How the hell can I not know what kind of car she drove?
I got out and pocketed my keys, staring at the ring on my finger for a long moment. I walked to the door and opened it, searching the small room for Liz. I saw her and stopped walking, taking in her expressive face and weak smile. I glanced at the counter where everyone was waiting to order, deciding to see if she wanted anything. I strolled to the table and leaned down to kiss her cheek gently and heard her suck her breath in. I glanced at her finger to see the ring still on it and allowed myself a smile before pulling away. I took a seat and gazed into her eyes. “Did you order?”
“No. Do you want to?” She asked quickly as I closed my eyes. “I’m nervous.”
“I can tell. I do like the food here and we should eat.” I assured her and she nodded. “I’ll order. What do you want?”
She shyly asked for the shrimp platter and I nodded, standing to get in line. The place was named after fried food but offered more than that. I ordered the fish and chips, adding shrimp and two fountain drinks. I paid the cashier and took out number back to the table, asking what she wanted to drink. “Dr. Pepper?” She said and I nodded, going to get it.
I returned and handed her the cup with the straw in it. I took the seat across from her, not wanting to pressure her. “You disappeared that night.” I got straight to the point, not seeing any other way.
“I did. She caught me off guard and I guess I got defensive. I wasn’t ready to think about it yet. I just wanted to enjoy our last night without anything serious.” She stared at the table as she blushed.
“You know that I would’ve brought it up later that night, don’t you?” I asked as she gazed at me.
“I was scared of that.” She told me and I nodded.
“What do you want to do?” I asked softly once our food was there.
“I am not going to hold you to a marriage that you don’t want.” She was nervously spinning her ring and I watched her with soft eyes.
“I will admit that was a bit impulsive for us to do, Liz. There is no doubt about that. However, I have a good time when I’m with you.” I watched as she looked at me, reaching for a shrimp from her plate. She bit into it and I took a slow breath. “I want to get to know you. I want to date you, if we can do that at this stage.”
She laughed and reached for her drink. “I’d love that.”
“We go to school together. We can keep doing that and hang out on campus and off. Dates and all of that.” I suggested and she smiled. “We can see what happens.”
“Okay.” She agreed as she nodded.
“Exclusively.” I added as her eyes grew wide. “I liked what we were in Vegas and I want to keep it that way.”
“Me, too.” She whispered as she looked at my hand. “Do we keep wearing these?”
“I am not ending anything. My friends weren’t wrong when they told me how happy I looked when I was with you.” I assured her as she nibbled on her lip.
“That’s it for now?” She asked and I shrugged.
“Sure.” We started to eat, and she kept looking at me and smiling. We got to know each other, discussing family and growing up. We both lost parent and she touched my hand as I told her about mine. I watched her stroke my ring, feeling the heat between us. “It’s just me and Linc now and the family from his wedding. Do you have siblings?”
“I have a sister that’s ten years older than I am. We’re not that close. Different lives and all of that.” She smiled weakly and shrugged one shoulder. “Dad lives in Seattle and we see each other as much as we can. Does Linc live here as well?”
“Yeah. He works in investments downtown. We see each other as much as we can.” I smiled. “They live in a condo near his office. Amy works from home as a personal shopper for Stitch Fix. Have you heard of it?” She nodded. “She works a few hours a day throwing together outfits for people.”
“That’s awesome. I think I could use some style tips sometimes. I dress so plain.” She glanced down at her pale green shirt and shook her head.
“You are gorgeous. I have always thought that, Liz. You just seemed like you wanted to keep to yourself.” I told her, raising her chin to look at me. “You are one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met.”
“There’s some beautiful women on campus. I’ve seen you with them.” She noted as I leaned forward, holding her hands.
“I didn’t marry them in Vegas. I married you.” I reminded her as she stared at me. “I am going to stay married to you until we figure this thing out.”
We finished dinner and I cleaned up our table in preparation to leave. She stood with me to help and we walked out to our cars. I saw that she had a white SUV that was a few years old but still in good shape. She stood against it and looked up at me as I cupped her face. “Want to come over?”
“Yeah?” I asked as she smiled.
“I think that Karen will be out with Kyle for a while, if not all night. They might show up at the apartment. Either way, it doesn’t matter.” I leaned in and kissed her gently feeling her smile against my mouth.
“Do you want anything?” I asked as she shook her head.
“Just you.” I made sure that she was in her car before starting mine to follow her, smiling as we pulled onto the main street.
We slept in her bad that night, making love slowly. I asked her if I could spend the night and she agreed, cuddling in my arms. That was the first night we did that, switching off houses every weekend. We made a vow to focus on school our last year while spending time together, so much of that was centered around studying. We spread out on couches and went to coffee shops and restaurants. I got to know her more, learning about what she was like as a little girl and how sad she was when her mom died. She loved her father, but he worked a lot after she was gone to keep a roof over their heads. Her sister was the one that took care of her most of the time and now had kids of her own.
