Davey couldn’t believe it when he sat down with all of them in front of him.

A year and a half ago, he’d had no memories. No family pictures, no childhood snapshots, no embarrassing photos.

Of course, that was before he met him.

Avery.

The man of his dreams. Not only had he given Davey the love he’d always craved for, but he’d also created memories with him.

Looking at all his picture frames, all hand-made by Davey himself, and a few dozens of photos, he had finally found himself in a difficult position. He had to decide which ones to feature by placing them in his creations and which to store away in an album.

Should he replace the picture of their first holiday to the Caribbean or the picture of their first Christmas tree from the year just passed? Moving in was no small feat and they’d celebrated with a silly photo, but Davey wanted to commemorate the milestone by putting it on display.

Of course he could always make a new frame and solve his problem, but if he was being honest with himself, things were getting out of hand.

As opposed to the time before Avery, he now had more photos than frames and if he were to make new ones for each picture he wanted to hang up, the house would fall off from the weight of them all.

No. He had to learn how to pick.

Strangely, he felt like he was being a judge in a reality show, only instead of strangers, he had to give the chop to one of his pictures.

The frame with Avery’s flowers from last year’s Valentine’s got his attention. He would treasure the memory forever, but he could replace the picture.

He grabbed the frame and opened the back.

A golden ring with a single white stone fell off and onto the dozens of pictures. It took Davey a moment to realize what he was seeing. He hadn’t put that ring there, which only meant that Avery had.

Did it mean…?

He heard the keys turn on the front door and he quickly scooped it up and put it back inside the frame. When Avery stepped in with a single red rose, his eyes opened wide and his whole body froze.

“Baby, what are you doing?” he asked Davey.

Davey put down the ring-bearing frame and grabbed another one.

“I was trying to decide which picture to replace,” he said, trying to sound normal as if his breath hadn’t hitched at the thought that Avery, his boyfriend, had a ring a year and a half after they’d started dating. “I think I’m just going to make a new frame. I can’t decide.”

Avery’s shoulders relaxed and he bent down to give Davey a kiss on the lips.

“Happy Valentine’s, baby,” he said and passed Davey the rose.

Was he going to propose tonight?

Davey had thought about marriage countless times, but he didn’t think they were there yet. Seeing that ring, however, changed his mind. Avery was ready.

And so was Davey.

And so the waiting game began…

Avery walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“What’s this for?” Davey asked as soon as Avery started pouring the wine.

“Does there need to be a special occasion?” Avery chuckled.

Davey shrugged trying to keep his nonchalance, but failing miserably.

“Ok, fine. I have a surprise,” Avery said.

This was it, wasn’t it? He was going to do it now.

Davey didn’t know if he was ready or not. He hadn’t had the time to mentally prepare for this.

“You know when I said I wanted to stay in for Valentine’s?” Avery asked.

Davey nodded, slitting his eyes suspiciously.

“Well, I lied. I’ve actually booked us dinner,” he said.

Davey let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and arched an eyebrow.

“Is that it?” he asked.

“Well, yeah. I wanted to surprise you, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer,” Avery said.

“Oh,” Davey said, his face, along with his mood, dropping.

Avery asked him if he was okay and Davey tried to shake it off and enjoy the glass of red instead. Maybe he wasn’t going to do it now. Maybe he was going to do it later. Or maybe he wasn’t even going to propose. Maybe it was just a ring he wanted to keep in the frame for safekeeping. A family heirloom, or something.

“You found it, didn’t you?” Avery asked.

“Huh? Found what?” Davey asked, feigning ignorance.

But a good actor he was not. Which was why Avery sighed and set his wine glass on the coffee table.

“Well, I wanted it to be special,” he said. “But since you started snooping…”

“Snooping? They’re my frames,” Davey said.

Did that come across as too defensive? He hadn’t meant it that way.

Avery laughed, the sound making Davey’s body shiver with its warmth.

God, he loved that man. He was the best thing that ever happened to him.

“Relax, babe,” Avery said and leaned on the floor to grab the frame. “I was gonna do it tonight, after dinner, but this is as good a time as any.”

He opened the back of the frame.

“I was gonna have you open it yourself by giving you a new picture to put in it…”

“If you want I can go back to acting all ignorant,” Davey said with fake irritation.

It seemed as if Avery had planned everything, and Davey had ruined it all.

Avery took the ring in his hand and turned around to face Davey, holding it between them.

“Davey, baby, ever since I met you I knew you were the best thing that would happen to me—”

Davey rolled his eyes and Avery scolded him.

“Shut up. It’s true. I knew that moment, that you were it for me. Even if I was an idiot for a day or two and forgot about how I really felt,” he said.

“You’re an idiot most days, baby,” Davey told him only to get a glare from his boyfriend-soon-to-be-fiancé.

Was this really about to happen? Was Davey about to be engaged? What on earth had he done to deserve this? What kind of karmic entity had taken a liking to him?

“The point is… I love you, Davey, my handsome, beautiful Davey. And I can’t imagine a day when that won’t be true. Will you marry me and seal the deal?”

The smile stretched Davey’s face, making his cheeks hurt, but he didn’t care. That always happened around Avery anyway. It was a common occurrence since they got together.

“Yes, baby. Of course, I will,” Davey replied and Avery kissed him.

He was happy. They both were.

And now they were engaged to be married.

Who knew taking a chance on his little hook-up app date would turn his whole life around?

Who knew his little Christmas miracle would continue to grace him with its kindness for the rest of his life?