I pull up and see that her luggage is already outside. Getting out of the SUV, I see her poke her head out and smile at me.
"I’m not going to lie," she says, looking at me. Her hair is piled on her head as she steps out of the house, and I see her wearing a tight one-piece dress with her jean jacket and white sneakers. I put her bag in the back and shut the SUV. She stands next to me. "I’m going to miss the beard just a little." I wrap my arm around her and bring her to me. I was wrong about us going out in five. We actually went out in seven, which was a bitch to lose, but we were proud of what we did. It took me two more weeks to shave off the playoff beard.
"You want me to grow a beard, baby?" I ask softly, bending to kiss her, and she smiles.
"I won’t say no if you don’t shave the entire trip." She smiles at me, and the past month has been crazy. When I have the girls, she comes over and has dinner with us, and then we usually make out on the couch before she sneaks home. When I don’t have the girls, we alternate from house to house. It’s the easiest relationship I’ve ever been in. I lean in again and kiss her mouth.
"Two weeks," I say, and she puts her hand on my face.
"This is a very bad idea," she replies, and all I can do is smile.
"Or the best idea I’ve ever had," I gloat with excitement in my voice as she walks to the side of the SUV and opens it to say hello to the girls.
"Are we excited to go to the beach?" she asks them, clapping her hands. "Are we going to build sandcastles?"
The girls scream with excitement, and she gets into the passenger side. I slide into the driver's side and automatically reach for her hand. "Um," she says, and I just smile at her. "Can we talk about this?" she asks quietly, looking in the back at the girls, but they are too busy watching the movie playing on the iPad.
"I’m all about talking," I say, and she glares at me. She’s so fucking beautiful. All I want to do is lean over and kiss her.
"We are going to be with your family and the girls for two weeks," she starts. "And I don’t think it’s a good idea to share," she says. "This."
"I agree.” No matter how much I want to hold her hand in public or kiss her lips. I love having this thing between us being just us. "But," I say, and she groans.
"Why is there always a but with you?" She shakes her head.
"We’ve always been touchy-feely," I point out. "How many times have I walked with my arm around you?" I ask, knowing I’ve done it at least every single day. "How many times have I walked in and given you a hug?”
"Okay, fine," she relents. "But the kissing on the lips and the holding the hand in the car. We’ve never done that before."
"So no slipping you the tongue?" I joke with her, and when we pull up at the private airport, I turn to her. "I promise to be on my best behavior," I vow, and she stares at me, knowing I have more to say. "In front of people. But …"
"Here we go with the buts," she says, and I want to take her mouth to stop her from overthinking it.
"But at nighttime, you're mine," I declare. "All mine." I reach for the SUV door. "Every part of you."
"My room might have a lock on it," she says, laughing. "And I might have brought a couple of friends to keep me company."
I get out, standing and looking at her. The sun hits me right away as she looks me up and down. "You’re looking good there, Mr. Grant," she compliments, and I laugh. I’m wearing a white polo with blue shorts. "Some might say good enough to eat." She shuts the door, and all I can do is laugh. She opens the door, and I see one guy run over with a luggage cart.
"Hi," I say to him. "Cooper Grant, we have a flight at ten." I look over at Erika, who grabs Mia and puts her on her hip and then holds out a hand for Emma. I move to the side as the guy gets our luggage out. "Look over here," I tell them, taking out my phone and snapping a picture.
"Do you want me to get one with you and the girls?" she asks, and I walk to her and put my arm around her shoulder. "Or we can do this," she says when she sees me holding out my hand and snapping a picture of the four of us. I smile when I look down at it and lean down to kiss her but then kiss her forehead instead. "Smooth." She chuckles as we follow the man with our luggage.