But I’ve never lived with anyone before. I’ve lived alone ever since I moved out of my parents’ house. I’m not so sure I’d be a good housemate. Opening my eyes, I find Brayden still has his eyes on me. He looks patient mostly, which makes me chuckle.
“What is it?” he asks.
My mouth opens to ask him if he’s sure, but the moment I do, I realize that’s a stupid question. Brayden wouldn’t put the offer out there if he’s not prepared to both make it worth our while and go all in. He’s sure. “Can we compromise?” I ask.
“How?”
“Well, I haven’t lived with anyone since my parents, so I might be annoying or terrible or something. You have a short fuse as it is, and this seems like the perfect thing to set it off.”
“You stay over all the time and you stayed with me for nearly a week when I was out with my concussion. You haven’t been that bad, darlin’,” Brayden interrupts the moment I take a small breath.
“Living together is different, though. My things will be all in your space. What are we going to do with my sewing and quilting things? I have an entire room dedicated to it at my house. And—”
Brayden cups my face, his thumbs pressing over my lips to shut me up. “You don’t think I haven’t considered all of that, Deanna? We’ll work it out. I’m prepared to work through anything that happens. If you move in, all you have to do is be prepared to do the same and we’ll be fine. But like I said, think on it. You don’t have to answer me right now or today.”
I shake my head because it feels as if I do. If I don’t answer him now, if I say no, what does that say about my commitment to our relationship? Especially since the idea of living with him excites me to no end? I would love to do it. Granted, I didn’t think it would happen now. And despite my concern, I can’t get this image of us together in his house with my things intermixed with his out of my head.
“Yes,” I whisper, nodding to myself. “I’ll do it. I want to do it.”
The most radiant smile bursts onto his face; he doesn’t try to hold back at all. He brings me close and kisses hard and carefree. The moment his tongue dives deeply into mine, I forget we’re in public with a ton of Brayden’s fans around. All that matters is this kiss that heats up my entire body and sends my heart racing. The kiss that causes my body to relax against his. All that matters is that I belong to the man behind the kiss and I couldn’t be happier about such a thing.
Warm, wet kisses along my spine that cause goosebumps to rise on my skin from the contrast to the chilly air wake me up on Christmas morning. Brayden’s hands are on my sides, pushing up my shirt as he goes.
“What are you doing?” I mumble without opening my eyes.
“Holidays are special occasions, which means I wake you up in a special way.”
I laugh as he moves up my back and his hands slide underneath my body to find my breasts. “What time is it?”
“Early enough for you to get an early present before everyone else wakes up. Roll over.” His hands leave my breasts. He lifts himself up, and I roll over. My shirt is still hiked up from where he pushed it up, so his eyes don’t meet mine at first. I almost want to tell him no, considering we could hear his mom, but it is Christmas and I can be quiet. I want this too much anyway. Brayden dips his head to cover one of my breasts with his mouth.
He jerks away when there’s a hard knock on the bedroom door. “Wakey, wakey, kids!” Perry shouts from the other side. “Big day!”
Brayden groans and buries his face in my chest. “Let’s face it; sex is ruined for me.”
I laugh. “We just need to go home and get away from them.”
He sighs this time. “We don’t get home until nine, and then we have to get rid of the twins. I’m fucking you tonight, so please for the love of all that is good in this world, don’t be tired when we get home.” He lifts his head. There’s a tiny smile on his face as he leans forward to give me a brief kiss before getting out of bed. He pulls on a shirt and pajama pants. He’s the only guy I’ve ever dated that doesn’t wear pajamas in the winter. I asked him about it last night; he said he gets too warm and he likes less anyway. Seems we’re alike in that manner. Dressed, Brayden holds out his hand. “Mom’s tradition growing up meant staying in pajamas all day, so let’s go.”
“Let me put on a bra at least.” I’m not that comfortable around them yet to waltz around the house without a bra on.
