“I don’t know. Do you know if Zane has found a place yet? He could keep what I’m not taking to Elizabeth’s if he needs it.” We sit at the bar and eat the biscuits. Not the healthiest breakfast, but I haven’t been to the grocery store lately, so my fridge is running low.
“Last I heard, he was still at Brayden’s. Wouldn’t hurt to ask him. When did you guys decide to move in together?”
“She asked me last night.”
“She asked you?”
“Yeah. Surprised the hell out of me, but I’m not complaining.”
Noah shakes his head. “The woman is crazier than I thought if she wants to live with you.” He clears his throat. “Hear anything else on your dad?”
“Let’s refer to him as Francis from here on out, and yeah. His arraignment was this morning and they are considering him a flight risk, so they’re holding him without bail. I’ve been debating if I should let Elizabeth know because all she wants to do is move on.”
Noah nods like he understands. “In that case, you keep tabs on him and the process. Then, if she asks, you can tell her the latest. That’s what I would do.”
“Kind of makes me want to do the opposite, then.”
He laughs. “Figures.” He balls up the wrapper, takes a sip of water from his bottle, and adds, “Let’s get to work. I don’t want to spend all day with you if I have to see you tonight.”
We start packing up things here and there, starting in my bedroom. I text Brayden to get Zane’s number because I don’t have it yet. When I text Zane, he jumps on the opportunity within seconds. I text him my address, so he comes over.
“Dude, you’re a lifesaver. I’ve met this chick, and I just need my own space,” he says.
“No problem. Own anything?”
“Clothes?”
I laugh. “Well, here’s what we’ll do, if you want. I’ll take my personal items, and leave the furniture, kitchen items, and things like that. You can keep it, sell it, donate it, I don’t care. We’ll go to the realtor’s office tomorrow for the paperwork.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Who’s the girl?” I ask because I’m nosy.
Zane shrugs. “Her name’s Deanna. It’s nothing serious; she’s a no-strings-attached type, and she’s a lot of fun. It’s just weird to be coming and going out of Brayden’s house. I feel like I should be asking for permission or apologizing if I come home late.”
That makes total sense.
“Anyway, thanks again. I should get going.”
“Not so fast!” Noah shouts after him, coming out of the bedroom with a box in his hands. “What the fuck is wrong with this next generation? You aren’t even going to ask if we need help? We do. Go grab a box and toss it in the bed of his truck. Thanks.” He walks to the door without waiting for a response.
Zane’s eyes are wide. “I didn’t realize you guys were packing.”
And he probably didn’t. Noah has been in the back, and I met him at the door. We’ve been talking in the kitchen this entire time. There hasn’t been a box in sight.
“I know that; he’ll know that later. You don’t have to stay. We’ve got it.”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll help. I’m not supposed to meet up with Ian until later.”
That’s how Zane gets roped into helping us load my truck. He even goes to Elizabeth’s house and helps unload the boxes. He’s a good kid. I just hope he doesn’t get into trouble with that Deanna girl. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been leery when guys describe girls as he did her. That usually spells trouble.
“AW, HE’S THE cutest thing I’ve ever seen!” I exclaim as I pick up Meredith’s dog, Leo. He wiggles in my arms from excitement and sniffs my face.
“Don’t say that in front of Marco, he might cry,” Noah says nearby in the kitchen, making me laugh.
“He’s right. Tell me I’m cuter.”
I glance over my shoulder at Marc with a smile. “Nope.”
“Evil.” He kisses my cheek before leaving me to join Noah in the kitchen.
“We can sit in the living room while Noah finishes up,” Meredith says. I follow after her and Leo jumps from my arms the moment we sit on the couch to curl up in Meredith’s lap. “How are things going?” Her gaze drops to my scarf. I’ve been wearing it all day.
“Good. Did Marc tell you he’s moving in with me?”
Her eyes widen and she moves to look into the kitchen. “Marco!” she shouts with astonishment.
“Polo,” he casually responds.
“You didn’t tell me you’re moving!”
“I figured Noah told you. He helped me.”
“Noah!” she gasps. “Why am I always the last to know? I was the last to know about your hookup with Lizzy at the party, and I was the last to know about the I love you being exchanged,” she glares at me, which means she heard it from Sylvia, “and now, I’m the last to know about this!”
“Sylvia and Scott don’t know,” I say, hoping that makes her feel better.
“Actually,” Marc starts.
“What? When did you tell them?”
“Scott called me and asked what I was doing.” Marc shrugs. “He was checking in.” Scott has yet to call me, so I don’t know what it means that he’s calling Marc instead.
“See!” Meredith bursts. “Always the last to know.”
“Mere, you can be the first to know about the next big thing, so quit your whining, yeah? Marco promises. Don’t you?”
A look is exchanged between the men and then Marc nods. What are they talking about? What’s the next big thing? I don’t get to find out because Noah’s done cooking dinner. It’s kind of odd to see Marc around Noah and Meredith. It’s almost like he turns into a different person. Or, an exaggerated version of himself. He does joke a lot more around them than he does me. They probably thought I made him a different person, just like I kind of think they make him a different person.
