by Jude Ouvrard
“What do you think?” I asked her when we were standing in the middle of the master bedroom. The sun’s rays entered the room through the wide windows. There was also a door to a small balcony giving a view of the yard.
She squealed and jumped into my arms. “I seriously love it. I can totally see us living here.”
Her lips swept over mine. “It's close to the shop. We have a parking space, it’s clean and every room is a good size.”
“We should visit more houses, though.”
“Maybe, but I really like this one.”
The real estate agent waited for us in the kitchen area while we took additional time to go through each room. Nix went through all the closets and bathrooms. She looked outside each window.
“I love it, Levi.” She said one last time before meeting the agent again.
“It’s a lovely house.” I said.
“It is, indeed. The price is sitting low too because the owners are hoping for a quick sale.”
“Are there any more houses for sale around here?”
She nodded. “There are but the prices are higher. If you’re looking for something around this same price, there are a few condos.”
“No, I'm looking for a house.”
My pulse started to rise. What the hell should I do now? I knew I had to think fast because there was no way I would let this one go. “Do you have more showings scheduled here?”
“I do. They should be here in fifteen minutes.”
Damn. Nix looked at me, nervous and scared for the same reasons I was on the verge of having a panic attack. All the other houses were located further from downtown. This house had been on the market for only a couple of days. I had to put an offer on it. I couldn’t let this house go. This house could really be ours and I believed we needed this. Our little nest where we could build our future together.
“I would like to put an offer on the house. Now, please.” I said confidently while Nix probably stopped breathing for two seconds.
“Levi?”
“We can't let this opportunity go, Nix. It's the perfect house for us.”
“I'll get the papers from my car, if you don't mind waiting.”
“Of course, not.”
Nix jumped into my arms, her legs wrapped around my waist. “This is it, Levi. It could really be our house.”
“I'll make an offer they can't refuse, babe. We have to take this step together before the wedding.” I looked around the house one last time.
Every room was renovated and in mint condition. The low price made it hard for me to believe that this could really be happening. I kissed her hard. This day kicked some major asses. It was perfect.
I made an offer, signed all the papers with Nix and when we were done, she cried and I wanted to run a marathon. I had so much energy, it was a strange feeling. I held Nix in my arms.
“What do you want to do now?” I asked her.
“I have no idea. I'm so anxious and happy at the same time. I can't wait to find out if they accept our offer. I want to buy some new furniture. I feel like planning our first dinner with your father or our friends. This is crazy, Levi.”
“I know, it is absolutely crazy. She should call me today or tomorrow with the answer. We'll have more details too if they accept.”
We spent the rest of the day trying to think about something else. We went to a restaurant, but our stomachs were tied in knots and we could hardly eat anything. Both of us ordered a soup and a small salad before we both stared at his phone, impatient.
Nix took a few bite of her salad with her shaky hands.
“You know what, Levi?” She asked me. I shook my head no. “I win, Levi. Life can throw anything at me, I still win. I’ve got this. My parents are both out of my mind, for different reasons. I faced rehab a second time, but it only made me stronger. It’s not easy to face life when I never know what’s going to hit me head-on but I have you, Levi. We have us and right now, it’s everything I could wish for. I’m sorry I can’t share family dinners with you and I’m sorry our kids won’t have grandparents on my side. I’m all by myself...”
“Phoenix.” I cut her off. “You are beautiful, strong and I don’t care about family dinners. We have Colleen and Austin when we need a dose.” I chuckled. “And, you’re not by yourself, you’ll never be. That ring on your finger represents me. Never forget that. I’m always there, you can always reach me.”
“We’ve got this, babe.” She said with a small tear escaping her eyes.
“We do and now, if that real estate agent could fucking call us back, that would be fucking amazing.” I tried to make the ambiance less dramatic. I knew that Nix needed to speak her mind, to let me know how she felt and I agreed, but that fact that she did this at this specific time told me that the possibility of buying a house without the support of her family scared her, and maybe made her feel a little bit more uncertain. She got her life under control, she lived happily, but she never had that parental tap on the shoulder to say that whatever she was doing was going to be alright.
When I decided to leave my law career, my relationship with my father became more difficult and strained, but it only lasted a couple of months. In those couple of months, I had insecurities while trying to adjust to my new life and new career. Some nights, I couldn’t sleep. I was young, but I knew I was smart and that I could do this. The only thing that made everything harder at the time was that I couldn’t rely on my father to comfort me. I had turned my back on the life he had for so long dreamed about. I built my career, my shop with K and later, after everything had settled down, I met with my dad and we talked things through.
I couldn’t imagine Nix and her mother doing the same thing, but everything that happened to her would only make her a stronger woman. That fucking turned me on.
We left the restaurant with our food half-eaten and the phone still hadn’t rung. It had been just over an hour and already, the wait was driving me insane.
“What should we do now?” She asked, sitting in my car.
“Would you mind coming with me to Dad’s office?”
