She hangs up with Sawyer and smacks my shoulder again. “You got Sawyer to fly out here while I was in Chicago. You got to see her, and I didn’t.” She pouts.
I sit up and push her down onto her back, pinning her hands above her head before I slowly open her robe. “You never told me she drives like a maniac.”
She laughs and squirms under me as my fingertips ghost over her side.
“We even had dinner with Jared. Nice guy,” I continue before dipping my lips to her breast.
She’s panting now, rolling her hips as she grinds against me.
“Do you like your ring?” I ask around her nipple.
“I love it. No more talking. I need you.”
Her back arches, and her eyes flutter closed when my hand drops between her thighs. She is the sexiest thing I have ever seen, and she’s all mine. I stop teasing her and give her what she wants. The way she reacts to my touch, the feel of her wrapped tightly around me, turns me on even more. Knowing that I get to be with her for the rest of our lives? There’s no better feeling.
We spend a lazy day half dressed, and we only leave her bed in search of food. We seem incapable of not touching each other, a hand reaching out, a dust of a fingertip. There’s an unspoken inherent fear that this is still just a dream. I know each day that we’re together that will slowly wear off, but I feel better, for the time being, with her safely in my arms.
“What kind of wedding do you want?”
She looks off to the side and pauses while she thinks. “I don’t need anything as big as Brian and Christine’s. Something simple and small. What about you?”
I pull her hand to my lips and kiss. “Simple and small sounds perfect. When would you like to do it?”
She shrugs. “Part of me wants to drag you to Vegas and do it tonight.”
I laugh, and she leans over to kiss me.
“I can’t wait to be your wife, Will.”
She climbs into my lap, and I smooth the hair off of her face. “My wife,” I repeat, almost reverently.
She nods, cupping my face and pressing her lips to mine. “You’ll be my husband.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“I don’t want to wait long, but I think we should have it back home.”
I wrap my arms around her waist. “That makes sense. It’s where our families are.”
She drops her arms and leans forward against me. “I’m not sure I can handle planning a wedding right now.”
I slowly drag my fingers up and down her back, “Let’s not worry about that right now. I know you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
She melts further into me. The last thing I want to do is stress her out. “You could always ask Sawyer to plan it.”
Her head snaps up. “You’re a genius.”
“And…” I slide my hand up the back of her neck and grab a fistful of her hair, pulling her head back until her eyes are on mine.
Her lips part. “A sexy beast.”
“Damn right,” I growl, claiming her mouth.
Our summer all to ourselves is over. I have to get back to plan the next school year. Even though classes don’t start for another two weeks, I have to go back to work now for meetings and preplanning. Sarah comes back with me, but she’s staying at her parents’ house. To go from waking up with her next to me when she isn’t traveling for work to this sucks. We need our own place. We also need to plan the wedding, and she needs to finish transitioning her team to working remotely.
Sawyer is still staying at my house, in Bethany’s old room. I know from talking to Brian and Mrs. M that she’s having such an effect on my mom. It takes me seeing it in person to actually believe it. The day we fly in, Sawyer picks us up from the airport in my car. As soon as Sarah’s done hugging her, I put my hand out for my keys. No way she’s driving us back to my house. When I pull up to my house, I almost drive into our next door neighbor’s car when I see my mom outside checking the mail. It has been over two years since I’ve seen her leave the house.
I hardly remember parking or climbing out of the car. “Mom?”
She looks over at me and nods.
Sawyer walks over to me. “Hey, Mrs. Price. Your boy is back. Say something to him.”
She looks from Sawyer to me. “William.”
“Hi, mom,” I cautiously reply.
Sarah comes up behind me and slips her hand into mine. “Hello, Mrs. Price.”
“Sarah.”
We walk over to her. Sarah stands behind me as I awkwardly hug my mother.
“So did you decide where we’re eating tonight?” Sawyer asks her.
“What?” I turn and look at her.
