Jack grabbed my face and forced me to meet his eyes. “Now you listen,” he said. “I want that too. So whatever just made your face fall… you need to tell me right now. If you’ve changed your mind that fast, I need to know.”
He was adorable in his newfound confidence. I wanted to see more of it.
“I didn’t change my mind. But I’m moving to Connecticut. To take a job at Yale.”
His face lit up. “You got a teaching position at Yale? That’s incredible!”
I realized we had a lot to talk about, and I hadn’t even cleaned him up yet. I rolled off him and pulled him up, throwing him over my shoulder to carry him to the shower.
He yelped and then laughed—the same pure, joyful laughter I’d heard that first day at the gym. The best sound ever.
Once I stood him up under the hot spray and joined him in a full-body hug, I exhaled.
This was everything I’d ever wanted. Comfort. Excitement.Home.
“I want you in every way,” I admitted softly against his ear.
He pulled back and met my eye. He looked a little unsure again. “Dr. Malley who contacted me from Royce University to inquire about whether or not I’d consider a transfer to join her researchteam. Isn’t that close to Yale?” He bit his lip. I could tell he was worried I was going to scoff at the implication of him moving with me.
But I felt the opposite. My heart soared. I leaned closer and held him extra tight. My throat felt like there was a giant knot in it. “That would be incredible,” I managed to say. “Would you… would you consider it? The program there is well respected. More even than Barrington’s. So even if you changed your mind about… about me…”
Jack pinched my ass, shocking me into a yelp. I pulled back and stared at him in surprise.
“I know this is fast,” Jack said. “But I am ready for a change. I need to get some distance from my parents and from Texas. And if the Dr. Raintree scandal is going to break, the department here is going to take time to recover.”
“So you’ll come?”
“I mean… I’ll need to find a roommate and an affordable place to live…” He flashed me a cheeky smile. “Know anyone in the area who might also be looking for a place?”
I grabbed him up and spun him around, kissing the hell out of him and eventually running soapy hands all over his body.
After drying each other off, we moved back to the bed and slid under the covers, talking nonstop about how much we’d hidden from each other all semester, how we’d each had secret crushes on each other, and how we planned to tackle a big move together while being careful to respect each other’s boundaries.
“Okay, but…” Jack grinned at me. “I’m not sure I want to havethatmany boundaries with you.”
“Same,” I said with a laugh. “But I want to make sure you’re happy. Always.”
He snuggled closer and wrapped his arms and legs around me until we were tangled together in a delicious ball. After a few minutes, his sleepy voice made its way to my ears.
“Okay, but we can’t ever tell anyone how we really met. It’s way too embarrassing.”
I pressed a kiss to his hair and bit back a laugh. “Not even my parents? The proponents of healing touch?”
He shook his head, releasing a faint smell of hotel shampoo into the air. “No. Because if they know, then my family will find out and tease us forever. The Wilde clan does not let things go.”
Two weeks later, I realized he was right when I met most of his extended Wilde family, the gorgeous pack of cousins and their equally beautiful husbands. I was shocked by the sheer number of gay men in the Wilde family. But not at all surprised that Jack Wilde was the sweetest and sexiest of them all.
And he’d been right. As soon as they found out how we met, they never did let us live it down.
But two months later, I became one of those Wilde husbands when we spontaneously decided to get married during a trip to Las Vegas with some of his cousins. I’d never forget the moment Jack Wilde became Jack Henry.
And two years later, when I checked the mail, watered the plants, and dropped a kiss on my husband’s forehead, I realized it was a damn good thing that Wildes never let anything go.
To: Dr. Jack Henry and Dr. River Henry
We are pleased to inform you your application for sponsorship of the Henry Arctic Ecology and Evolution research expedition has been approved.
I let out a whoop that had my husband running down the hall.
“You did it, Dr. Henry,” I said proudly.
“Wedid it,” he replied.
And we spent the rest of the night practicing touch therapy… in a decidedly nonplatonic manner.
