Dating Him: The Series

by Michelle MacQueen

  Marry me. The words echoed like a drum through Diego’s mind. He stood as Killian approached, grinning from ear to ear. Diego threw his arms around Killian, wincing at the shouts of approval from the fans.

  “I will personally kick Becks in the shins when this is over for making me do that like this.” Killian’s breath was warm in his ear. “I’m so sorry, babe, but I love you.” He shrugged. “And I want the whole world to know it.”

  “I love you too.” Diego leaned into him, grateful for the way Killian’s body shielded him from the prying eyes of the crowd.

  Killian’s eyes lit up, and he threw his hands in the air in triumph. “We’re getting married!” He shouted to the fans.

  Diego smiled, grasping for something to say. “Don’t you have a game to play, babe?” He gripped Killian’s hand tightly.

  “You mean I have a game to win.” Killian slapped his fist over his chest, in full-on hockey player mode. Before he turned to rejoin his team on the ice, Killian grabbed Diego’s waist and pulled him in for one heck of a kiss.

  By the time Diego remembered how to breathe, his boyfriend had disappeared down the tunnel to go get his gear back on, and Diego’s legs threatened to give out beneath him.

  Did I just get engaged? He lowered himself back to his seat, trying not to freak out. He just needed to talk to Killian after the game. Then maybe Killian could explain what just happened.

  Diego wanted to go home to the simple apartment he shared with Killian. The home they’d made together over the last several years. They’d made it through high school together, and then college, and Killian’s first season playing in the NHL. Even during those early years after college when Diego was busy trying to build his career and save the planet, Killian was always there no matter what challenges life threw at them.

  But now they had to make it through Wylder’s surprise engagement party on the rooftop of their building. All their friends were there, even Killian’s sisters and their mother. On any other evening, Diego would be excited to hang out with everyone they loved. But not tonight. He needed to talk to Killian, but he couldn’t do it with all these people around.

  “There’s my fiancé.” Killian swept him up in his strong arms and whirled him around. Diego couldn’t remember seeing Killian so happy.

  “Have you set a date yet?” Wylder wiggled between them, linking her arms through theirs.

  “We just got engaged a few hours ago, Wylds.” Killian shook his head. “But I’m thinking maybe a June wedding.”

  “June? That’s only a two months from now. We need more than a few weeks to plan a wedding. I mean flowers alone will take two months to plan. And then we have to choose the invitations and the food. The cake. The venue. It’s too much for this June. Maybe next June.”

  Diego’s heart pounded in his ears and his breath grew shallow. Turning toward the bar, he rushed through the crowd, looking for something cold to drink. Cursing himself for leaving his travel mug in the car, he reluctantly accepted the plastic glass of punch.

  “Wylder’s right.” Killian stepped up behind him, clapping him on the shoulder. “We need more than a few months to plan our wedding. I say we just let her do it and show up whenever she tells us.”

  Diego shrugged Killian’s hand away.

  “What’s wrong, babe?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You look like you’d rather be anywhere else than our engagement party. Are you feeling okay?”

  “No.” Diego said, much louder than he meant. Several pairs of eyes were on them now and he felt his face flush with heat.

  “Diego? You’ve been avoiding me all night. Are you upset with me? I said I was sorry for Becks being an idiot, but we know he has the best intentions.”

  “I just… I need a minute.” Diego turned toward the stairs.

  “Wait.” Killian pulled him back, but Diego stepped back. “No! I don’t want to get married!”

  All the color drained from Killian’s face as the music died down and everyone stared.

  “What are you saying?”

  “You didn’t even let me answer.” His shoulders slumped at the hurt look on Killian’s face. “You just assumed… I… I have to go.” He shoved through the doorway to the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time.

  He never wanted to hurt Killian, but Diego wasn’t so sure they would make it through this.

  Killian never came home after the engagement party crashed and burned. Not that Diego could blame him.

  Diego had stared at the ceiling all night, waiting for a response to his text.

  Diego: Please don’t be mad. I’m sorry. Come home.

  But his message had remained unread and unanswered.

  Diego jumped when he heard the key in the lock. Rushing into the living room, he waited for Killian to come in.

  He looked awful. It crushed Diego to see him so… defeated.

  “I just came back to get some of my things. I’ll be out of the apartment by the end of the week.”

  “What? Why?” Diego followed him down the hall to their bedroom.

  “I don’t know, Diego, you made it pretty clear you don’t want to be with me.”

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “You said you don’t want to marry me. In front of all our friends.”

  “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you. I love you.”

  Killian ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I love you too, Diego.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “But what are we doing if this isn’t going anywhere?”

  “I like us the way we are.” Diego sat down beside him.

  “But you don’t want to tie yourself to me. You want to have an out? That doesn’t make sense.”

  Diego frowned at Killian, frustrated with himself for making such a mess of this.

  “I don’t need an out, Killian. And I don’t need a piece of paper that says we belong together. I just need you.”

