Charlie sighed, Callum really was down on himself and as much as he had hoped the party would help him see that people did want to do this for him he wasn't sure if it had worked out that way.
"No see, you haven't understood me, because that's not what I said." Charlie sat down on the edge of the bed, but he didn't make a move to touch Callum. "I admit when you brought up marriage I was surprised, I didn't expect that to be where your mind went first, considering the time you come from, and the way you've talked about men in relationships. I didn't think that would be something that you wanted to do. And so, foolishly, I thought it would be better for you if we tried something else first. I didn't want to force you into a marriage that you didn't want just so we could be together. I've spent my whole life avoiding relationships and any hint of marriage as best I can, and if it was going to be something I'd do I wanted it to be for the right reason, not just so that people would accept us being together."
He hated seeing Callum like this, drawn in on himself, holding a pillow against him while Charlie tried to explain. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to marry you. I wanted to marry you when you suggested it, and I wanted to marry you when I tried to talk to you that second time, and I want to marry you today."