Loosen Up Read online

  And don’t get me started on the way my stomach was twisting and turning all throughout breakfast, and even more so when we started the hike. I hadn’t been planning on doing this now, but for some reason, everything about this moment felt right. Like it was meant to be.

  So I went with my gut, the way this trip taught me how to do.

  I went down on one knee, and with a shaky hand, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. Brody looked down at me with stunned eyes, his jaw slowly dropping.

  “Brody,” I started, my voice as shaky as my hand, “you’ve completed me. From the moment you stepped out of your car, and even when you stepped back into it for a second, I knew that our connection would be like nothing else. There was something about the day that made everything magical, and it wasn’t the baby foxes we met or the baby elephant we rescued. It was you. You made it special, and you’ve been making every moment since then just as special.” I felt a tear streak down my cheek, not even realizing that I was crying. “I’m in love with you, Brody, and I want you by my side for the rest of my life.”

  Brody put a hand to his smiling mouth.

  “Brody, will you marry me?”

  He let out a breath he must have been holding, followed by a loud and immediate “yes!”

  Never had I been so happy to hear that word before. Brody put out his hand, and the silver band slipped right on. I stood back up, feeling like my heart had been replaced with a beating prism containing a blast of multicolored beams, bursting out under every particle of light that touched me.

  Brody kissed me, the moment being sealed in amber, strong enough to survive an entire extinction event. I smiled into the kiss, my hands finding Brody’s hips and holding him against me.

  We stayed like that for a long while, smiling and kissing and laughing. Bliss was really the only way to describe it. A chorus of birds sang in the air. A woodpecker rhythmically hit a nearby tree with its beak. There wasn’t a cloud in the azure-blue sky, making this all seem even more surreal. Like we’d been painted into this scene, set to be permanent fixtures in a museum gallery somewhere, our happiness captured forever.

  When we separated, both of us were still glowing. Brody looked down at his hand. “When… how? Did you bring this with you from back home?”

  I shook my head, looking at the matte silver band on Brody’s ring finger. “I got it here. Yesterday, when you went to go play flag football with Ace and his friends. I didn’t actually have a splitting headache, I just needed that time to sneak away.”

  “You sneaky, sneaky little fox.” Brody came in for another kiss. “I had no idea.”

  “Me either,” I said, chuckling. “I mean, I knew I’ve been wanting to propose for a while now, I was just never really sure when the right time would be. But after this trip, and after the experiences we’ve had here, I know that the only right ‘time’ is now.”

  “God, you make me so fucking happy.” Another kiss, more smiles. “So fucking happy.”

  “I can’t wait to keep making you happy for the rest of your life.”

  Brody grabbed my hand, and I said, “Oh!” before reaching back into my pocket. “I forget about mine, duh.”

  “Duh,” Brody mirrored me. He took the box holding my ring and opened it. I held my hand out, this time not as shaky as before, and he slid the ring on. Mine felt a little too loose, but that didn’t matter now.

  All that really mattered was the strengthening bond between me and Brody. An unbreakable connection of support and love. I couldn’t have been luckier, finding Brody through a blind date and ending up with the love of my damn life.

  Crazy.

  Brody reached for my hand again, and this time I didn’t pull away. I could feel the ring around my finger like a brand-new part of me.

  “You don’t want to head back to town?” I asked.

  “Nope,” Brody said, “I want to keep getting lost with you.”

  “Let’s get lost, then.” I looked ahead of us, feeling like I’d been dropped straight into the pages of a fairy tale. This couldn’t have possibly been real life. All ahead of us, the trail was lined with beautiful birch trees with their trunks a mixture of white and light brown, their leaves a luscious green, casting a mirage of shadows onto the wide trail. Up ahead, a stone bridge led over a narrow river, quiet as its water trickled underneath it. Brody and I crossed it, the path curving and following alongside the river.

  “Have any names yet?” Brody’s question threw me for a loop.

  “Names? Like… baby names?”

  Brody snorted at that. “No, sanctuary names, babe. I mean, we can talk about potential baby names, but I’m thinking we should figure out the gender first?”

  My turn to snort. “That sounds like a plan.” I looked around the trail, as if inspiration would be written someone in the trunks of the trees. “I don’t have a name yet, but I’m sure I’ll come up with one.”

  “I know you will,” Brody said. We kept walking, a strong sensation of peace settling over me. Everything felt so right, it was almost scary. Like somehow, someway, life would find a way to mess it all up.

  But then again, that’s what I thought had happened with this trip. I thought the entire thing had been ruined after getting on the wrong flight, but it turned out to be one of the best things to have happened. So even when it seemed like life was shaking things up, chances were that once the dust settled you’d find yourself in a much better place than you were before. New chapters were sometimes scary, but they were never mistakes.

  Up ahead, it appeared as though we were reaching the end of the trail. The wall of trees on either side of us started to thin as we approached what looked like a clearing, the sun shining like a spotlight onto the center of the large grassy area.

  As we drew closer, I could see that the clearing was bordered by a blast of color. “Oh wow,” I said, half expecting a family of talking animals to start popping out of the nearby bushes. It felt that magical. Like the rules of normal life were slowly but surely disappearing with every twig-crunching step we took toward the clearing.

