Stretch Goals and Sweethearts, page 18
“Thanks for coming, guys,” I say.
“We wouldn’t miss this,” Isaac says. “We’re family.” He taps Buzz on the shoulder and my boyfriend beams at me. My siblings are implying a forever situation with us, but I’m not too mad about it.
“Speaking of family,” Buzz mutters.
“Evan!” Simon runs up to us with his little green yoga mat bobbing the entire way. “And Lucy Ho! And Isaac Ho!” We all laugh as he high-fives my brother. Seeing them all get along makes my heart swell in ways I never imagined a year ago.
“No love for me, Sprout?” Buzz acts offended and we chuckle.
“I’m here for Evan’s yoga event, Father.”
“He’s been talking about it for days,” Michaela says as she walks up to us. “Here’s his bag.” While she and Buzz talk logistics, Simon pokes my sister’s mat.
“Your material is high quality. Mother says I can have a thicker mat when I’m post-puberty and I’m done growing.” He pushes up on his glasses and my siblings laugh.
“Well, your mom is very wise. Come on, want to take a seat next to us at the front?”
“Certainly!” He takes my sister’s hand and the three of them walk a few feet away.
Behind me I hear Mr. Dogtower greet the next visitor. “Welcome to the Dogtower Fitness Free Yoga Day! Here’s a coupon for fifty percent off your initial membership!”
“Thank you.” I know that voice.
I turn back around to see none other than Walter and Martha Dooley. They’re both clad in sweats and holding yoga mats—didn’t expect to see them!
“Hello!” I give my best smile.
“Evan,” he says curtly.
“Oh, Mr. Ho, what a lovely event this is!” Martha says.
“Thank you, Mrs. Dooley. It’s all thanks to the fine folks at Dogtower Fitness. I didn’t know you were…yoga aficionados.”
“Of course!” Martha replies.
“She is. But I could really use the membership coupons. I’m getting…pudgy in my old age.” He frowns and pokes his stomach, and I bite back a chuckle.
“And Simon’s talked about this nonstop. We figured we’d give it a try,” Martha adds.
“Yes. My grandson is very wise.” Walter gives me something that resembles a friendly smile, and the pair walk away. Turning back to Buzz, he shrugs with a grin and sets his own yoga mat down, right in front.
“Testing. Testing everyone…” I poke the microphone headset and look out at the crowd. Over forty people have shown up, and I’m in awe that I get to run this class. Malcolm raises his thumbs in the back by a speaker, and I nod at him.
“Thank you so much for joining me here today. My name is Evan Ho. I run the yoga class here at Dogtower Fitness. It’s a gorgeous day. We’ve been truly blessed by this weather to have this complimentary outdoor yoga class.”
I walk up to my yoga mat, toeing off my slippers. Gazing out at the crowd, I see some of my regulars, like Bailey and Mrs. Ashmore. I notice Walter and Martha staring intently at me. Simon and my siblings sit on their mats in the front row. In the back, Vil, Drea, and some other employees wave at me.
Past them all, I spy Buzz, smiling as always. He took my breath away the day I met him, a few feet from where he’s standing now. He makes me so damn happy every day and every night, and I’m starting to realize he’s the guy I’ve been looking for my whole life.
His precious blue eyes urge me to continue, so I nod and smile. “It’s amazing how much things can change in a few months. Before I started working here, I was fine, but not really realizing how much I was missing. All of you regulars at DTF and my family and new friends…you’ve filled my heart with love and a sense of community. You’ve given me a renewed sense of purpose.”
“Life can change fast. One minute can be chaos, the next can be peace.” I pick up my meditation bell and hold it out. “And today, I’m proud of you all for choosing to make a change with me. Join me in this yoga practice where I hope you can find your center. Take a deep breath and let the sound of my healing bell calm you.”