But it’s almost as if that’s his barrier to keep things light and off the serious things in his life. For some reason, he never felt the need to do that with me. I smile to myself, feeling special. Maybe I’m the only one who gets to see the true Marc. That feels like a gift, and I definitely treasure it.
“You’re going with Marc to the fashion show this weekend, right?” Meredith asks me.
“Yes, she is. Take her shopping Friday,” Marc answers.
“I don’t remember being asked.”
“Meredith just asked you,” he points out with a grin.
I steadily hold his gaze with a blank face and wait.
He sighs ten seconds later. “Elizabeth, will you go with me?”
I smile. “Yes.”
“Will you be my plus one to their wedding, too? Might as well get that out of the way while we’re at it.”
“Her answer to that is yes, too,” Meredith answers for me. “Marc wants you there, but so does the bride, which basically means it’s mandatory.”
“Well, I’ll be there, then.”
Meredith goes on to say we need to hang out more. Marc makes some comment about how she can’t replace him with me, but she ignores him. I like Meredith, and I could use more friends, so I don’t mind hanging out with her more. After dinner, she ends up showing me the different options she’s thinking of for her invitations. We spend about an hour and a half talking wedding details before Marc stands.
“Meredith, I know you love us, but we have unpacking to do and my ears are bleeding. Just pick a damn design. No one will care.”
She frowns. “That’s what Noah said. Men,” she grumbles with a glance at me.
“Don’t listen to them. My advice is to not overthink it and pick something you really like.”
“Also something I said,” Noah chimes in from his spot on the couch.
Marc reaches for my hand and then pulls me out of the seat. “We’re leaving. Thanks for inviting us, Meredith. We’ll return the favor soon.” He goes to kiss her cheek, but stops and pats her shoulder instead, which makes things awkwa
rd. “See you guys later.”
“Bye, y’all.” When we’re outside of their apartment, I look over at him. “What was that?”
“What was what?”
“That thing with Meredith? Why didn’t you just kiss her cheek like usual? She probably thinks I made you stop!” Now that I think about it. “You made it awkward and weird. What the hell?”
He shrugs as we step into the elevator. “It irks Noah, and I’d want to break his arm if he kissed your cheek, and I just happened to think about that at that moment. My days of that are over. She’ll get hugs in the future. Seems like better karma. I’ll just annoy him by reminding him I’m her favorite. Besides, it doesn’t bother you at all?”
I shake my head. “Never did, because it’s not like you wanted to actually kiss her. It seemed like a family kind of thing, like when boys kiss their moms on the cheek before they leave. That’s what it reminded me of.”
“I don’t know why that makes me unhappy to hear.” He opens the door and I climb into the truck.
Once he’s in the truck, I reply, “I don’t know why either; I’m not the one you want to annoy. Hey, what did Scott say when you told him you were moving in?”
His hands tighten on the steering wheel. “One minute, he seems happy for you and the next, he thinks it’s because you’re terrified to be alone and not because you want me there.”
I scoff. “He wouldn’t know because he hasn’t called me.”
“That’s my fault.”
I angle in my seat toward him. “What are you talking about?”
“You said you wanted to move on, right? I told Scott that unless he could call and ask nothing more about it than if you’re okay, then to not call you. Plus, he’s upset that you’re pissed with Sylvia over that thing with your parents, and I told him to give you space.”
“Don’t do that, Marc. Don’t try to deal with things for me. It’s been bothering the hell out of me that he hadn’t called me, and come to find out, it was because he was ordered not to! I mean, I’m glad you did for those reasons, but tell me next time or ask me.” I pull out my phone and dial Scott.
“Lizzy, hey,” he answers with surprise.
“I’m okay, but I wanted to talk to you because I always at least hear from you when something happens.”
“I’m sorry. I was trying to do what Marc said because I’ve been having a hard time wrapping my head around it.”
“Yeah, I bet,” I reply softly.
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Me too.”
We’re quiet for a moment when he says, “Is your fight with Sylvia still off limits?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Can I just say one thing?”
“What?” I ask, even though I don’t want to.
“Your parents haven’t reached out because they know they were wrong and they don’t know how to fix it or how receptive you would be.”
I snort. “They could’ve answered a phone call when the girls were two and they had been seeing them for a year and a half. They didn’t have to reach out, Scott, because I did back then, so that’s bullshit.”
“I didn’t know that.” He sighs. “Just find a way to forgive Sylvia, okay? She thought this would eventually help you. She did it for you more than anyone else.”
“Didn’t ask her to. We’re almost home, and we have things to do, so I’ll talk to you later. Love you, bye.” I hang up real fast. Forgiving Sylvia will be easy. As for my parents? I don’t know. That will take more thinking and digesting before I can think about my next possible move with them. I’ve been this long without talking to them; I can go longer.
Marc pulls into the driveway, turns the truck off, but makes no move to get out. “Still want to unpack? Or are you having second thoughts already?”
“No second thoughts. Let’s get you settled in.”