She walks over to my mom and links her arm through hers. “Your mom and I thought it would be thoughtful to take you guys out to celebrate your engagement. Right, Mom?”
Did Sawyer just call her Mom?
“Yes, the Italian place you like.” She looks up at us. “If you two would like to go.”
I start to say something, but Sarah beats me. “We’d really like that.”
Sawyer and my mom go inside while Sarah and I hang back. The second the front door is closed, I rub my hand over my face and look at her.
“Did you see that?” I shake my head. “I know you saw that, but damn. I’m just not sure I believe it.”
Sarah pulls me into a hug. I take a moment to relax before we follow them inside. I’m instantly struck by how different my house feels.
“What happened to the carpet?” I ask looking around. “Did you paint?”
Sawyer winks at me. “There was this leak…”
My jaw drops. “What happened?”
She examines her fingernails. “It really was the darnedest thing. The plumber couldn’t figure out where all the water came from.”
Hardwood instead of the carpet I had known my entire life and a cream colored paint replaced the striped wallpaper I had grown up with. There’s even a new sofa.
Sawyer sees me look at it and shrugs. “It got wet.”
My mom watches me from the doorway to the kitchen. “Is it okay?”
I nod. “It looks great Mom, really great.”
She inhales and looks around. “I think so too.”
Before dinner, Sarah and I go over to her house to drop off her bags and hang out with her parents for a bit. Her mom must have seen me pull up because before we’re even out of the car, the front door opens and she rushes out to kiss Sarah and see her ring.
After she’s had a good look at it, she comes and gives me a hug. “You did good, Will.” She says, kissing my cheek.
Mr. M is in the living room watching a baseball game. He ohhs and ahhs over Sarah’s ring. “You got yourself a heck of a guy, kiddo.”
“I’m the lucky one, sir,” I correct.
Her eyes flick to mine. She mouths, no I am.
Then it hits me again. She is sleeping here, and I’m going to be at my house. All I want is to be tangled up in her right now. I try to pay attention to the conversation, but I find myself just lost in watching her. She blushes when she notices my attention is only on her. Her power over me is effortless. Seeing her turn red is all it takes to make me want to make her blush all over.
She subtly asks me to help her carry her bags upstairs. Once we’re in her room, I tackle her onto her bed. She doesn’t seem to mind as she tugs at my shirt and unbuttons my shorts. I take her, fast and hard. My mouth silences her as she bucks against me. She is so fucking hot. I almost lose my mind when she reaches down to stroke her breast, pinching and rolling her nipple between her fingers. I hook her legs over my shoulders and pound her. When I turn my face and bite her calf, she explodes around me and I detonate as well.
She goes to take a shower and changes for dinner. I change quickly once we’re back at my house. Sarah and Sawyer ride in the back while my mom sits up front on the way to the restaurant. My mom is quiet but present during dinner. When Sarah shows her the ring, she surprises both of us by leaning over and kissing Sarah on her ch
eck. I squeeze her leg under the table, and she covers my hand with hers. When she looks over at me, her eyes are wet. My mom’s approval has always meant so much to her.
I drop Sawyer and my mom off and take Sarah for ice cream before I take her back home.
She grins when I tell her where we’re going. “Waffle cones?”
I tilt my head to the side. “Like there’s another option.”
Ownership at the ice cream shop changed a few years back, and I don’t come here enough to recognize anyone working. We get our cones and go sit outside. Like old times, I’m done with mine before she is. Some things never change. Watching Sarah Miller lick a drip of ice cream off of a waffle cone is just as hot now as it was when we were in high school. I hate that I have to drop her off at her parents’ house. I want her with me. I settle for making out with her in my car in front of her parents’ house.
After saying she should go inside for the third time, she leaves. I lean back in my seat and watch her until she’s safely inside before pulling away. My mom has gone to bed, but Sawyer is still up when I get home.