  “Well, I want us to be more permanent.” Killian laid back on the bed, rubbing his red-rimmed eyes. Diego wasn’t the only one who’d had a sleepless night. “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want a house, kids, a dog, the whole thing.”

  “So what do we do if that’s not what I want?” Diego scooted back to lay next to him.

  “How have we been together all this time and never had this conversation?” Killian turned on his side to face Diego.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, lets have it now. What do you want, Diego?”

  “I want this. What we have. I love our apartment in the city. It’s close to everything so I don’t need a car. It’s small, but this building has all the best sustainable features. Solar power. Rain harvesting. I don’t want to leave here and move into a house with a huge carbon footprint.”

  “Okay.” Killian gave him a tentative smile, taking his hand in his. “I get that. But maybe we could build a super green house with a teeny tiny carbon footprint and lots of outdoor living space. And then we could get you an electric car. Or a bus pass.”

  “What do we need more space for?”

  “Babies tend to take up extra room.”

  “Kids, huh?” Diego had never really thought about having kids. Kids were mean and noisy. And messy.

  “Just a little one.” Killian elbowed him playfully. “We’ll get a weird one so you have something in common.”

  “That was so not nice.” He cracked a smile. “Babies are terrifying.”

  “Ours wouldn’t be. I’d love to be a father someday, Diego. But if it’s a choice between you or kids, I choose you. I will settle for being the most adored uncle on the planet when my sisters start having kids. We can spoil them and then send them home to their moms.”

  “I don’t want you to settle for anything because of me. I’ve just never really thought about the possibility of kids in our future.”

  “Well, I don’t want a baby tomorrow. We don’t have to make all the scary decisions right now.”

 
“But what about the dog?” Diego stared at him with wide eyes. He hated dogs.

  “You don’t want a dog?”

  “They poop in the house.”

  Killian laughed. “We can train it to go outside. Or we can just get a cat. Or a goldfish. It doesn’t matter.”

  “But there’s still the matter of the wedding. That’s something you really want, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. But I also want to know why you don’t want to get married. Help me understand.”

  “The planning. The truckload of flowers and food and the metric ton of garbage after the wedding. The gift registry. All those cardboard boxes and gift-wrap—the excessive waste. It’s just all so horrifying.” Diego’s head hurt just thinking about it.

  “Wait. Let me see if I’ve got this.” He rolled on top of Diego, his eyes a storm of emotions. “You don’t want to get married because the wedding will generate too much waste? And you don’t want to be responsible for contributing that much damage to the environment?”

  “I feel like you’re making fun of me.”

  “Oh, no, babe. I’m not making fun of you.” Killian kissed his temple, trailing his lips down his jawline to his throat. “You’re adorable. Never, ever change, Diego. We don’t need a wedding.”

  “But you want to get married.”

  “Yes, we’re so getting married.” Killian’s lips crashed down over his. His touch always sent Diego’s heart into overdrive, but they weren’t getting anywhere with this conversation.

  “That doesn’t even make sense. You’re talking in circles.”

  “Diego, I don’t want a wedding if that’s not what you want. I just want a marriage. I want what we already have, but I want it forever. I don’t care if we get married at city hall or if we say our vows on a beach somewhere after we spend the day picking up garbage to make this world a better place. I don’t care if we don’t get a single gift or if we don’t have a reception at all. I don’t care if we never have children or if we live in this tiny apartment for the next fifty years. I don’t care about any of it as long as you’re here with me.”

  “Well, why didn’t you just say all of that when you proposed?” Diego’s heart soared as an enormous weight lifted from his shoulders.

  “Let’s try this again, shall we? Diego, my wonderfully weird, love of my life, will you marry me in the most green-friendly, simple, non-wedding-wedding the world has ever seen? I promise to love you for the man you are, for the rest of my life.”

  Diego’s smile threatened to shatter his face. “Now that is a proposal I couldn’t possibly decline. Yes, Killian James, I will marry you. But who’s going to tell Wylder she doesn’t get to plan a wedding?”

  “Let her plan her own wedding.”

  Thank you for reading Dating Him! Turn the page for a sneak peek into the Redefining Me series!

  Dating My Best Friend: Chapter One

  Peyton

  ~ Pey,

  I’m not coming back. You need to forget about me.

  Cam ~

  Cameron is missing.

  Eighteen months ago, those three little words changed Peyton Callahan’s life forever. Everything that came after was like a punch in the gut, one right after another.

  Your brother is dead. Our rescue crew found Cooper’s body in the wreckage at the bottom of Defiance Falls.

  They’d found her best friend, Cameron, the next morning. He went over the falls with Cooper, but he’d made it out of the car first. He washed up on the river bank miles away from the sight of the crash. He was unconscious, with a badly broken leg and a dangerous fever, but alive.

  After Cooper’s funeral, Julian, his twin, had left to go live with his aunt. Peyton knew it was hard for him walking around with Cooper’s face, seeing the regret in everyone around him, and hearing the wrong twin had died. She knew he needed the escape, but that left Peyton alone to deal with their parents’ grief along with her own.