DING…
EPILOGUE
BUZZ
The phone camera flashes for my selfie, and I look down at the picture. My boyfriend, my son, and I are crowded around several Wonder Woman statues. Simon is way too tall for my comfort—how can he possibly be almost thirteen? His hair is shaggy, his glasses are thick, and his acne is starting to come in—he looks so much like me when I was his age, but he refuses to acknowledge that.
Meanwhile, Evan hasn’t aged a day in the past three years. Occasionally he wears glasses, but he hasn’t gained a pound of fat or muscle. Admittedly, my abs are tenuous now—I’m rocking more of a “dad bod” and faint blond stubble—but I never feel unattractive when my boyfriend looks at me.
Evan and I fit together. He moved in not long after we became official, and there haven’t been many nights where we don’t cuddle as we sleep. Do we have fights? Sure, that’s what happens when adults live together.
Does his anger, frustration, and frowny face turn me on? You bet it does. Our arguments almost always end up with one or both of us panting, satisfied, and drenched in all sorts of bodily fluids. But we have more fun with Simon, his siblings, and all our friends at Dogtower Fitness regularly.
We’re sweethearts—through and through.
As we walk out of the main Nerd Con building in Florida, I gaze at Evan’s profile in the setting sun. I want to have it all with him, and I think the time has almost arrived.
“Oh, sweet!” he says, darting forward. Simon keeps up and I grin as the two most important boys in my life race to another photo-op. “It’s a Heroic Helmets balloon structure! Come on!” he hollers.
I roll my eyes and catch up, whipping out my phone. Before I can take a selfie, Simon puts my hand down. “No, I’ll take the picture!”
“Why?”
“To send to Mother and Tim!”
“They’re busy on their honeymoon. That was the whole point of this vacation, Sprout.” I turn to Evan and hold him by my side. “And for us to have fun.”
“But you two love Heroic Helmets. So let me.” My son winks at me—he’s about as subtle as his old man, but the timing does seem right. Evan and I look up at the massive rainbow of balloons, dwelling on how we ended up here all those years ago. Crowds are mulling about in the distance, laughing, but it feels like we’re in our own little world. It’s now or never.
Simon runs off and holds the phone up. “Three…two…”
I get down on one knee and take out the little black box I’ve been carrying for weeks. When Evan looks down, his face morphs into a look of shock. Mouth agape, he turns to Simon who nods and puts his thumb up.
As we stand in an archway constructed with nerdy balloons, I’m ready to ask him for it all. “Evan Ho. This is where we had our first date, back when you hated me, three years ago.”
Evan laughs and it turns into a sob as he covers his mouth. He nods and tears well up in my eyes. “I’m so damn glad you didn’t choose to end the date early. And I’m thankful that Michaela pressured me into going on this date for charity. If she hadn’t, I might not have fallen for the most amazing guy I’ve ever known.”
“You make my worst days brighter. You make my best days perfect. And I want to spend the rest of my life supporting you in every way I can. You make me a better man, and I want you to make me a happy husband. Evan Ho…”
I open up the box, revealing the ring. Before I can finish, Evan gets on one knee and takes out a box as well.
Huh?
I turn to Simon who’s giggling into one hand. He’s still holding up my phone, probably recording all of this. What’s going on?
“Buzz Wolfstein, you’ve always driven me crazy in the best possible way. I guess beating me to the punch of proposing was another way to drive me up the wall.” He opens his box and—surprise!—there’s a ring inside. My eyes sting, and I laugh and sob all at once. “You take me as I am, and every moment with you is an adventure. I thought I wanted peace and Zen, but what I was really looking for was someone like you by my side. And with this ring, I want to build a future with you. I want the whole world to know how much I love you.”
We turn to Simon who beams at us. Some folks have stopped on the sidewalk to stare. When I turn back to Evan, he closes his box. “Go ahead, babe. You can do the honors.” We both laugh and wipe back the tears streaming down our faces.
I nod and take a deep breath. “Evan Ho…will you marry me?”
He nods and takes out his own ring. “Only if you marry me, Buzz Wolfstein.”