She’s in the kitchen making a smoothie. I drop my keys on the counter. “Alright, what did you do to my mom?”
She holds her finger up and turns on the blender. Once she turns it off and grabs a glass, she smirks at me. “I know. I’m awesome, aren’t I?”
I nod. “I can’t believe the change, and you think she’s liking the counselor?”
She laughs after she takes a sip of her drink. “I think Evelyn is great and is really helping your mom. Your mom goes back and forth between dealing with her and hating her.” She pauses to point at me. “Once I’m gone, do not let her con you into switching to someone else.”
I hold up my hands. “I won’t.”
She leans back against the counter. “I think you should talk to your mom about selling this place.”
I open my mouth, but she shakes her head at me and keeps talking. “It’s too big for just her, and for her, there are ghosts here. You and Sarah are planning on getting your own place, right? Maybe when you move out, she’ll consider getting a smaller place. This is just me, but I think a condo or a townhouse where she’d have neighbors closer would make her more social.”
I chew on the side of my lip. “Do you think she’d go for it?”
She narrows her eyes at me. “I was more worried about you. Are you cool with her selling the house you grew up in?”
I almost laugh. “Yeah, I’m cool with that. This place never felt like home. I practically grew up at the Millers’.”
She pauses and looks behind me with a faraway look in her eyes. When her eyes settle back on mine, she smiles. “You were lucky to have them then.”
We talk a little while longer before I head upstairs to crash.
“Are you sure about this?” I pause before opening her door.
She reaches up to pat my cheek. “I’m long overdue.”
I chew on the corner of my lip and open it for her, waiting until she’s in and buckled before closing the door.
This isn’t the first trip for me. At one time, though, I wasn’t sure if my mother would ever go. We drive in silence. Sarah offered to come along with, but I felt this first time it should be just my mom and me. It’s a clear day, cool but comfortable out of the shade. After I park, I wait for a moment and watch as she looks around.
I wonder if it seems familiar. I know she went a few times with Dad to visit Bethany. She must sense I’m waiting on her. She turns to me and nods. I get out and walk around to open her door. We walk together to their plots. Dad’s stone matches hers. I don’t know why that was such a big deal to me when he died, but I’m happy for it now.
It shows they belong together. They match, my graveyard family. Mom hesitates before walking up to touch Bethany’s headstone. It’s a grey stone with a black plaque. Bronze lettering to identify her as a beloved daughter and sister. Her hand rests there as she dips to lay sunflowers in front of it.
Bright and cheery against the grey stone, they seem out of place, a reminder of the fault in the grand design of a child dying before the parents. My father’s stone is slightly bigger, but not big enough to represent a man who seemed larger than life to me growing up. He’s still a stranger to me, a silhouette coming and going.
She raises her fingertips to her lips to kiss them before resting her hand on his marker. I take a step back out of respect when she starts talking to him. What I can only assume is her whispered goodbye. My back turned to her, I feel like calling Sawyer to thank her again. Part of me feared my going to Denver might break her. Instead, it was the push, with Sawyer’s help, that started her on the path that she is now.
“William.”
I turn. “Yes, Mom?”
“Come stand with me.”
I pause to touch each of their stones before going to stand with my mother. She leans against me, and I wrap my arm around her shoulder. She’s fragile, but I can see it in her eyes, in the way she stands. She’s healing.
“So no Crate and Barrel?”
She shakes her head. “No way. There are plenty of other places we can register at. Do we even need to register? What if we just have people donate someplace in our name?”
I look over at her, my hand squeezing her leg. I get not wanting to run into Jessica, but Decatur is not a big enough town to avoid her forever. We’re bound to run into her and her fiancé at some point. I suppress a laugh. I still can’t believe who she’s marrying. It’s just weird. Kyle Nelson’s mom works in the front office of the school where I work.