She turned to look at me, surprised. “Sure.”
“I want to tell him about the house and I’ll need to ask him a few details for the financial part of the project.”
She nodded, agreeing.
We got to the tower where his office was located. I held hands with Nix and guided her through the entrance. The receptionist called my dad to notify him of our presence. We got into the elevator alone. I knew about the camera but I didn’t care one bit. I took her face between both of my hands and I kissed the hell out of her. For some reason, I became hungry for her and couldn’t wait any longer. I pulled her into my arms, wrapped her tightly against my chest with her lips connected to mine. The tension came out strong and then, ding! The door of the elevator opened before we were able to untangle our arms and tongues.
“Levi, Phoenix.”
Shit. “Hi Dad.” I said with Nix lip gloss all around my mouth. I must have looked like a clown.
Nix’s face turned crimson, and probably mine too. This feeling was worth at least twenty cold showers.
“Austin.” She mumbled in a low voice behind me.
“You... hmm... You wanted to see me? Or do you guys need a place to make out?” He had that smirk on his face. He probably thought catching us was funny, but it embarrassed me more than anything.
“No, I wanted to talk to you.” I wiped my lips with the back of my hand to remove the lip gloss while trying to ignore the fact that we had been caught making out in the elevator.
“Okay, come with me.” He turned around and headed to his office. “It's good to see you, Nix.” Her face flushed beet-red. She couldn’t catch a break.
Colleen greeted us as we walked by her desk. She smiled and looked great. Was Dad the reason behind that smile? Did I really want to know? No...
“Sit.” Dad pointed at the chairs before his large desk. “What brings you here, son?” I could hear the curi
osity behind the serious tone he used.
“We put an offer on a house.”
“Oh! Congratulations to both of you.” He really seemed happy for us. ”When will you find out if the offer is accepted?”
“Soon, we hope.” I peaked at Nix by my side and took her hand into mine. “It’s a beautiful small house in the University district.”
“Such a great project, I'm happy for you both.”
“If we get the house, I'm going to need to have access to my funds. Will that be a problem?”
“Absolutely not. I will arrange that.”
I hadn’t told Nix anything about this. I turned to look at her so I could explain briefly. “Austin’s in charge of my personal finances. He is really good with numbers and since Mom’s passing, he took care of my inheritance and the profit I made when I sold my condo.”
She nodded. “It makes sense.”
“I hope you’ll visit if it works out.”
“Who’s the real estate agent?”
“Jules Hassell.”
He wrote her name down. “Okay.” His eyes lift to meet mine again. “Anything that needs to be changed or repaired at the house?”
I shook my head no. “The house was well taken care of. It’s in very good shape. They renovated most of the house and it’s freshly painted.” I told him with joy emerging from my words. “It’s really a good deal, Dad.”
“Call me when you find out.” He asked.
“We will.” Phoenix beat me to it.
“Okay, so I’ll let you get back to work. I just wanted to let you know about it.”
“Thanks, son.” He smiled as if he had a joke in mind. “This was a short visit, I bet you guys are anxious to go back in that elevator, huh?”
Nix covered her face with both of her hands while dad laughed loudly about what he had just said. I tried to find something to say, but he had me fucking speechless.
“Oh come on, kids, I was young too once.”
“Dad, please, spare me the details.” I chuckled wishing I could run away from his office. I stood up, Nix followed me. “I’ll see you soon, Dad.”
We walked out of his office to the sound of his laughter. Nix’s hands were clammy.
“That was the most embarrassing moment ever.”
“He quite enjoyed catching us in the elevator. We got really into it.”
“That we were.” She held my arm closer to her side. “Let’s go home, Levi.”
“What for?” I played dumb.
“I know a way to spend some quality time. Hurry.”
What she said hit me right inside my boxer briefs. She awakened my desire. I had to get us home. Now.
Chapter FOURTEEN
“Levi, what is she saying?” Nix asked while I was on the phone.
“Ms. Hassell, I thank you very much for everything.”
“Levi, please...” She begged.
“Yes, I completely understand... Of course... Yes, I’ll be in touch.”
I hung up the phone and turned to look at my very impatient fiancée. The emotions inside of me were about to explode, but I kept it together to tease her longer.
“We didn’t get it. That’s it. We didn’t get the house.” She covered her face with her hands, the sadness and disappointment taking over. “I thought, for sure, we were going to have the house.”
Okay, I had to stop this. “Nix, babe. Look at me.” Her sad eyes, filled with tears, stared at me. “These tears, babe, they better be happy tears because the house is ours.”
“What?” She jumped into my arms and started sobbing. “You’re such an ass, Levi, but I’m so happy.”
“It’s the beginning, Nix. We have our house, the rest with follow.”
“Thank you, Angel. Without you, I wouldn’t have any of this.”
“I want to share everything with you, Nix. I love you.”
I kept thinking about that moment. It had been over two weeks and I still couldn’t stop thinking about it. I even got teary eyes but thankfully, Nix didn’t notice.
