“Well, this has been fun, but Mom, you’ve gotten Kelsey completely smashed, and if I don’t get her out of the sun, she’ll be burnt to a crisp.” I get up from my chair and start to pick up the empty cups and bottles, taking them to the trash on my way to Kels.
“Oh, whatever. Don’t give me any of that. From what I’ve heard, you both are running on little to no sleep, staying holed up in your condo, which, if you’re going to keep a place down here, you’ll need to hire a new cleaning service. They’re slacking, probably because they know you aren’t really living there anymore,” Leena implies. She’s been pacing herself. The same can’t be said for Kelsey and Mom.
“I’ll work on that. Thanks for looking out for me.” I’m dumping everything in the trash when Mom decides to pipe up.
“That’s fine. Your father has been wanting to find an investment property. Maybe we’ll look in Alabama.” Keller snickers. As if Jace would ever let them leave for a long period of time.
“Sure, I’ll keep my eye out if anything comes up.” It’ll be far, far away from where Kelsey’s small beach house is located. No way in hell would I ever want them in a neighbor capacity. It’s not that I don’t love them, because I do, but there’s a fine line, especially when it comes to Mom. If they did live close to her, Mom would for sure be over every day, badgering Kelsey about kids, asking me about when we’re going to tie the knot, relentlessly at that.
“Joyce, don’t go getting your feathers ruffled. I said an investment property, not one that we’d live in. One that we’d rent out through one of those apps our financial advisor suggested.” Dad winks at me, knowing what I was thinking all along. Of course, they both wouldn’t mind seeing me settled down, married, and adding to the grandkid clan.
“You’re no fun. At least let me see him squirm, Bob,” Mom responds, champagne flute in her hand.
“I think you’ll beg to differ tonight.” A chorus of ewws, gross, and such is surrounding us. I take that as my cue to leave, wake up sleeping beauty, put a pulse on how she’s feeling and if we should head back to the condo or drive home tonight.
I’m at the foot of the lounge chair, soaking up Kelsey wearing a sundress, this one without the cut-outs or ties, strapless and flowing to the floor, hair down in a messy sort of way.
“Hey, Deke.” Kels’ eyes open slowly, a yawn sneaking from her.
“Take a good nap, sunshine?” I ask, smiling, moving closer until my hand can cup her hip.
“I guess so. Your mom should come with a warning label. I’m telling you; I’ve had many brunches with Emily where we do mimosa flights, and none of them have ever hit me like today’s.” I don’t make a statement. This was bound to happen. It’s almost like this is Mom’s rite of passage when it comes to us bringing a woman into the fold.
“Yeah, she’s a force to be reckoned with. You want to spend the night here or head back home?” I ask.
“Shit, my head is spinning on its axis. I think we better stay in town tonight. Emily is opening tomorrow, then it’s on me the rest of the week.” That works out for me. Not that I feel guilty with waking her up on the mornings she has off. I don’t think Kelsey cares either; she’s not one to complain when my head is between her legs.
“Alright, let’s go say our goodbyes and get you into bed.” I help her stand up, trying not to laugh as she sways into my side. She’ll will be hurting tomorrow, if not later today. I guess I’ll be the one holding her hair if that happens. The things you do for the woman you love. Maybe one day, I’ll be doing it for an entirely different reason, and I like the idea of that.
epilogue
DEKE
Six Months Later
“I think it’s time we make this official,” I tell Kelsey as we walk down the beach. The sun is setting over the water. Earlier today, there was a gnarly storm. So bad that we had to shut our construction site down because of all the lightning surrounding us. It was better to be safe than sorry.
“Make what official? We’re together, we live together, we’ve had the baby talk. I thought we were both on the same page?” She stops us in our walking, attempting to let go of my hand. I’m not letting that happen, though. We do live together, our finances are consolidated for things regarding the house, each of us choosing to keep our own separate ones as well. Beach Babe’s online store is now up and running, and they just secured a warehouse, which worked great for both of us needing a home office. Kelsey may be able to work from home on the floor, but going over plans while having teleconference meetings wasn’t as easy. Hart Construction is still in the process of opening up a home office. It’s taking too fucking long. If Tanner and Keller can’t get on the same page soon, I’ll just take over and send them the bill.