His mom is, though, because she didn’t bother with one. Perry starts a pot of coffee while the rest of us sit in the living room and I notice a few presents that weren’t there last night.
“I’m so glad you came,” Maryann says, looking at Brayden. “And that you’re happy for me.”
“Of course I am. You know I’ll do anything for you, Mom. Just make sure you give me a heads-up on the wedding.”
Maryann laughs. “I will. I told him we didn’t need a wedding, but he changed my mind. He kept reminding me that since I’ve never been married before and I never would be again if he could help it, that I should do it.”
“You should,” Brayden agrees. “I would like to pay for it.”
“You can help,” Perry says as he walks back into the room, handing a cup of coffee to Maryann before he sits next to her. “But I’m not sure if I can let you pay for it all.”
Brayden nods. I half-expected him to argue, but I’m glad he doesn’t, if only to let them have their way. Maryann gets a giddy look on her face and announces it’s time for presents. She insists on being the one to pass them out. Once everyone has their gifts, she instructs Brayden to go first. I struggled over what to buy him. What do you get a man who doesn’t need anything and has everything he could want?
His gifts suck, in my opinion, but I couldn’t think of anything good. I bought him ties—good ties. Every time I’ve seen him in one of his suits, he’s wearing a plain tie that’s either black, gray, or blue to coordinate with his suit. Now, he has ties with patterns and colors. When he opens this, he glances at me curiously, so I explain why I bought them.
“I buy the ones I have for a reason, darlin’. I like them.”
“It’s boring!”
He shrugs. “I’ll wear these,” he says in such a way that I know it’s only because I bought them for him.
I also registered us for a 5K this summer and added a note about how hopefully he won’t get beaten by a girl again. That makes him laugh. Lastly, I had to tease him further by buying him a collection of karaoke CDs.
He seems happy and satisfied with his gifts, so that’s good. Maryann tells me I’m next. She and Perry got me some fabric, a Michigan magnet, and this cute canvas about dogs. Brayden’s first gift to me is a key to his house with its own little keychain of a house.
“You were pretty sure of yourself, weren’t you?”
He laughs. “No. You weren’t getting that unless you said yes.”
My next gift confuses me. It’s a list of destinations. “What is this?” I look at Brayden.
“I want to take you on a trip in the summer. Some of those are cruises; some are simply places to go here in the States if we were to take a road trip. You’ll pick what you’d like to do and I’ll get it arranged. This is also motivation for you since you want to train a manager for the shop. This gives you a reason and a deadline.”
“Thank you.” I lean over to kiss him on the cheek.
Maryann is about to go next, but Perry jumps in first. I feel bad that we don’t have presents for him, but we didn’t exactly know we would be meeting him. It’s ridiculously sweet to see Maryann and him together, though. After he and Maryann have opened presents, I think it’s time for breakfast, but Perry stands.
“There’s one more gift.” He holds his hand out to Maryann. “Come with me.”
We follow them outside after putting on our coats and shoes. Maryann squeals like a teenager and jumps into Perry’s arms, hugging and kissing him, while Brayden grabs my hand and nearly breaks it. Perry bought her a Corvette. It’s black with a giant red bow
on it. Pretty, but Brayden doesn’t seem happy. Perry leads her over to the car, so she can get a closer look.
“He can get her one, but I was forbidden?” Brayden mutters.
“You can buy a car for me,” I tease, hoping he rolls his eyes or something. He doesn’t react at all. He’s too busy glaring at the car. “Just be happy for her.”
“I am,” he insists as he finally looks down at me. “I’m just not happy she didn’t let me do it.”
“Brayden, look!” Maryann shouts. She closes the door to the car and points at it as if it’s not an obvious addition to the driveway.
“Yeah, Mom,” he says with a laugh. “I see it. It’s nice. Congrats.”
She beams up a smile at Perry. We’re too far away to hear what she says, but that may be a good thing with the look on Perry’s face. They walk back to the house. I smile because Maryann keeps glancing back at the car. That is one happy woman.
