“Yeah, I think so too. Great idea, baby.” He leans over and kisses me.
“Both of our families in one day.”
“We’ll have more time in the off-season,” he assures me.
“And more us time.” I move closer to lay my head on his chest.
We’re both quiet as he runs his fingers through my hair. We still have plenty of time before we have to start getting ready to go have lunch with Grace, and right now, we’re both just content to lie here in each other’s arms. “I’ve been thinking,” he says, his voice soft.
“Yeah? About what?” I ask, not moving from my spot against his chest. The way his fingers are running through my hair is relaxing. He could probably put me back to sleep from his touch.
“What if you moved in here? With me? Or we could buy a place together.”
I lift my head to look at him and find his eyes already on me. “You want to move in together?”
“We practically live together anyway.”
“What about Willow?”
“When is your lease up?” he asks.
“Not until next summer. We moved in right after graduation.”
“Was it a financial thing or just a best friend thing?” he asks.
“Best friend. She can support herself financially without my help.”
“One of you were bound to move out eventually,” he says cautiously.
“Yeah, but… is this too soon?”
“You tell me,” he counters. “There is no timeline, Paisley. It’s what we want. What we feel is right. If you’re not ready, I understand. No pressure. I just like you here. It feels like our place more than my place anyway.”
“Because you’re a bossy ass and insisted we sleep in the same bed.”
“You can’t fault a man for wanting to be close to the woman he loves.”
“You didn’t love me then,” I challenge.
“How do you know?” he fires back.
“I—” I’ve got nothing. I guess I don’t know, but surely, he didn’t. That’s not possible, right?
“I think I’ve loved you since that very first moment in the stands. Even before the kiss. You were unlike anyone I’d ever met.”
“And here we are.”
“Here we are.”
“Can we table this until the season is over?” I ask. “Let’s get through the season, and we can take care of it then.”
“That doesn’t sound like a no.”
“It’s not a no,” I confirm.
“Grace, lunch was great. Thank you.” I’m not just blowing smoke up her ass because she’s my boyfriend’s mom. She made us spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and salad, and I cleaned my plate.
“You’re welcome. This was such a nice surprise. Thank you for spending your day off with me.”