Page 188 of Pretty ’n Peak

“Two dozen?” Suggested Lula. “What if you want to host a dinner party?”

Austin shook his head, amused. “We’ll use paper.”

That was what they did when they had their friends over at their old place. But now that they had a dining room table, Teo kind of liked the idea of having nice dinner plates.

He only blushed a little bit when the first thing that came to mind was how much their friend Bethany, a service sub, would squeal when she saw everything. Maybe he should bring her with him to pick out patterns. He’d been kind of curious about trying out more service roles…

“Put them on your registry,” Lula told Austin, not taking any nonsense.

Austin did the cute eye-scrunching thing he always did when he was trying to find words. There hadn’t been a proposal yet—they’d only been together a year, and much to Teo’s family’s chagrin, they decided to live together first.

Which only meant that everyone was pushing their theoretical wedding even harder—even if it couldn’t happen in the Catholic church.

But the fact that Lula was the one suggesting it now was huge.

She’d been the last one to come around, worried about the “influence” Teo would have on her son, Ramón, especially as his godfather.

It had been painful at the time, all of his worst fears realized. In a way, though, it had worked out. Lula had insisted on consulting with their priest, who’d been surprisingly accepting. He laid out the official position of the church, then reminded them all that while Teo could no longer formally instruct or sponsor Ramón in his growth within the Catholic faith, he could still serve as a role model and guide in the rest of his life.

It wasn’t an easy place to land—where Teo was welcome in the church but had to sit in his pew while everyone else rose for Communion. But it was also far more support than he’d expected.

He’d ended up going with Austin to a few sessions with his therapist, as they both wrestled with the unfairness of the situation. Taja was a good support, helping him pull out his own internalized homophobia and helping the two of them to be stronger together.

He’d also tried out an LGBTQ+ church in Portland, which felt like a glass of cold water on a hot day. It was a very different branch of Christianity and all in English, but finding a religious home where he wasn't just tolerated, but welcomed and celebrated, meant a lot. Austin mostly came to support him and enjoy the potluck afterward, but that was fine, too.

And now Lula was apparently trying to get him married.

How could his life possibly be this good?

Teo pulled his sweaty t-shirt away from his skin.

There had to be something else he should be doing right now, but it was hard to even figure it out amidst the swarm of relatives.

Andrés called across the living room. “Hey Austin, this goes in the bedroom, right?”

Under the green cling wrap, it looked like a desk, with elegant carved legs of dark-stained wood.

“Yep, bedroom. To the left of the door.” Austin’s arms came around him from behind, the long cane pressing against his side.

“What is that?” He was sure he’d never seen it before, and he specifically remembered Austin saying that he didn’t want too much furniture in their bedroom.

Austin whispered in his ear. “Just a little present for my baby girl.”

Teo’s chest went all melty, which seemed to be a daily occurrence at this point. “You didn’t have to,” he whispered back.

“Uhn uh…” Austin’s words were barely audible. “Is that what you say to Daddy?”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Now was not the time to get an erection.

Leo, Teo’s brother in law, came in next with what looked like a mirror under all the layers of wrapping. He gave a quick nod to Teo and Austin, like they weren’t practically making out in the middle of the living room, and followed Ian down the hall.

Teo turned around—he needed to make this really fast so he didn’t get carried away—and set his lips on Daddy’s ear. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“You should go set it up.” Austin rumbled against his neck.

By the time they made it to the bedroom, though, there wasn’t much left to set up. Andrés and Leo were settling the three-paned mirror onto the top of the vanity desk. There were a dozen sockets for large bulb lights around the edges that still needed to be filled.

It was like something out of a dream. Their fantasy from their first night together in Teo’s old apartment made real.