I saw the pictures of her family when I was over there, and she looked a lot like her mom. There was a resemblance between her and her sister as well, but Lila looked a bit more like their father.
I was pleased that our relationship seemed to be deepening over the weeks. It felt like we were building something now together. Kyle and Karen kept dating as well to my surprise. He was the one that talked about moving in with her five months later but unsure of where. Neither of us liked where the girls lived, and he wasn’t sure if I wanted Karen here with us. “What do you think? This is your place, after all.”
“The girls are here all the time. I don’t mind of she’s here.” I sipped my beer, thinking of my own idea. “I’ve been thinking about that myself. I want to just be in one place with her every night.”
“You guys have been married for seven months now, right? I think it’s about time.” He joked as I shot him a mock glare. We still wore our rings and I’d been questioned a few times about mine. Women seemed stunned that someone settled me down enough to get married, especially when I slept with them and moved on easily. I just said that I was and left it at that. Anyone could see that I was together with Liz at school and put the pieces together on their own. I didn’t hide that fact. Liz was even surprised that guys noticed her ring and seemed disappointed. She claimed that they never seemed interested before and I reminded her how much she kept to herself.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We went out of order. I get that and I’m trying to find ways to make it romantic.” I argued as he chuckled. I gave Liz flowers once every couple of weeks and took her out to dinner as much as I could. I wanted to ask her to live with me every night we were together, but we were trying to take it slow.
Linc and Amy came to dinner once a month or so to my place. They were happy that we were still together and doing well themselves. Linc sold his condo and they were looking at houses while renting a furnished apartment. They wanted something with a yard and a place for kids as opposed to living the city life. I knew my brother always wanted kids and Amy seemed thrilled wit
h the idea, making me wonder how long it would be before they had some news for me.
Chapter 5
Liz
I drove with Karen to the guy’s place for dinner on our six-month wedding anniversary. It wasn’t to celebrate that as much as it was just to catch up with Linc and Amy after they took their real honeymoon in Europe. We pulled into the parking lot and took our usual spot before hopping out of the car.
I walked to the door, knocking before someone called for us to come in. We walked in to see Linc and Calder sitting at the laptop with Amy. She laughed and pointed things out before looking up at us. “You’re here!! We’re looking at some of the thousands of pictures we took on our trip. Come on over.”
We moved it to the table and looked at the places they visited. It was beautiful and I wanted to go, holding onto Calder’s arm as I smiled. Maybe we could go for a honeymoon if we ever worked this thing out between us. Dating was great and he seemed to work hard to woo me over the last few months. I was just ready to be married and settled but I was letting him take it slow, despite the fact we stayed together as often as we could. I knew his body well and he had mine memorized, knowing just what to do to get me to amazing orgasms. He also found his way to my heart and I was falling in love with him. I was ready for anything he had to give.
I started dinner with Karen, and we made lasagna and fresh garlic bread. That was her specialty and we also threw together a salad. Amy came to help us with that, smiling widely as she hugged us both. “I missed you guys.” She told us as I wrapped an arm around her. “I can’t believe you’re both together with the guys. It’s so perfect!”
“It worked out well,” Karen agreed with a smile. We were all good friends now and I felt like I had a family.
“Are you two ever going to move in together?” Amy asked as she looked at me.
“I think we’re getting there. It’s been great between us.” I smiled as I watched the brothers talking at the table. “I want to make it more though. Dating is great and everything but…I want to be married.”
“He came for you as soon as you were both back in town. That means something. You haven’t been seeing anyone else?” Amy asked and I shook my head. “Well, good. I know it feels ass backwards, but you are making progress.”
“I guess that’s what we get for getting hitched so quickly.” We all laughed and headed into the living room to wait for dinner, joining our men.
After dessert, Calder led me into his room. He pulled me to him for a kiss, cupping my face as I closed my eyes. Six months of this man and I was still weak in the knees. I slipped my arms around his neck, smiling as the cool metal of the ring brushed against my skin. “Happy six months,” he murmured as I opened my eyes, staring at him.
“You remembered!” I told him as he smiled down at me.
“Of course. I could never forget that day.” He kissed me again, tilting his head to deepen it. “We planned on dinner with everyone tonight, but I want to take you out as well.”
“That sounds good,” I agreed as he kissed my neck.
He led me to bed, and we dropped to the mattress, lost in another kiss. We undressed slowly, moving to throw the clothes aside before he buried his face between my legs. He loved to give, and I enjoyed receiving as well. I was also enthusiastic about returning the favor. Once I was crying out his name, he moved over me and inside. “God, I love the way you feel inside of me.” I murmured as he moved all the way in.
“I love you.” It was the first time he’d told me that and I stared at him in silence.
“What?” I asked as he kissed me softly.
“I love you. I’ve been falling for you since that weekend, baby. I just wanted to move slow and kind of ease into this. I feel like we just went out of order, but I do love you.” He assured me as I wrapped my legs around him.
“I love you,” I murmured, feeling warmth wash through me.