The closing was done already, and we got the keys two days ago. We already christened our bedroom floor. The carpet was a little rough on my back.
To my surprise, Dad offered to help with the furniture. Not physically but financially. His house was more like a mansion while we had bought a much smaller house. He came with Nix and I when we had to sign the papers and we gave him a tour of the house.
“It’s a nice house, you kids bought. Do you have everything to fill the rooms? I know Levi has his flat screen in my garage, but other than that, I suppose you only have a bedroom set and maybe a small kitchen table?”
“We have our bedroom set, couch, and small kitchen table.” She said. “Nothing fancy, when the girls and I moved into the apartment, we bought the cheapest.”
“That’s what I thought, no offence.” He looked around the house, again.
“None taken.” Nix seemed uncomfortable. She had never complained about her furniture before. She was alright with what she had.
“I want to give you two a present for your first home together.”
“Dad, this is not necessary.”
“It is, son. That’s what your mother would have done and you know that. Even Colleen mentioned helping you guys. It’s a major step into your adult life. You better start with strong foundation, a good home. In the end, it will be better for you both”
Nix was waiting at home for a delivery truck, the first of three deliveries. Kyle and I had painted some walls until two in the morning last night. The last owner had put a nice beige on all the walls, but Nix wanted to add life to the house and I thought she had a point.
We picked the colors together without arguing. Everybody kept telling us this moment could either cause fights or bring us closer. I had crossed my fingers that it wouldn’t cause us to fight and it didn’t. We had made all the decisions together without one single fight. We made some compromises but that only meant we were a strong couple, right?
I didn’t agree with pink curtains and she thought it was pretty funny. In the apartment, I didn’t really care, but in my home, I wouldn’t get pink curtains unless we have a baby girl someday. Not now, someday.
“Hey, whipped boy.” You’ve been staring at the fucking wall for fifteen minutes. “Are you having dirty thoughts or something or deciding on the carpet of your living room?”
“Shut up, K. I have a lot on my mind.” Being here, at the studio while she waited alone at home sucked.
“Like what? Obviously, you’re not thinking about the drawing you’re doing now.”
I groaned with irritation. “Okay, fine... You are right. I was thinking about the house. Happy?”
He laughed out loud. “You’ve become so... so mature and almost...”
“Shut up. Wait and see when it happens to you. You’ll see how fucking stressful it is to think about everything at the same time.”
He laughed.
“You’re the only guy I know who’s like that. You must be O.C.D. or something. You want everything perfect and in place before you move in.”
“So what? Now, please, leave it or I’ll kick your ass. I have to get this done before tonight.”
Tonight, Nix had planned on taking me out on a date for my birthday. She made reservations in a nice restaurant downtown and I planned on giving her the design of her next tattoo. I had been working on it since she spoke about getting new ink. That had some sort of a super power effect on me. She nearly drove me nuts. That night, sex had been way more intense than before. The thought only gave me goose bumps.
Okay, whipped man, get your ass back to work.
I had done two designs, one in color and one in black and grey. They were pretty much the same thing. She said she wanted some more flowers, and two hummingbirds, old school style. I kept her demands and I added more details to it like water droplets on the flowers and more water in the background. It looked neat. I preferred the color filled one but the choice was hers, not mine.
“What do you think, K?”
“It’s a nice one, Levi. The colors are fucking amazing. The flowers almost look alive and the water is impressive too.” He punched my shoulder.
“What was that for, punk?”
“I hate when you do something better than I can.” He admitted.
“You can do pin-up girls better than I can, so shut up.”
“It’s true, right? I’m much better than you with pin-ups. It’s all about the curves and the tits, man.” He laughed, his hand touching his chest as if he had tits.
“Okay, I’m out of here.” He shook my head in disbelief. “Have fun touching yourself.”
“Happy birthday, mate.” Mate? He definitely hung out with Tiff too much.
I grabbed my coat, my keys and designs before I walked out of the shop with a smile on my face. Working with Kyle meant you never knew what stupidity he would do or say. The fucker was unpredictable.
I drove my car home, anxious to see Nix. She was still asleep when I left her this morning.
I found her lost in her books studying for one of her class. She had told me about an important exam coming the following week. The kitchen table was covered in papers and books.
“Hey, Rock Star.”
“Angel.” She smiled and pushed away her books. “I'm done for the day.”
“You look beat.”
“I am, but nothing a shower can't cure.” She yawned. “You look great, birthday boy.”
“I'm feeling good. I have your design with me, you want to see?”
Her eyes went from sleepy to excited. “Absolutely.”
I laid them on the table and waited for her reaction. The grin on her face said it all.
“Wow! Honestly, babe, both of them are great. I love the colors, but I also love the details and shading of the black and grey. I'm at lost, Levi. I don't know which on to pick.”
“There is no rush, Nix. Take your time because it’s kind of permanent.”
She giggled. “Right.”