The day is spent eating and watching Maryann and Perry together. They are so affectionate with one another. I’m not sure my parents were ever quite as affectionate as they are. At least, if they were, I never saw it. Maybe it depends on the couple. It’s around noon when my phone rings with a call from my father. I excuse myself to Brayden’s room to answer it.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hey. I’m going to your uncle’s house today for dinner.”
“Oh, that’s good, Dad.” I’ve been worried that he would spend it alone. Any time I have talked to him and casually mentioned Christmas, he ignored me. Like the thought of spending a Christmas without my mom was too hard to think about, so he wasn’t acknowledging any mention of it.
“I would like for you to come with me.”
My shoulders fall. He didn’t listen the last time I talked to him. I told him I was coming with Brayden to Michigan. “Dad,” I start with a soft voice. “I’m in Michigan, remember?”
“Michigan? Why? What would you be doing there?”
Does he not listen to me at all when I check in on him? “I’m here with Brayden, my boyfriend. You remember him, right? He asked me to come here to visit his mom, so I came. I told you this.”
The line is awfully quiet for a long time before he says, “I really wish you were here.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. We’re coming home tonight; I can come see you tomorrow.”
“No, it’s okay. I just miss your mother and would’ve liked to see you today. Enjoy your trip.” He hangs up without saying another word.
I sit on the bed, hunch over, and cover my face with my hands. I should’ve checked in with him more, made sure he knew I was leaving, or I should’ve stayed home. Obviously, I should’ve stayed home. It’s the first Christmas without her. It’s the most difficult. Why did I think it would be okay to leave just because he would most likely go to my uncle’s? Why does he want me there anyway? He didn’t want to see me at Thanksgiving. I feel bad for feeling guilty and for wishing I didn’t feel guilty.
“Deanna, what’s wrong?”
I lift my head just in time to see Brayden kneel before me. “Dad didn’t listen, so he didn’t know I was here and he wanted me to go to my uncle’s with him.”
He doesn’t say a word; he only wraps his arms around my shoulders and hugs me, which turns out to be exactly what I need.
“Thank you. I’m fine now. It’s just, you know, anything with my parents is complicated and emotional. I tried to tell him I would see him tomorrow, but he acted as if he didn’t want me to because I wasn’t there today.” I huff. “It’s not my fault he didn’t listen to me on the multiple occasions that I told him I was coming here. Right?”
“Right, darlin’.”
“Okay, I can’t tell if you’re saying that to please me or if you actually agree.”
He gives me a small smile. “I agree with you. Why don’t you stop thinking about it altogether and come enjoy some more time with Mom and Coach? We don’t have long before they have to take us to the airport.” Brayden gives me a kiss. With it, I let go of everything in my head and forget all about Dad’s phone call.
***
“Otis! Where is my big fella?” Deanna laughs as he runs full speed at her. Before I can open my mouth to tell him to stop, he jumps up to put his paws on her chest. If I wasn’t standing behind her, he would’ve knocked her down because she did not brace herself at all. “Aw, hey! I missed you so much! Did they take good care of you?” She rubs behind his ears while he sniffs her incessantly as if he’s trying to determine by smell alone where she’s been and what she’s done.
The twins appear. “We fed him and walked him and took good care of him,” they say simultaneously. “He’s a good dog.”
“When are you guys stopping that?”
They grin. “When it stops being fun.” Cal looks at Deanna, who is still busy loving on Otis. “He didn’t eat much the first day and a half, but I think that’s because he missed you. Otherwise, everything went fine.”
“Thank you so much,” Deanna says, placing his paws on the floor. “You two are the best dogsitters. How much do I owe you?”
Otis finally turns his attention to me and whines for the same attention from me that Deanna just gave him.
“Nothing,” they answer her.
“It was enough to crash here and eat the food,” Collin adds.
“And to throw a party while Hook was gone.”