“Will you move in with me?” He asked as I felt a tear slide down my cheek.
“I thought you’d never ask.” I told him as he slipped out and kissed me.
“I probably shouldn’t ask that when I’m inside of you this way.” He chuckled and rested his forehead against mine. “I was thinking of you moving here since you know I don’t like your apartment.” I laughed. “It’s bigger and you’ll have space here to study and do whatever you need to do.”
“That sounds perfect.” I agreed, feeling his mouth on mine. We moved together again, and he rocked into me, moaning my name. Calder was so perfect, and I held him tight as we finished together. He rolled beside me and kissed my cheek as I smiled.
“I think that Kyle is asking Karen the same thing tonight or very soon. Will it be weird if we live here together for a while?”
“We’re always here to begin with, so no. The condo is set up well for roommates.” I told him as he nodded.
“It is. I bought it originally and then he moved in here so it’s mine. I wouldn’t mind working something out and moving if need be.” I gazed at her. She knew all about the money and appreciated it. She didn’t want me to support her on it and I was grateful for that. I’d never told any woman about it before and Amy was the first to know from Linc.
“Anything. I just want to be yours.” I assured him, leaning in for a kiss.as we fell asleep, I felt excited for Karen. She was falling hard for Kyle and it appeared that she finally found her love.
We woke up the next morning, announcing our news over breakfast. Kyle and Karen smiled at each other, telling us that they had the same news for us. We clinked coffee cups and discussed how we were going to do this. Karen and I both were willing to move here to the condo and store what little we had in a storage unit until we made a final decision on it down the line. We decided to go back to our apartment to pack stuff and move in that day, kissing the guys goodbye after we assured them, we didn’t have much. The rent was paid for the month and we had time to move the bigger stuff.
We were in the middle of packing clothes and other necessities when my phone rang from the kitchen counter. I jogged down the short hallway to answer it, surprised to see my sister’s name. She was crying when I answered, telling me that our dad passed away overnight in his sleep. His wife found him and called Maggie to tell her. She planned to fly to Seattle, and she was calling me from there. She told me that I didn’t have to come join her, but I insisted.
I called Calder, who came right over. He booked me a flight for the following morning, offering to join me. I told him to give me a day to see how it went given the relationship I had with my sister. We might just plan the service together and both return home after that. He helped me pack for the flight and took some stuff back to the condo as I followed. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep in his bed, wrapped in his arms. He took me to the airport in the morning, walking me as far as he could before kissing me softly. “Say the word and I’m on a plane. I don’t want you to go through this alone.” He murmured as I nodded slowly.
“I know. I love you,” I told him as he whispered the same words to me before another kiss. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and headed to the gate, making my way through security before I sat to wait. It was going to be a quick flight and I’d be there to help Maggie. I wasn’t sure how that would go but I needed to do this for Dad.
She picked me up, looking tired and pale. We hugged and she squeezed me for a moment longer than I expected. I walked over to get my bag and we made our way to the parking lot, where she parked Dad’s truck. I started crying when I saw that, missing him already. She told me she rented some small thing that barely fit her in a rush, and this was better. She also admitted that it made her feel closer to Dad. We started the drive back to his house on the water as I wiped tears away.
“How’s school?” Maggie asked as I reached for a Kleenex from the box on the seat.
“Good. One more year to go.” I told her as I looked at the ring on my hand. Dad would never know that I got married or meet Calder. I didn’
t want to tell him until we were living more of a normal married life. Dad was a traditional man and had trouble with people that weren’t. “I got married a few months back, too.” I saw her stare at me at a light for a moment. “He’s a student too and such a great guy. I wanted Dad to meet him over the holidays.” Tears slid down my cheeks as I realized there were no more holidays with Dad.
“Wow. Congratulations. He didn’t even mention that you were seeing anyone.” My sister sounded surprised that someone would want to settle down with me.
“I was keeping it to myself until I knew it was serious,” I lied to her. How could I explain us? “So, what are the plans?”
“He wanted to be cremated. We talked about it recently and he had a will done up and everything. We’ll do a casket and pictures of him because you know how he felt about open caskets.” I chuckled, remembering how much he hated them.
“It will be a simple service for friends, and we’ll cater something at his house afterward. Olive has a lot of friends willing to help out with anything we need.” I would need to see his wife, whom I wasn’t close to. We all lost someone we loved though, and I could comfort her through that. Dad loved Olive.
She stepped on the front porch as we parked, and I walked right over to hug her. “I’m so sorry,” I told her as she held me tight.
“He loved you girls so much. He was always talking about you,” she sniffled as she spoke, and I held her tighter.
“I’m going to miss him,” I sobbed as my sister helped me into the house. We sat on the couch and one of Olive’s friends made us some coffee, serving cookies with it. We still had rooms here to sleep in, unchanged since we moved out before college. Maggie told me that her husband Joe would be bringing their twin sons and daughter the following day once he finished work and stay through the service. She asked if my husband would be joining me, making Olive’s mouth drop open.
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