“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.”