Her divorce, the reasons or reason that led to it, had been a huge scandal. Mr. Nelson is a local attorney. Jessica retained him to handle some unpaid traffic tickets. They ended up having an affair, and Mr. Nelson left Kyle’s mom for her. Kyle doesn’t talk to his dad anymore from what I’ve heard. I can’t imagine what it would feel like knowing your dad is sleeping with someone you used to date.
Also, Mr. Nelson is not a good looking guy. I’m sure he looked different when he was younger but last time I saw him in the grocery store, he was not what anyone would call in shape. I wonder if Jessica’s motivation in marrying him is anything other than money. Jessica bailed on college after our sophomore year.
I heard she was doing more partying than going to class. Her parents cut her off not long after. I almost felt sorry for her, but sometimes people dig their own holes. Sarah’s gut reaction to stuff in general is avoidance. It’s something we’re working through, but I can’t just let her stew or run. She’s so different in her business, so confident.
Sarah’s quiet as I drive her and Sawyer to the airport. We got the news this morning that our offer wasn’t accepted on a house we wanted. I know she wanted to have that done before she flew back to Denver. I did too. I’m sick of living apart from her, especially now that she isn’t traveling as much for work anymore. It also means the search begins again. We’ve seen so many houses they all kind of look the same now.
My hand is on her leg while I drive. She puts her hand on top of mine and squeezes it. “Guess what?”
I glance over at her and smile at the expression on her face. I’ll play. “What?”
“Next time you pick me up from the airport, it will be because I live here.”
I turn my hand over to lift hers to my lips. “I can’t wait.”
She’s only going to be gone a couple of weeks. She needs to do the final walk through of the office space the lease is up on and pack. Since we don’t have a place to move her stuff to, she’s using a pod and having it moved and stored by us. She hasn’t said it, but I know it’s going to be rough for her to leave Sawyer. She’s giving up so much to be with me. I’m trying to do whatever I can on my end to make it easier for her.
I have a surprise for her that I think will cheer her up. Since my mom has been doing better, she’s making a trip to visit my cousins in Italy. That means Sarah and I are going to have the house all to ourselves when she gets back. I haven’t told her yet,
and Sawyer is keeping it a secret too. Not living together has sucked. At first, the finding time to sneak away here and there to make love was fun and exciting.
Now I just want to be able to fall asleep and wake up with her in my arms. We’ve gotten hotel rooms a couple of times, but I want more than just one night here and there. I’m going to keep looking at houses while she’s in Denver. It’d be nice to have a place before the wedding. She lets Sawyer plan most of it. It’s going to be at a bed and breakfast not far from the lake. We reserved the whole place for the weekend. The ceremony will be in their Plantation Hall. There is a separate lake side cabin where Sarah and I will stay our first night as husband and wife. Brian is going to be my best man and Sawyer the maid of honor.
Sarah’s going to wear her mother’s wedding dress, and the reception will be at the B&B. We didn’t invite that many people, maybe twenty total, including us. We thought about trying to honeymoon over winter break, but the end of year can be busy for her workwise so we’re planning on going away over spring break. My biggest decision during the wedding planning process is the deciding vote on the wedding cake flavor. Sawyer and Sarah both like different ones. I’m not stupid. I go with what Sarah wants.
I get to the airport early and park. I just saw an amazing house, and if she’s up for it, I want to take Sarah straight over to see it. I wait just past security for her. When I see her, I chuckle to myself. She’s pulling her rolling bag and digging through her purse for something. She’s also stuck behind a guy trying to walk and read something on his phone at the same time. She looks ready to run him over. By the time she’s gotten around him, I’ve made my way over to her. I skip hellos and grab her face, giving her a kiss that will make her never want to get on a plane and leave me again.
I lift my head to look at her and watch as her eyelids flutter open. “Well, hello there,” she purrs.
I take over her rolling bag and drape my arm over her shoulders. “Wanna go see a house?”
She laughs then sees my expression. “Are you serious? Now?”
I nod.
“Have you already seen it?”
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