“I know you’re going to kill it.” She kisses my chin. “Now, let’s take a tour. I’m dying to show you what I’ve done while you were gone.”
We start in the kitchen as she shows me how she has it all organized, and we go room to room. There are pictures of us from when we were kids to now all through the house, and it tells our story.
“This room,” she smiles up at me, “I’m not sure about. If there is anything that you don’t like, we can change it.”
“I’m sure it’s perfect,” I say as we stand outside the office that we decided would be mine. “Open the door, Reese. The suspense is killing me.”
“Remember, we can change it if you don’t like it.”
“Baby….” I lean down and kiss her, then pick her up and move her out of the way. As I push open the door, the first thing I notice is the dark mahogany desk that I picked out a few days before leaving for camp. It’s all set up with my laptop and a framed picture of us. I recognize it as my first game at CU.
Next, my eyes land on the framed jerseys on the wall. “How did you get all of these?” I ask. My Pop Warner jersey, my high school jersey, the jersey from CU, and now the Defenders. They’re all framed and sitting proudly on my office walls.
“Your mom. She had the Pop Warner and high school. I found your CU jersey in some of the boxes I was unpacking, and the Defenders jersey is the one they gave you on draft day.
“The curio cabinet, you might not like, but I wanted to be able to display your achievements. There are going to be so many more I wanted it to be a safe place to display them.” She points to the cabinet sitting in the corner.
It’s filled with the trophies of my youth, all the way through college. There are ring holders sitting on the top shelf. One with my three college rings and another sits empty. “What’s up with the empty one?” I ask her.
“Future Bowl ring.”
I walk to where she’s standing just inside the door and press my lips to hers. “It’s perfect, Reese. Thank you for doing all of this.”
“I enjoyed it.” She slides her arms around my waist. “Let’s go see the rest of the house.”
We head to the basement where the theatre room is set up, and the pool table has been delivered. “I didn’t do much down here. I just pointed to where you wanted everything and figured you could make this man cave how you want it.”
“I think we need a poker table,” I tell her, and she nods. “Yeah, I thought you might say that. And you’re going to need to stock the bar.” She indicates to where the new bar and stools sit in the corner by the small kitchenette.
“Now the upstairs,” she says. With my hand in hers, she guides me back up to the main level of the house and then up the stairs. “I used our beds to make two spare bedrooms for now, for when we have guests. The furniture in our room is here, and I love it,” she says excitedly.
We stop at each room so I can see what she’s done, and there are two empties. I wonder how long she wants to be married before we start working on our family? I don’t have a chance to ask her as she leads us into the master bedroom, and I take it all in. The huge king-size four-poster bed we ordered is positioned in the center of the room. The matching dressers and nightstands complete the look. At the foot of the bed is the TV that rises when we’re watching and then slides back into the deep mahogany wood case that it’s housed in when we’re not. We splurged a little on that, but I wanted this room to be perfect.
It’s our sanctuary.
“All of your clothes are in that dresser or hung up in your closet,” she says from where she stands next to me.
I turn to look at her. “I love this, and I love you. You are what makes this place a home, Reese.” My lips touch hers. It’s meant to be brief, but it’s anything but. Within minutes, we’re both stripped of our clothes, and I make love to her for the first time in our new bed. We nap and make love all afternoon, and it’s my new favorite thing to do.
Chapter 22
Reese
It’s game day. The first home game of the regular season. Cooper’s parents and mine are here staying with us. It’s also the first time they are getting to see our house. They all fell in love with it. Cooper and our dads spent some time in the basement playing poker while Mom, Ann, and I sat around catching up.
“I’m glad our parents are coming today,” Cooper says.
We’re lying in bed watching the clock. He has to leave soon for the stadium. We had breakfast with everyone, and as soon as the kitchen was cleaned up, Cooper pulled me upstairs with him. He climbed into bed, and I followed. This is where we’ve been ever since.
“Me too. Although, don’t you think it’s a little rude that we just left them down there?”
“No. They’ve been here for four days, Reese. We’ve spent time with them. I just needed some me and you time before I leave.”
“It’s a home game,” I remind him. “You’ll be coming home to me tonight.”
“I know. I can’t explain it even if I tried.” He sighs heavily. “Last season I was a mess. All I could think about was you, and missing you. This time it’s different. I just need to hold you a little longer. I know you’re going to be there, but I just needed this time with you.”
“I’m not complaining,” I say, pulling him into a kiss. “I did think you dragged me up here for sex. I wasn’t expecting teddy bear Cooper.”
“Teddy bear Cooper?”
“Yeah, you know, when you want to cuddle and be all sweet.”
“As opposed to?”
“Sexy Cooper.”
“Sexy Cooper?” He laughs.
“Yeah, you know, when you get all growly and demanding.”
“You think I’m sexy?”
“You know I do.”
“What about when we’re making love?” he asks, kissing my neck. “What am I then?”
“Mine.” I breathe the words as his teeth nibble at my ear.
“Good answer, baby.”
My eyes glance over at the clock, and I know he has to go or he’s going to be late. “Coop, you need to get going.”
“I know,” he says, resting his forehead against my shoulder. “I’ll see you after?”
“We kind of live together, so it’s a sure thing,” I tease.
“Thank fuck for that.” He rolls out of bed and saunters into the bathroom. Ten minutes later, he appears with his bag in his hand. “Walk me out.”
I nod and follow him downstairs. The sound of our parents talking carries up from the basement. “They sound like they’re having a good time,” I comment.
“They do. I’m glad they’re here.” We walk out into the garage, and he kisses me soundly. “I left something for you. It’s hanging in your closet.”
“Babe, have you seen my closet? That will be like finding a needle in a haystack.”
“Trust me, you’ll find it.” With another quick kiss, he climbs in his truck and pulls out of the garage. I hit the button for the door, and head back inside to find my gift and to get ready.