  “This is stunning, Brody.”

  We reached the beautiful clearing, walking into the center of it. Hundreds of wildflowers bloomed all around us, in bright purple and sky-blue waves, rippling gently with the breeze. The scene felt even more surreal knowing that my fiancé was standing next to me, his fingers twined through mine.

  Fiancé.

  Wow.

  And then Brody did something that shocked me. His hand slipped from mine. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue box.

  A ring-sized box.

  With a dimple-forming grin, Brody started to drop down to one knee.

  12 Brody Winters

  Today may not have been going according to plan, but that was completely okay.

  In fact, this was even better than I planned.

  Dual proposals—who didn’t enjoy those?

  “Jordan,” I started, feeling the emotions well up inside my chest as I looked up at the man I loved with every fiber of my being. I opened the box, revealing a silver band very similar to the ones Jordan and I now wore. “You may have beaten me to the punch, but I love you so freaking much that I think you definitely deserve two proposals in one day.”

  Jordan was simultaneously laughing and crying.

  “So, Jordan Matthew Hampton, will you marry me?”

  He shook his head for a moment before realizing how it must have looked to me. He let out a loud, excited sound before jumping up and down. “Get up here,” he said, his smile lighting up my entire life. It felt as bright as the sun. He fought off all the shadows that crept up on me over time. He pushed it all back, letting me only feel the good, experience the bliss. It was like we’d hiked to the very top of the world, nothing else above us except for endless possibilities.

  “I love you so freaking much,” Jordan said, kissing me more, soft this time, his lips feathering mine, the tips of our noses gently brushing.
<
br />   “You’re my one, Jordan. I’m so glad you showed up for that blind date, and that I didn’t drive away because of that dumb lion-headed mascot.”

  He chuckled at that. “Imagine how tragic that would have been. True love spoiled by a smelly and sweaty costumed man.”

  “It would have royally sucked.”

  “It would have.”

  We held each other for what felt like an eternity. All around us, colors exploded, painting a landscape that had to have been straight out a dream. This couldn’t have happened any other way. I realized that now. No matter how many plans I had or agendas I made, things were going to unravel the way they were supposed to, and that was okay.

  Hell, it was even better. Sometimes, the twists life takes are so unexpected that they feel scary, but the fear doesn’t guarantee a negative outcome. It certainly didn’t with this trip, and I realized fear had never predicted anything in my life. It only prevented.

  No more. Jordan and I were going to conquer the fear of the unknown together, as partners.

  As fiancés—as husbands.

  My heart felt a thousand times larger than it had when I woke up this morning.

  “Ace and Wilder are going to flip when they find out,” Jordan said.

  “I wonder if they’ve ever officiated a wedding before…”

  Jordan’s eyes opened wide. “We’ve got to ask! That’d be perfect.”

  “And Susy can be the ring bearer?”

  “Honestly, I’d have that wedding tomorrow.”

  I laughed and kissed my man. We sat down in the center of the clearing, knees touching knees, and we talked all about wedding things and what the two of us were looking forward to. It was a moment of pure joy. At some points, it almost felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. Like I could see down at the two of us, grinning from ear to ear like we’d just won the mega millions. I could see the laser focus we each had in our gaze, locked on each other, as if nothing else in the world mattered except the other’s eyes.

  And then we heard some rustling. Spooked, we both turned to look toward the sound, and the both of us instantly froze.

  There, walking toward us and only about fifteen feet away, was a family of deer, gently grazing on the grass as they walked, one of the little babies tripping over a rock and disappearing completely under the bed of colorful flowers. The mama deer stopped to help her doe get back on its feet before they continued their leisurely stroll, those big satellite ears flicking back and forth, their small tails doing the same. They continued strolling through the flowers, either completely unaware of us, which I doubted, or just completely comfortable with us.

  I took a small step, just to readjust my weight, and a twig snapped underneath me. The mama deer’s head shot up, her big brown eyes honing in on us for a second for darting elsewhere around the clearing.

  With one big hop in the air, the deer turned and took off, her kids following close behind her, the family of deer disappearing into the trees.

  The special moment had only been made more special. It was something that always seemed to happen when Jordan was around.

  We took in the beautiful clearing one more time, both of us taking in big gulps of the fresh air and slowly releasing it, our hands still held together. With my anchor by my side, I turned and headed back down the trail, into the trees, and away from the clearing. We hoped we would spot our new deer friends before we got back onto the main roads, but they appeared to be long gone, grazing somewhere else that was much, much quieter.

  The trail had gotten busy while we were tucked away in the clearing. There were friends jogging past us while they gossiped about some new town news, and there were families with babies in strollers that looked to be equipped with every baby necessity under the sun. A young couple stopped to kiss on the stone bridge. I recognized the two from town: Kendall Anderson and Liam Melborne. They had just moved here a couple of months ago after spending some years in New York and were excited to start a family in the same house Liam’s family was raised in.

