Page 64 of Jalen & Colby

“You look stunning,” I say to them both as I close the door and follow them inside. “What can I get you to drink? As it’s New Year’s I have a whole crate of Champagne.”

“Sold!” Jalen says, pointing to the ceiling and doing a twirl than fans his dress out.

My little firecracker. I really hope his problem was something as simple as being sad to leave the UK. Hopefully, he knows that this is just the beginning and that we’re going to have even more of an adventure now that we’re back home in Sydney.

I’ve got a party playlist going over my sound system, and Jalen dances his way out onto the balcony. But Colby follows me to the kitchen, and he’s looking troubled.

“Baby boy,” I say in concern. “Is something the matter?”

He nibbles on his lip and looks up at me. “Daddy, I think Jalen is hiding how worried he is about his visa.”

I blink, taken by surprise. “Uh…what? His visa? I thought he was sponsored by his company and has a couple more years yet.”

Colby shakes his head. “He’s got a working holiday one, so he’s good until July. But he’ll be thirty then, so he won’t be able to get another one.”

My stomach drops. I feel terrible—both that I had no idea and that there’s an actual possibility that my little firecracker could be taken away from me so soon.

“That’s in six months, though,” I say, trying to get all the facts. “Do you think that’s really what was bothering him on the journey home?”

I pop the first Champagne bottle and start by mixing it with orange juice. We’ve got a few hours to go until midnight, after all, and I want us all to remember it.

Colby looks out toward the balcony, where Jalen is dancing by himself. Right now, he looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world. “Maybe? He was talking in his sleep last night, and I definitely heard the words ‘visa,’ ‘home,’ and ‘no.’” He frowns. “He also said that Beyoncé was guest starring on the Eras tour, but I don’t think that was really relevant.”

I laugh and kiss him on the top of his head. I love the idea that they slept in the same bed last night. “When are Bay and Taynotrelevant?” I ask, having learned from my little firecracker that the answer is ‘never.’

But I turn over Colby’s words thoughtfully. “If that’s what’s on his mind, I’m sure we can work out a solution to fix it so he can stay in Sydney longer. My work sponsors visas all the time.”

Colby hums and takes a second glass out for Jalen. I hang back for a second, just watching my boys from afar. The fairy lights illuminate them against the evening sky, and I almost want to bottle to the moment forever.

But on the other hand, I don’t. I want to keep moving forward. I’m glad Colby gave me an inkling as to what might be bothering Jalen, but we’ve got six months to fix that. I’m not going to let a silly little detail like that deter me.

Things like international borders won’t stand in the way of true love, not on my watch.

So I head outside and join them in a dance party until we’re all panting and need drink refills. We sit down for some food, talking and laughing as the clock creeps through the hours. When we near midnight, I top up our glasses and put the TV on in the living room so we can watch the coverage and hear all the people counting down from ten. The three of us join in on the balcony, yelling the numbers at the top of our lungs until we hit ‘one’ then scream “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The fireworks erupt both from across the harbor and on the TV where we can hear the accompanying music soundtrack. I kiss Colby first, then Jalen. I lean back, expecting to watch my boys also kiss.

Instead, Jalen and I discover Colby has gotten down on one knee.

My jaw drops, and Jalen shrieks as he grabs my arm, both of us looking down at Colby in confusion and not a small amount of excitement.

“Boo-boo?” Jalen squeaks.

Colby isn’t holding any ring, but he reaches up for Jalen’s hand all the same. He’s shaking from head to toe and looks as pale as a ghost, but he takes a deep breath and nods to himself before speaking.

“I know you’re worrying about having to go home in July,” Colby says to Jalen. “But that’s okay. You don’t have to. There’s a really easy solution. Because I’ve loved you as long as I’ve known you, Jalen Garcia. That’s never, ever going to change. The only thing that’s changed is discovering that you feel the same way. So will you please, please marry me, and then you’ll never have to leave. We’ll be family forever.”

He didn’t stutter over a single word. I’ve never been prouder of him in the entire time I’ve known him. I turn to look at Jalen, seeing the tears streaming down his face.

Somehow his false eyelashes and glitter still remain intact.

“Little Coco, are you sure?” he hiccups.

Colby laughs, tears also falling from his eyes. “I’ve never been more sure about anything. I’m not just asking to keep you in the country, but that is the best place for you to be if we want to continue having sex.”

That barks a laugh from both me and Jalen, and I can’t help but marvel at this newly upgraded version of Colby. We’re only minutes into the new year, and it already suits him so well.

“In that case, YES!” Jalen screams, dropping to his knees and throwing his arms around Colby.“Ariana on an airplane!Yes, yes, a billion times, YES!” He grabs Colby’s face and plants a firm kiss on his mouth, transferring a little gloss. When they break apart and look at me, they both look so pretty. “What about Daddy?”

I smile and go down on my knees one at a time, placing a hand on each of their backs. The fireworks are still exploding behind them, and I couldn’t imagine a more dazzling scene if I tried.

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