“Thanks, we make it work, and I know that he loves the work, so it makes it all worth it at the end of the day.”
We both turn toward the kitchen after the laughter that spills from it. I love knowing that my brother and Lucas as getting along so well together.
“Did you have a good time with Zach?” Lucas asks as we lay in bed together.
“Yeah, it was a great week. I can’t believe they’re already gone,” I tell him, a little sad that our time together is already over.
“He was a cool dude. We got along great,” he says.
“Yeah, he told me a few times that he approved of you, so you must have made a good impression on him.”
“Damn straight I did. I know what it’s like being the brother. I was protective of Tiffany just the way Zach is protective of you.”
“I just hope when they get back stateside it is somewhere close by so we can see each other more.”
“Why don’t you plan a trip to go see them? Could you go when we’re at training camp?” he asks.
“Maybe. I usually go for parts of it, or am available to fly out if I’m needed there.”
“I’m sure Carly could handle things for a week for you, she seems pretty capable.”
“She’s great and she’s going to go far in her career. I’m lucky to have her on my team,” I tell him as I snuggle in a little closer.
“Are you coming to the inspection tomorrow?” Lucas asks. The sellers accepted our offer on the house within hours and things have moved forward quickly.
“Do I need to be there?” I ask. “I hadn’t really thought about it, to be honest with you. With everyone here, I was more focused on spending time with them.”
“Only if you want to. I figured I’ll go so that if the inspector finds anything, I can have him show me so that I can make sure it gets taken care of.”
“That’s probably a good idea.”
“Are you going to start packing up your place?” he asks.
“I guess I should start doing that, huh.” I laugh. “We’re going to have such mix matched things, at first.” I laugh, thinking over what I have and what Lucas has at his place.
“Instead of moving all our furniture in and then possibly back out, why don’t we just both sell off our things and go buy new stuff that we pick out together. Doesn’t that sound like a better idea?”
“It does, we just hadn’t talked about that yet and I wasn’t sure how much more money you wanted to drop right now, seeing as how you wouldn’t let me help with the purchase price.”
“Babe, we’re good. I’ve got enough money in the bank to cover it. My signing bonus was more than enough, and we can fill it up with lots of furniture and we’ll still be good. Quit worrying about money. Before long, you’re going to have to get used to the zeros in my bank account.”
“I still feel weird that you’re paying for everything,” I tell him.
“I’m paying for everything because I want to, and I hope that, sooner or later, it won’t be considered my money or your money, but ours. Isn’t that what we’re working towards here?” he asks, cupping my cheek and placing a soft kiss at the corner of my mouth.
“Yeah, it just still wigs me out sometimes.”
“I can accept that, as long as you quit worrying about it.”
“I’ll try,” I assure him.
Epilogue
Lucas
8 months later
It has been about seven months since we closed on our house and moved in together. Life has been crazy during those months. Tiffany and Brad had a little girl a few weeks ago. Another full season has flown by, this time, we made it to the World Series and won! I still can’t get over the euphoric feeling of hoisting that trophy up. A dream come true.
“Hey, Red,” I greet Carmen as I walk into her office. She’s still the sexiest woman, and the way she leads a press conference or meeting with her employees makes me love her even more. She’s not afraid to take control of the situation and turn it to work the way she wants it to.
“Mr. Black, what can I do for you?” she asks, biting that fucking bottom lip on purpose because she knows what it does to me.
“I’ve come to pick my girlfriend up; I’m whisking her away on a tropical vacation and she told me to be here by eleven,” I tell her.
“Well, well. Sounds like she’s a lucky lady.” She plays along, coming around her desk and standing a foot or so away from me. I close the distance, then tug her until there isn’t any space between our bodies. I tilt her head up, then drop mine to capture her lips.
“Let’s go, I’ve got plans for you,” I whisper against her lips.
“I like the sound of that, but it better not be anything that hits the headlines,” she says, and I’m sure she’s thinking back to this time last year when we went on vacation and our pictures were posted everywhere, thus taking our relationship public.
“I’ll attempt to be on my best behavior.”
“I’ve heard that before.” She rolls her eyes at me before stepping away to grab her things. I smack her ass as she walks away, and get a death glare over her shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Red. I’ll be slapping that ass later tonight.” I smirk as her cheeks pinken.
“Don’t be so crass,” she whisper hisses, looking around to make sure no one is within earshot.
“Get your ass moving and we won’t have to wait until tonight,” I tell her and mentally calculate how much time until we need to be at the airport.
Unlike last year when we booked a last-minute vacation down in the Caribbean, this year, I planned a special getaway to one of the places Carmen has told me all about as her most desired vacation spot. This year, we’re going to the Maldives. We have one of those bungalows that is out over the water. We can jump right into the crystal-clear water from the deck and swim all around.
“I still can’t believe that we’re going to the Maldives!” Carmen says once we’re both settled into our first-class seats on our first flight. With time zones included, it will take us over thirty hours to arrive, so insisting on the first-class seats was necessary. This first flight isn’t horrible, as it is just to Philadelphia, but our flight after that is over twelve hours in the air. We need comfort for that one.
We finally make it to our destination, and I can see why Carmen has had this place at the top of her bucket list. It is like nowhere else I’ve ever been. The water is so clear, you can see the sand like it is above the water.
We’re shown to our bungalow, the amenities pointed out, as well as told who to call if we need anything. The resort has concierges on call twenty-four hours a day to aide us with anything we might need.
“Can we get something light to eat?” I ask before the attendant leaves.
“Of course, anything in particular?”
“What do you have that is fast? I think we’re hungry and tired,” I tell her honestly.
“We can do a charcuterie board with an arrangement of meats, cheeses, and crackers.”