by S. E. Rose
“Oh,” she said.
“Yeah, oh,” he replied. “Are we almost done here, because I still need to get my stuff sorted.”
“Yeah, sure. You can go. I think we have it under control,” she said.
They stood there for a minute, side by side, staring at the boxes. Nate turned to her.
“This is really weird,” he stated.
She nodded. “Agreed.”
“Will you come over later and help me unpack?” he asked.
“Sure. Will you be over on Tuesday to help Gran Mill with her move?” she asked.
“Of course, I took off the whole week,” he assured her.
“Great, I was a little worried about her move. I mean, Gertie and Roger are not exactly the best moving helpers,” she laughed.
“Agreed,” he said with a smile. “How’s the blog project coming?”
“Good. I meet with the partners again next week, but it looks like they’ll let me stay at the helm even though they are technically buying it. I can’t believe it’s actually all happening. I mean being paid to blog full time was such an amazing opportunity, but to have the company want to buy it is...well, more than I had hoped for,” she said. He nodded.
“I’m proud of you, killer,” he said.
“Thanks. I’ll see you later then?” she asked, turning to him.
“Yep,” he said, and he gave her a big bear hug. “Love ya, Ly.”
“Love you, too, Nate,” she said as she pulled back and kissed his cheek.
He grinned down at her. And there was a honk from a car in the driveway. Nate rolled his eyes.
“Well, someone is in a hurry,” she said with a big smile.
They walked downstairs and saw Amery leaning on the driver’s side window of Ward’s car. They were talking, and, in the sunlight, Amery looked, well, like hers, like everything she ever dreamed of in a man. Literally, it was like he was molded from clay from her very own imagination.
Nate got in the passenger side of the car, and Lyla leaned on his window. She was so happy for him. After several weeks of worrying about it and many more dates, Nate had told Ward how he felt, and Ward had felt the same. The two were inseparable now. Lyla couldn’t be happier for her best friend, her brother.
“See you guys later?” she asked. Ward turned toward her.
“Yep, dinner’s at six,” he said.
“OK, we’ll be there,” she said, and she gave them both a smile and stood back up as Amery walked around the car and wrapped an arm around her.
They waved as Ward and Nate pulled out of the driveway and headed home. Home. She could hardly believe the monstrosity behind her was her home. And she could also hardly believe that Nate was going home with Ward. She had been so excited when Ward had professed his love to Nate finally and then soon after had asked him to move in. Of course, that was only a month ago as Nate was apartment shopping following the sale of Gran Mill’s house. Nate and Lyla had pledged to sneak over to their tree house once a year and check it out, but the new owners who were only a few years older than them had already invited them back for a barbeque. So that whole sneaking around thing seemed pointless now.
“Shall we go start unpacking?” Amery asked Lyla.
“Sure, we have a few hours before dinner,” she said as they turned and headed inside.
Onyx met them in the foyer and meowed.
“What’s up, buddy?” Amery asked him and picked him up. His motor turned on and Amery kissed his head before setting him back down and following him into the kitchen.
“Tell me where you need me, and I’ll get started on whatever you want,” he said as he looked around at several boxes. Lyla only had brought one small truckload over. She had kept a few pieces of furniture from Gran Mill’s including a table belonging to her parents and then it was really just her bedroom stuff. Gran Mill had snuck in a few boxes of family china and such that she didn’t want to take, and Lyla had already asked Nate to put them in a basement storage room. She’d sort through those later. Her parents’ kitchen table though, it was sitting in the breakfast nook off the kitchen. When Lyla had mentioned wanting to bring it, Amery had taken his table and chairs and put them in the basement. He insisted they put them out and use them every day. She wasn’t sure if that was because of the memory she had shared or if he just liked the look of the mahogany antique dining table and matching chairs. She walked over to it and ran her hands over her father’s chair. The memory of that last breakfast at this table was so strong. She smiled.
“They’re here with you,” Amery said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
“I know,” she whispered.
“So, put me to work. What do you want me to do?” he asked.
She turned and smirked up at him. “Hmmmm...,” she said trailing off as she pulled herself from his grasp and started walking toward the stairs. When she reached the bottom stair, she pulled off her shirt and tossed it on the ground and turned her head toward him. “How about you help me with my clothes?” she asked as she took off up the stairs, tossing off clothing as she went. He was behind her before she made it to their bedroom and lifted her off the ground, swinging her around to face him. Her chest was heaving as she gazed up at him.
He cupped her face in his hands and just stared at her.
“God, you are beautiful,” he said as he crashed his mouth against hers. But he pulled back all too soon and with a big grin added, “And you’re mine.”
She nodded and smiled. “All yours,” she said. “And you’re all mine.”
“Fuck yeah,” Amery said as he picked her up and carried her to their bed. “I think we should christen our room.”
“But nothing is new?” she said looking around from beneath him.
“Oh, angel, everything is new and it all begins right now,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her.
The End
Acknowledgements
Writing a romantic comedy was a new experience for me. And if I didn’t have two very good friends who provided me with plenty of real-world fodder, I probably would never have written it. So, my first thank you goes to Evette and Nick.
I also want to thank my readers and my fellow authors. You all inspire me to work on my writing and improve my stories every day and for that I am eternally grateful!
And as always, a big thank you to my family and friends for being a constant support system.
Playlist
“Shots” by Imagine Dragons
“Spaceship” by Kesha
“Gypsy” by Shakira
“Finding You” by Kesha
“Roar” by Katy Perry
“What You Wanted” by OneRepublic
“Walk It Back” by The National
“Counting Stars” by OneRepublic
“Underdog” by Imagine Dragons
“Scars to Your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara
“Perfect” by Ed Sheeran
“It Ain’t Me” by Kygo
“Strip That Down (feat. Quavo)” by Liam Payne
“Live in the Moment” by Portugal. The Man
“Human” by Rag’n’Bone Man
About the Author
S.E. Rose lives in the DMV. And if you know what that means, then you know where she lives. She currently resides with her husband, two children, and always at least two cats and usually other random creatures her children decide they need. While she works at a desk during the day, her evenings and weekends are devoted to writing and editing her romance novels. She loves all things wine, coffee, tea, and dark chocolate, that’s right dark chocolate. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, traveling, going to concerts, and reading.
Learn more about upcoming books from S.E. Rose at www.seroseauthor.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @seroseauthor. She has many other social media accounts and you can find them all at: https://linktr.ee/seroseauthor .