We go inside and get to work. We got Marc his own set of keys made this evening before we went to Noah and Meredith’s, since I like to keep a spare set stored away. Marc doesn’t have much, which doesn’t surprise me. He has more clothes than anything else. I need another closet. It takes a lot of rearranging between the closet and the dresser to fit all his clothes inside. Most important detail is it feels right and I’m happy.
My first week with Marc goes smoothly. He’s not even there for part of it because they had an away game in Canada yesterday. He came home late, woke me briefly, and I let him get his sleep this morning since they have a home game tonight, so I didn’t get to talk to him. I probably won’t until after the game.
Sylvia and the girls spot me first when I walk into the box. The twins rush me and hug me, wanting to know when the next sleepover is. For a moment, I panic. My home will look a little different with Marc living there, but the girls like him and I’m sure they won’t care all that much, if they even realize that he’s living there.
“Hey,” Sylvia says as I sit next to her.
“Hey.” Might as well get the elephant out of the room. “You’re forgiven, but I’m not budging where my parents are concerned. Not yet anyway. That’s all I’m saying tonight.”
Sylvia leans over to hug me. “Thank you. I’m sorry.”
I nod and know we can move past it. Too much has happened between us for our friendship to be broken so easily. Sylvia has been there for me through so much; that can’t be overlooked. Ever. With a deep breath and a smile, I lean back, talk with Sylvia, Meredith when she arrives, and Stella and Stephanie, too, and watch my man play hockey. I’ll admit and say that I come to chat with the women just as much as I do to come watch Marc. He still insists that I don’t have to come even half the time, but I think I’ll come often. He’s supportive of my dream, and this is how I know I can be supportive of his career.
I end up talking so much that I miss most of the action, but I see enough to know what we won one to zero.
“Did you see how freaked he was?” I look over my shoulder at the sound of Marc’s voice.
“I just don’t understand how she didn’t know.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Meredith asks.
“Ian left in a hurry because apparently, his girlfriend who isn’t really his girlfriend and who didn’t know he was living in North Carolina was at the game tonight. Now, she knows he lives here,” Noah says.
“But she didn’t know he was a hockey player either, it seems. Crazy shit. He was freaking out and in a rush to go explain things to her.”
“Wow,” Sylvia breathes, totally enjoying the juicy gossipy-ness of it all. “What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall when he’s explaining himself. I wonder how he came to lie to her in the first place, though.”
“We don’t know he lied,” Meredith points out.
“He didn’t tell the truth,” I say.
“He’s not any of your problems,” Noah butts in. “Let’s go, Mere. See you guys later.”
I hang out with Sylvia while Marc plays with Stella and Stephanie until Scott makes his way to us. Things feel good and normal and amazing. Scott and Marc still have their kinks to work out, but I’m sure those will get sorted. Marc and I get to test the waters of living together. When we get home, Marc relaxes on the couch and I straddle his lap.
“I have a confession to make.”
“What’s that?” he asks, squeezing my thigh.
“My birthday was Wednesday. I turned twenty-six.”
Marc sits up. “Why didn’t you tell me? Fuck. Why haven’t I ever asked when it was?”
“I haven’t celebrated it in forever and honestly, I forgot about it until you had already left on your trip. I didn’t want to tell you while you were gone.”
He grabs my face, a fierce look in his eyes. “From now on, we both celebrate birthdays. We’ll do like Christmas, if we need to. I don’t celebrate birthdays either. Francis made them hell, but we’re changing that. Mine is November eleventh. Sound good?”
I nod and he lays back down. “How are we going to celebrate them?”
/> “Well, I’m going to buy you a present tomorrow. I think a laid back, simple, spend it with you kind of birthday sounds good, don’t you?”
I lean down to rest my head on his shoulder. “Yeah.”
“So, once I know what day off I have next week, call in sick to work, and we’ll spend the day together being lazy.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
We’re quiet for a bit before Marc speaks. “Will you promise me one thing, Elizabeth?”
“What’s that?”
“At least think about a blow job or sex every morning.”
I laugh, falling into a fit of giggles. I was totally expecting something serious after our little birthday talk, but no. Marc lightened the mood, no surprise.
“No? Okay. Then, keep using our code word and I’ll keep coming.”
“Code word?”
“You say...”
He waits and I finally say, “Marco.”
“And I always come back with Polo and fix whatever’s wrong. You haven’t ever realized that you say Marco when you really need me?”
“No.” Honestly hadn’t thought about it. “Maybe I should just call you Marco all the time then.”
“Why’s that?”
“So you’ll always be there.”
He wraps his arms around me. “You don’t ever have to worry about that. I’m like gum on your shoe. Can’t get rid of me easily.”
I laugh.
“Going to make you laugh for the rest of your life,” he whispers.
God, I hope so.
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Acknowledgements
THANK YOU, Kristalyn Thornock, for being with me for yet another book, helping as much as you do, and loving Marc as much as I do!
Thank you, Shannon Page, for editing my work and being wonderful to work with.
Because It's You (Carolina Rebels Book 2) Page 24