We both laugh and lunge into each other’s arms. The patrons of Nerd Con applaud all around us and I pull back and kiss my sweetheart.
A chance blind date led to Evan finding his peace, and I intend to love him every day so he never forgets that he’s mine.
THE END
Want to see more from CD Rachels? Be sure to subscribe to his newsletter or join CD Rachels’ Chill Discourse Room on Facebook.
Ready for the next book? Check out My Sweetheart Surprise, an insta-attraction, high heat MM romance with a dash of hurt/comfort.
WANT THE REST OF THE SERIES?
Stretch Goals and Sweethearts
My Sweetheart Surprise
My Sister’s Sweetheart
The Sweetheart Quest
My Grumpy Sweetheart
My Professor Sweetheart
Sweetheart Daddy
*listed in order*
LETTER FROM CD RACHELS
Dear Reader,
I hope you loved this book as much as I loved writing it. So much of this was taken from my own personal experience, so I had a great time putting those into words. And working with other awesome authors was a blast!
If you even remotely enjoyed it, please consider giving it an Amazon review. You can also always reach out to me, I make sure to reply to every DM and email.
Evan and Buzz were so much fun, and building their little world was great. We haven’t seen the last of the DTF crew, so look out for them in the years to come.
Never stop loving life and never stop reading,
CD Rachels
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to my book bestie Rod; you always know how to pull me out of my slumps. To Angela and Kat and the team at Whimsical Reverie: you made my story into a real book. To Jacy, Sierra, Jacey, Rosyln, Ray, and Kota; thanks for making this team-up amazing! To all my Chill Discoursians: every supportive email, every private message, every post on the group, and every review is etched into my soul. You all keep me going and I’m honored and humbled my words make you happy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CD Rachels has been coming up with stories since he was little.
First it was fanfiction, then YA queer novels, and now he's moved up to the big leagues of adult MM romance. In 2020 during quarantine, he burned through more male/male romance books than he ever had in the previous 29 years combined.
He believes there aren't enough BIPOC MC's in MM romance, and he's on a mission to change that.
He lives in New York City with the love of his life and is a nurse by trade. If you're reading this, he's honored that you took the time to help support him as a self-published author.
Be the first to hear about all his updates and new releases! Sign up for his newsletter “The Chill Discourse Report”.
He has a website! Visit cdrachelsauthor.com.
Get all the graphic teasers and wacky reels on Instagram and Tiktok: @cdrachels.
The fastest way to contact him is to DM him on his Facebook group where he hosts polls where YOU can affect the story: “CD Rachels’ Chill Discourse Room”.
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Check him out on BookBub too.
ALSO BY CD RACHELS
Artists and Athletes Series
1. What happened when Ravi, the soccer star, was forced to take an art class? Check out “The Lines We Draw” Artists and Athletes book 1.
2. What happened when Landon wanted to turn over a new leaf all while taking a dance class? Check out “The Moves We Make” Artists and Athletes book 2.
3. What happened when Dominic went to grad school and met his online video game buddy? For the FREE novella on Kindle delivered via BookFunnel check out “The Games We Love” Artists and Athletes book 2.5.
4. What happened when the new music professor met the university Facilities Manager and sparks flew between the co-faculty? Read “The Strings We Play” Artists and Athletes book 3.
5. What happened when Omar co-directed a theater production that happened to star his best friend’s boyfriend’s little brother? Read “The Roles We Own” Artists and Athletes book 4.
Formula Q series
1. When Damon, the motorsports star, meets his gorgeous male nurse, he discovers he wants more than winning races for the first time in his life. He wants Rocky, and damn if that isn’t the scariest thing he’s ever felt. Read “Drive to Thrive”.
2. When Berto meets a new queer friend, his whole life is turned upside down. Shift into gear for book 2 “Drive to Feel Alive”.
3. When an old friend-turned-enemy joins the grid, feelings that never went away will reignite. Get your engines ready for book 3 “Drive Back to You”.
CD Rachels, Stretch Goals and Sweethearts