  See, that was the thing about these small types of cities—people actually got to know one another. Seeing recognizable faces was a welcome change to the blur of people I saw on a daily basis back at home.

  “So,” Jordan asked as we crossed the bridge. “How do we decide which rings to wear?”

  “I’m thinking one week mine and one week yours?”

  “Like joint custody for our ring fingers?”

  “Pretty much, yeah.”

  Jordan laughed, the laughter spreading to me. “I’ll just wear the one you gave me and you wear the one I gave you? I can return the ring I got for myself.”

  “Perfect, I’ll do the same.”

  Up ahead I could see the parking lot, the trail opening wide where it met the cement. Two men were walking toward us, also holding hands, smiling and laughing. I didn’t recognize them from any of the locals we met, and with the way they were looking around wide-eyed, I figured they were visitors just like us.

  I made eye contact with the one on the left, his eyes bright and framed by his dark, well-styled hair. And it wasn’t just his hair that was styled. The guy had a sense for fashion, even if he was just going on a hike. His shorts were a cool light-blue camo pattern that matched his sneakers, except those were pink. His shirt was a simple black with a couple of well-placed white stripes, and he wore a black headband, keeping his hair off his forehead.

  “Hi, sorry,” the one on the right said. He waved and started toward us. He was dressed much simpler than his partner, with black shorts and a gray T-shirt, but he still looked just as sharp and had a strong face and was a few inches taller than the man at his side. Jordan and I stopped, both of us with friendly smiles. “We’re visiting from out of state and got a little lost. This is Otterhead Trail, right?”

  “Yup, it is,” Jordan answered, his tone bubblier than normal. “It’s a beautiful trail. You just keep going down for about a mile and make a right, and you’ll end up at a clearing. All the flowers surrounding it are in bloom. It’s stunning.”

  “Thank you,” the one in the camo said.

  “Where are you two visiting from?” Jordan asked.

  “We’re from Miami.”

  My eyebrows rose, and a huff of air escaped me. “Funny, that’s where we were headed. Our flights got mixed up, and our Miami vacation turned into a Vintage Ridge stay.”

  “Oh! I hope you two liked it here?” the taller one said.

  “We’ve loved it,” I answered, not missing a beat. “It’s turned into the best vacation we’ve ever taken.”

  “And not because we just got engaged either.” Jordan took his hand from mine and lifted it, showing off the silver ring with a big grin on his face. I knew he’d been so excited about it, I was surprised it took this long to drop the news in casual conversation.

  “What! Congratulations, you two. Aww, this place really is magical. And look at us, we haven’t even introduced ourselves. I’m Andrew,” the one dressed brightly said.

  I reached out a hand to shake, but Andrew waved it away and gave us both hugs instead.

  “And I’m Declan.”

  More hugs as we introduced ourselves, the excitement of the moment seeming to spread like wildfire through the spontaneously formed group. We talked with our two new friends for a little longer, finding out that Andrew worked at a detective agency while Declan owned his own equine therapy facility. They both seemed like stand-up guys, and by the end of our talk, we had all swapped numbers and promised to stay in touch. They both said they wanted to visit Canada sometime soon, and we still wanted to take a trip down to Miami.

  “Heck, I’ll just invite you guys to the wedding,” Jordan said as we hugged goodbye.

  “Oh my God, please do!” Andrew clapped his hands and hopped in place. Declan put an arm around his shoulder, Andrew leaning into him. We had talked for about fifteen minutes tops, and in that short amount of time, I could clearly see how strong the love between them was.

&nbs
p; “Enjoy the clearing, you two!” I waved to them as we walked backward down the path toward our car. We turned, my hand finding Jordan’s again, a smile on my face matching the overwhelming happiness that bloomed from my chest.

  We wound our way through the cars to where we had parked the rental. I unlocked the doors but walked to the passenger side first, opening the door for Jordan.

  For my new fiancé.

  “For my Prince Charming,” I said as Jordan looked at me, smiling. He leaned in for a kiss. Our lips met, soft and tender and sweet.

  A series of loud shouts filled the air. We looked to the street and saw a large blue van driving by. At the steering wheel was the father we had kept bumping into, and next to him was the mom, already looking mortified. But the shouting hadn’t come from either of them. It came from the open window behind the mom’s seat. It was the grandma, who had a fist pumping in the air as she yelled, “Tap that sexy booty!”

  In the back seat, I could see the twins and the brother start having a full laughing fit, with the grandad laughing between them. The father, also probably laughing although I couldn’t see him, stepped on the gas and sped up, the van disappearing down the road.

  “I’m gonna miss them,” Jordan said with a wistful expression on his face.

  “Same. Think we should invite them to the wedding?”

  “Hell yeah.”

  I kissed the love of my life, feeling happier than I’d felt in such a long time. The future looked brighter than ever, and I couldn’t wait to experience it with Jordan.

  Happy accidents and all.

  The End

  Want to read Jordan and Brody’s origin story? Sign up for my mailing list and receive their story, WALK ON THE WILD SIDE, for free!

  And be sure to connect with me on Instagram @maxwalkerwrites and in my private Facebook group: Mad for Max Walker.

  Thank You!