Ricky knew then that first thing in the morning, he’d call Tanner and try to find a way to fix this damn mess. Because hurt feelings or not, Ricky simply wasn’t ready to give up on the other man.
Tossing his cup into the trash, Ricky went over to Ben. Tapping him on the shoulder, Ricky said, “I don’t feel so well, so I’m going home.”
“You can’t go home. Not without seeing
The
Doctor,
” Ben replied putting really heavy emphasis on the last word.
“All I have is a headache. It’s not serious enough to bug Patrick over.”
“No, I meant
that Doctor.
”
Ben pointed to the front of the room and Ricky looked, his breath catching in his chest when he saw Tanner standing there, dressed as
Doctor Who.
Or more specifically, the
Eleventh Doctor Who.
“Oh, my God,” Ricky breathed, his heart melting just a little bit.
Tanner glanced down at the getup. “Do you like it?”
“Of course I do. You have the tweed jacket, the suspenders and you even wore the little bow tie. It’s perfect.”
“You look nice, too,” Tanner said, nodding to Ricky’s Army costume.
“What can I say? They asked, I told and they still took me. Gotta love that repeal,” Ricky teased in an effort to hide his nerves.
Tanner cocked a brow. “So, do all uniform pants in the military have Velcro running up the sides?”
“Damn it, you saw through my ruse. Okay, it’s actually a costume I borrowed from a friend of Matt. Since he’s a wannabe stripper, it needs to be easy on, easy off.”
“That was nice of that guy to lend you his work outfit.”
“Yeah, I guess. Too bad the man was a bit sleazy. I’m kind of afraid to go under a black light. I’m pretty certain this thing is just full of body fluid stains.”
Tanner nodded. “You’d probably glow brighter than a Christmas tree.”
“Which would not be nearly as fun as it sounds.” Ricky gave Tanner another once over. “You really do look amazing.”
Ricky still couldn’t believe that Tanner had shown up and dressed as Ricky’s favorite TV character. It made all the anger and hurt that had been lingering over the past few days evaporate.
“Thanks, Ben. Carla and Matt helped me.”
“Wait! Matt got you something as awesome as that, but he stuck me with this?” Turning back to the crowd, Ricky yelled, “Matt, you suck!”
“Thank you,” was Matt’s far away sounding response.
“I still think that
Captain Jack Harkness
would have been better,” Lucas shouted.
“Ah, babe even I know that he’s from the wrong show.”
“Don’t be a jerk,
Torchwood
was a spinoff from
Doctor Who
, so they’re close. They both had characters that crossed over.”
Tanner laughed. “Don’t mind them, they’ve been having this argument all day long.”
“It was worth listening to them for that kickass costume.” Ricky smiled.
“I’m glad you like it, because I wore it for you,” Tanner told Ricky.
“You did? I mean, I kind of suspected that was the reason.” A warm feeling pooled in Ricky’s belly.
“I figured that if I was dressed like this you would finally talk to me.”
“Well, the puppy dog eyes you’re shooting me are helping your case, too.”
Tanner took a few hesitant steps forward. “I was a complete asshole the other night. I didn’t mean any of these things I said about you.”
“It really hurt me,” Ricky confessed around the lump in his throat.
“I know and now I’m terrified.”
“Of what?”
“That I’m going to lose you. As soon as you walked away from me that night, I realized something.”
“Really, what?” Ricky asked, feeling a bit like a parrot.
“That if I keep letting the past drag me down, I’m going to lose the most important thing to me now.”
“What’s that?”
“You. Look, I know we’re just starting this relationship, but I know I’m well on my way to falling in love with you. Ricky, you are so special that I don’t even want to contemplate a life without you in it. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep you. I even signed up for counseling to help me get over some of my issues.”
By now, the entire room had grown quiet as they all watched Ricky and Tanner.
“Of course I forgive you,” Ricky said, his voice breaking.
Covering the distance between them, he launched himself into Tanner’s arms.
“I’m sorry, too. I should have given you a chance to explain instead of hiding away the way I did.”
“I guess we both have a lot to learn as far as relationships go,” Tanner said as he gave Ricky a tight squeeze.
“Maybe I’ll go to therapy, too. In case you haven’t noticed, my family is a bit crazy.”
Tanner laughed. “Now that you mention it, they do seem a bit odd. But I like them that way because they are a part of you.”
Oh, damn just when Ricky thought the moment couldn’t get any better.
“Just so you know, you mean the world to me, too,” Ricky said as he buried his nose in the nook of Tanner’s neck.
“Good, because this time neither one of us is ever running away again. Through good times and bad, we stick by each other’s side.”
“Forever,” Ricky added as he closed his eyes.
He meant it, too. Now that he had the man of his dreams, Ricky was never going to let him go again. Just as he knew that Tanner would always be there to watch over and care for him in return.
The room burst out in applause. Laughing, Ricky leaned down and said in a low voice, “Now, how about we talk about you wearing this costume to bed?”
“Anything for my man.”
My man.
As far as Ricky was concerned, there were no two sweeter words in the world.
About the Author
Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all things about the state, from the frigid winters to the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. Go Wings! You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book or gorging on caffeine at her favorite coffee shop.