“Let’s go sit on the beach,” she says as she slips on another bikini bottom and top.
We walk past the pool and head for the beach. “This is so beautiful.” She grabs my hand, and we head to the water. It’s serene, and we walk in the calm waters. I grab her as she wraps her legs around my waist. “I’m going to miss this.” She wraps her arms around my shoulders. Neither of us says anything as we kiss, our kisses tasting salty. “I need you,” she says when I suck her ear. I walk out of the water with her legs wrapped around me the whole time.
I carry her to the shower, where I give her what she asked for. She gets out of the shower before me, and when I towel-dry myself and walk out of the room, she is sitting on the bed dressed with our luggage packed beside her. I stop in my tracks. “What is going on?”
She takes a deep breath, and I’m suddenly nervous she is going to tell me something I don’t want to hear. “We are going back home.” I just look at her as she gets up. “I know that you gave up everything for me.” She stands in front of me. “And I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. To be put first before anything and anyone.”
“I’d do it every single day for the rest of my life,” I say. “Walking away from that for you was the easiest decision of my life.”
“Well, I’m giving it back to you,” she says. “The plane is waiting for us and is going to bring us straight to Philly. The team has a game tomorrow, and we are going to be there.”
“But …” I say, and I stop thinking if I should tell her my fears or not.
“But what?” she asks.
“But what if you hate it? What if you hate me working and not spending all my time with you?” I finally say out loud.
“Oh, dear God.” She rolls her eyes. “I’m not going to lie. These past couple of weeks have been amazing and simply the best time of my life, but we need a break from each other.”
“Are you sick of me already?” I joke with her, and she shakes her head. “So we go back home and then what?”
“And then we get back to work.” She finishes the sentence. “I don’t know how much work I am going to have, to be honest.”
“Where are you going to live?” I ask, and she tilts her head. “If we go back, I’m not going to be without you.”
“What are you saying?” she asks.
“Rule number one, you move in with me,” I say. “Not really sure it’s up for discussion because if you don’t move in with me, I’m moving in with you.”
“So I don’t get a say in this.” She puts her hands on her hips.
“You get to decide where we live. Your place or mine,” I say.
“Travel,” she says. “You are going to travel with the team.”
“Not if it’s more than one day,” I say, and she rolls her eyes. “Unless you meet me there after the second day.”
“We can check our schedules and make it work.” She gives in to that one.
“One more thing,” I say, walking over to my carry-on bag that I dumped on the chair two weeks ago, and it hasn’t moved since. I reach inside and grab out the red box I bought before I boarded the plane. “You do it with my ring on your finger.” She gasps out when I get down on one knee and open the box.
“Are you really doing this naked?” she asks, and I laugh.
“I was going to do this tomorrow with candles and roses and all of that, but you changed the plans on me.” I laugh. “Becca, I didn’t believe in love before you,” I say. “I didn’t know what love was, and then one day, I looked over at you, and it was like a kick in the stomach.” She laughs, wiping away tears. “You were there all along, and then when I lost you, I knew that I would never be the same without you. I knew that you were the only one for me. Will you marry me and grow old with me?”
“I want kids,” she says, and I shake my head.
“Only you would have a counteroffer to a marriage proposal,” I say. “We can have kids.”
“I don’t want any nannies either,” she says.
“Whatever you want,” I say.
“Okay,” she says softly. “I’ll marry you.” She bends down to kiss me, holding my face in her hand. She turns around before I slip the ring on her finger.
“Where are you going?” I ask, and she grabs her phone.
“Changing the plans. We can leave tomorrow afternoon and make it to Philly for the game.” I just watch her. “Um, you just asked me to marry you. We have to celebrate and have all the sex.” She tosses down the phone, coming over to me.