  But the final blow threw Peyton over the edge. After he was discharged from the hospital, Cameron—her lifelong best friend—left her too. His dad claimed they sent him to work with a world-class physical therapist to get him back in shape. She hadn’t even had a chance to tell him goodbye.

  Now, eighteen months later, Cooper was still dead and Julian was still gone while Cameron was off at some Olympic Training Center chasing his gold medal dreams.

  “You’ve been polishing that same spot for the last ten minutes,” Peyton’s mother said as she stepped behind the diner counter, taking inventory of the coffee supplies. “Either wipe the whole counter or go clock out for dinner. And cancel your plans. I need you to work the late shift with me.”

  “Again?” she groaned. “I need to work on my STEM project tonight.”

  “On a Friday night?” Her mom’s eyes filled with pity. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

  Peyton scowled at her mother. Right she may be, but ouch. Once upon a time, Peyton had no shortage of friends and frequent weekend plans. Things changed after that night, and so had Peyton. Her STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics—project had saved her sanity over the last few months. It gave her something to focus on besides her grief.

  “Go get dinner,” her mother said in a softer tone. “We have some healthy new salads and vegan meals on the menu. You’ve been doing so well lately. Don’t let all the fried foods here tempt you. I’m proud of you.” Her words were kind, but there was no emotion behind them. Ever since the death of her stepson—whom she’d loved like a son since he was six years old—Sofia Callahan went through the motions of being a mother. She was like a robot, and the only thing that seemed to matter to her anymore was her work at the diner she owned with her husband, Brian, Peyton’s stepfather. Her parents threw themselves into working at the Main Street Diner. The Main was everyone’s favorite restaurant in Twin Rivers, thanks to Sofia’s blend of Spanish and American dishes along with her extensive dessert menu.

  It made it difficult for Peyton’s diet to be around such great food all the time, but she was doing so much better these days. She was making healthier choices and felt like the old Peyton was finally resurfacing again.

  Peyton clocked out and put in her order for a roasted veggie sandwich with goat cheese on whole grain bread with a small side of vegan mac and cheese. It was a high carb day, so she got to pick all the healthy carbs. Tomorrow would be a low carb day of mostly veggies and lean proteins. Peyton had found carb cycling a diet plan she could live with and still achieve good results.

  And I’m under my calorie allotment for the day! She might even have enough calories left over to squeeze in a dessert of frozen yogurt on the way home.

  Peyton tapped her iPad screen and launched the app she was working on for the STEM competition she’d entered a few months ago. To enter the preliminary round, she’d had to develop a social networking app or website designed to promote positive online experiences among high school students. The project was right up Peyton’s alley. She was good at coding and had an eye for web and app design. And she had a cause that drove her passion for the project.

  Four months ago, she’d created the idea for No Body Shame, which she called No BS. The idea was for a social networking app, just for the students of her school. The app would provide a completely anonymous place where students could come to talk about body issues, labels and stereotypes, and how they affected people. Peyton hadn’t expected much, but out of all the submissions in her school district, No BS was chosen, and Peyton had received a small stipend to create her app and submit it to the statewide competition over the summer break. She’d spent most of the summer building her app’s infrastructure and had launched the beta app on the Twin Rivers High website more than a month ago.

  To her complete surprise, her fellow students were actually using it. She was able to collect enough data and examples to submit for the state level competition and won first place! Now she was gearing up for the national STEM competition next month. She tried not to think about the grand
prize scholarship to her college of choice. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but No BS was gaining in popularity, and Peyton spent all of her free time responding to comments and monitoring conversations. No BS had to maintain a positive user experience. That was the whole point. She would not tolerate cyberbullying of any kind, and she was working with her friend Katie and her mother on the security aspects of the app. She wanted to guarantee anonymity, but she still didn’t have the budget for that. Katie’s mom was helping her build a decent security system. She wasn’t ready for nationals yet. But she was close. Peyton was so proud of her accomplishments, but more than anything, she was grateful for the distraction No BS gave her. When the memories got to be too much, she poured everything she had into the app. And for months now, No BS filled the empty void where her friends used to be.

  I love this app! It’s such a relief to come here and see how many girls (and boys!) are dealing with the same issues I’ve dealt with for so long. I used to think I was alone. That there was no way anyone could understand what I went through last year. Some of the boys in my class started calling me “butterface.” At first, I didn’t know what it meant, but it didn’t take long for the humiliation to sink in. Apparently, I have a great body … ButHerFace… I just didn’t realize I had an ugly face. I’m not a perfect beauty queen and I’ve never tried to be anything other than what I am. (I’m certainly not an ogre) The constant jerky remarks about putting a bag over my head had me begging my parents to send me to Defiance Academy next year. But after hanging out here, I’ve decided I will not let them shame me. I’m proud of who I am and I have a lovely face. Thank you No BS!

  —@MyFaceIsMyFace

  @MyFaceIsMyFace Don’t you let those idiot boys run you away from your school. You hold your head high and show them how amazing you are inside and out.

  —@ChocolateIsLife #EndBodyShamingNow