf had no intention of contacting his parents in order to have a final say,the therapist suggested writing a letter that he could, one day, mail if he decided to. Wolf knew that day would never come. But putting his thoughts and emotions into words enabled him to state things that he couldn’t bring himself to tell anyone. Not Ethan. Not Harris. Not his therapist.
“I’m glad.” Harris got up and moved behind Wolf to give him a hug over the back of the chair and kissed his cheek. “Hopefully this will close that chapter of your life once and for all.”
“I think it will.” Wolf only had two nightmares since he started therapy, but the last one was cathartic, and he couldn’t really call it a nightmare. In the dream, he was a child, maybe six or seven, sitting crouched down in a small cabinet or closet. It was pitch black, and he couldn’t see anything. His rapid heartbeat echoed out loud in the tiny, confined space. He was afraid that his parents would hear it and find him. They were yelling for him to come out from where he was hiding, but he wouldn’t move. He couldn’t. He was frozen with fear, sitting on his heels and hugging his knees to his chest while he hid his eyes. Then the cabinet door flung open, and his parents’ angry faces were leering down at him. He gasped and fell backwards when he saw his father raise the black leather belt in the air. Just as it was about to strike him, his fear morphed into anger, and he stood up. Only he wasn’t a little boy anymore. He was a giant growing taller and taller, towering over his parents with enormous height that reached the sky. He screamed,“NOOOOOOOO!”down at them. The word came out like a roar with the force of a hurricane, his breath blowing his parents to the ground. They clung to one another, shaking with fear and shielded their faces with one arm from the force of the word Wolf yelled at them. And then he woke up. Instead of feeling scared and on the verge of a panic attack, he felt freed. That was two weeks ago, right after he finished the letter, and since then he’s felt better than ever.
“You know what they say,” Wolf began. “When one chapter ends, another one begins.” He took Harris by the hand and led him to the balcony outside. The sun was strong, the sky was bright blue, and the air was clear and crisp. A few songbirds landed on the railing to the deck and chirped happily.
“I’m ready to start that new chapter with you, Harris. I can’t thank you enough for being everything I need. For loving me like you do. For waiting for me. And for making me fall in love with you. Will you marry me?”
Harris’ beautiful blue eyes were glazed over at the sweet sentiments, and then almost popped out of his head when Wolf opened the small velvet box and presented a platinum band with three huge diamonds embedded across the center. He looked from the ring to Wolf and back to the ring. “Yes! I’ll marry you!” Harris lifted Wolf off the ground in a hug that knocked the air out of his lungs. When he set Wolf down, Harris wore a smile that sparkled brighter than the diamonds in his engagement ring. “Wait here.”
“Where are you going?” Wolf asked as Harris literally ran into the house. He stood there all alone on the deck holding the velvet box with the ring. He wondered where the hell Harris went, but he wasn’t nervous. He knew Harris wasn’t running away, but he had no idea why Harris took off before Wolf had the chance to place the ring on his finger.
Harris came barreling out of the house and almost slid to a stop in front of Wolf. He dropped to one knee and opened his own little velvet box. “Wolf Wheeler, will you marry me?”
Surprise and shock had Wolf staring at the ring and at Harris. “You have a ring too?”
“Will you marry me?” Harris repeated. “And you better say yes.”
Wolf smiled up to the sky and yelled, “YES!” Then he pulled Harris to his feet and kissed him with so much force his teeth hurt. “I love you so much. I can’t believe we both have rings.”
Harris was sniffling now, and his eyes took on a glassy sheen. He took Wolf’s hand. “We wear them on our right hands until we get married. Then we switch them to the left. That’s what the jeweler said.”
Wolf didn’t even think to ask. He watched Harris put the gorgeous silver band on his finger. He was so nervous, his hand was shaking. Then he put the ring he bought on Harris’ finger.
“We’re engaged!” Harris exclaimed. “And don’t think for one minute that I want to wait. I’ve been waiting for you long enough. We’ll pick somewhere spectacular and get married.”
Wolf couldn’t agree more. “Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
There was no destination wedding with guests arriving on private jets or an elaborate celebration at an iconic hotel like Chateau Marmont or the Four Seasons. They didn’t rent out the Griffith Observatory or the Getty Center. Wolf said he didn’t need fancy, and Harris was so over-the-top happy that he didn’t care that his fiancé shot down his suggestions. He just wanted to get married. The expression “high on life” is exactly how he could describe every day since the engagement.
The ceremony was taking place on the beach outside Harris’ Malibu home. The guest list was small and intimate, consisting of their little group of friends, Harris’ immediate family and some close relatives, and Ethan’s parents. Naturally, Tyler was the self-appointed wedding planner and walked around with a headset and clipboard while doing double time as a groomsman.
Tight security formed a barrier behind walls of flowers to ensure privacy, but the ocean sprawled openly in front of the gazebo. Curtains of white chiffon and bunches of white gardenias and red roses covered the canopy and billowed down all four corners of the gazebo. A soft breeze sent the beautifully combined scents of the flowers and the ocean through the air. The soothing sound of waves breaking on the shore reminded Harris that he was surrounded by everything he loved—the beach, his friends and family, and Wolf most of all.
The day he dreamt about was finally here.
“Did you ever think you’d end up marrying me?” Harris whispered to Wolf as they walked hand in hand down the white runner to the gazebo.
“Never.”
Harris let out a small laugh. “Thanks.”
“You know what I meant. I never knew you had feelings for me. You were one of my best friends, then I fell for you so fast it made my head spin. What about you? Did you ever think we’d get married?”
“Yeah,” Harris replied with certainty. “Once I realized you were my person, there was no way in hell I was letting you get away. I knew we’d be together, no matter what I had to do in order to make you fall in love with me. It turns out, I didn’t have to do much.”
Wolf smiled and shrugged. “What can I say? I’m easy.”
“Are you ready to get married?” Harris asked, as soon as they reached the gazebo and turned toward one another.
“Been ready.”