I glare at him, but stay silent. I highly doubt they were stupid enough to throw a party at my house. They go back and forth for a few minutes with Deanna insisting on paying them and the twins refusing any actual payment until she accepts their answer. The guys head out, Deanna walks Otis one last time for the night, and I carry our bags upstairs.
It seems unbelievable to me that I’m not only in a relationship, but I’m fully committed and she’ll soon be living with me. Just because you know something is possible doesn’t mean you think it’ll actually happen or that it’ll happen anytime soon. Yet, here I am.
I’m lying in bed when Deanna comes in. My eyes follow her as she moves around the room and into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I point Otis to the spare bed I bought for him on the floor. He sulks over there like he’s in trouble.
“Thank you for taking me with you. I had a lot of fun,” Deanna says as she grabs a pair of pajamas.
“You don’t need those,” I tell her before she can change. She raises an eyebrow at me, but puts them back and begins to strip down. “You’re welcome, too. I’m glad you went.”
“That’s only because your mom surprised you.”
“No, it isn’t. I’m glad you went because I wouldn’t have wanted to spend those days off without you.”
She smiles as she crawls into bed with me. Her smile widens as she realizes I’m already naked too. “Guess what?” Her nails dig into the skin of my chest, swirling in circles as she works her way down. “I’m not tired.”
I grin and pull her body on top of mine. She brings her face close to mine, but doesn’t yet kiss me. “I love you,” I whisper.
“A lot?”
“More than a lot.”
“Show me.” Her breathing shallows as my knuckles trail over her torso and I steal it completely when I lean up to capture her mouth. I’ll show her over and over tonight just how much I love her until I’m certain she’ll never forget it.
“Start packing things up. Bring over your necessities. I’ll help you more as I can.”
Deanna nods. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.” She looks up from the breakfast I cooked. “I’m glad, but I can’t believe it.”
“Me either. It’s one of the best kinds of surprises,” I say. She nods in agreement. “We’ll figure out how to get everything you want settled here, too. It may take some time to get it the way we like it, but we’ll rearrange whatever until you’re happy.”
“I don’t want to change too much in your house,” she begins and I quickly interrupt.
“You live here now, darlin’. Change whatever you’d like. As long as you
tell me where to find my stuff, I won’t care.”
She scoffs, obviously not believing me.
“The only thing I refuse to budge on is my couch and my bed. Everything else is negotiable. I want you here more than I want my house to stay exactly the same.”
That makes her smile. “How long are you gone for again?”
“We only have one game for this trip. I’ll be back Thursday.”
Deanna nods. “Be sure to thank Cal and Collin for me again.”
“I will.” How many times can she thank them? Which, it probably only slightly annoys me because I remember how she raved about them after watching a game once.
We finish breakfast and then go our separate ways. She to work and me to my room to pack for my trip. Spending so much time with her lately makes me reluctant to leave. Which shows how deeply Deanna affects me. In the past, it didn’t bother me at all. How could it when my job easily came first, second, and third?
This life with her is so much better, and I haven’t experienced living with her yet. That, I’m very excited about. To have a woman and a dog waiting for me late at night when I get home from games or after returning from trips? Best kind of life. It’s even better when it’s a woman like Deanna. I doubt life will ever be boring.
“Hey.”
I glance over as Collin takes the seat next to me on the plane. “Hey. What’s up? You doing okay?”
He nods. “You don’t have to ask me that, you know. I feel like I should call you Dad or something for as much as you seem concerned.”
I laugh. “Sorry.”
He shrugs as if it’s no big deal. “I have a weird question for you. For Deanna, really.”
That gets my attention. “What is it?”
His leg bounces, which further puts me on alert. “I, ah, enjoyed keeping Otis.” What? “I ran with Otis in the mornings like she wanted.”
When he doesn’t seem to add anything else, I say, “That’s good. What’s the question?”
“Oh, right.” His voice lowers. “I felt better after running with him. I don’t want the responsibility of a dog right now, though. Would she mind if I, like, borrowed him sometimes?”
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