"Deep in thought," I say. I stand up and pull him into a hug. When he pulls back, I cup his face and smile. "I love you."
I see a range of emotion on his face. Shock, then happiness, with everything between. He drops his bag on the porch and kisses me. "I love you, too, Nelson."
We stand there until we're both breathless and sweating from the early afternoon heat. I whisper the words to him over andover between kisses. He takes my hand and pulls me inside the house. I know exactly what he has on his mind.
"You'll be happy to know that you passed my class," he says. He's still pulling me through the house, heading straight to the bedroom. "I took a preemptive look at your test. You must have learned something from me because you scored very well."
"I think I scored very well in other areas too," I say. I stop and pull him closer to me. "A plus for partner, I think."
"Stop it." He says it playfully and swats at my chest. "You're going to make me blush."
"Oh, I have many ways I can make you blush." He wiggles out of my grip and turns to head to the bedroom. I follow after him.
I stop short when I walk into the bedroom. The whole room has been decorated. The usual gray blanket is now a deep crimson color, the curtains are pulled shut to block out most of the natural light. There's a lamp on the bedside table that gives off a warm glow. Rose petals are scattered around the room and there are several candles next to the lamp. Not lit, but I see the box of matches.
"What is this?" I ask.
Bennett turns around to face me. "You haven't walked in here yet?"
"No." I shake my head. I try to take it every little detail I can. "Your brother stopped by and then I was waiting for you on the porch."
"Wait, my brother? Why was he here?"
"It's a long story, but a happy ending. I'll tell you later." I walk toward the table and pick up one of the candles. I recognize the brand label as the one Bennett told me about that burns down into an oil for your skin. "When did you do all this? We left together this morning."
"I circled back around," Bennett says easily. "I know how hard you worked this summer and with everything going on at once,I wanted you to come home to something nice. We don't have to use the candles, but they're there just in case."
"No, I definitely want to." I set it down and hold out my arms. "Come here."
Bennett steps into my embrace and I hug him tight. "You're the best. You know that, right?"
"You're the best," I say. I start unbuttoning his shirt as he undoes my belt and jeans. "Now, where's this obligatory lotion I must rub on you?"
Chapter Twenty-Two
IsmilewhenIsee Nelson's truck pull up to the house. I hit play on the playlist I made for tonight. It's a mix of sweet love songs, with a few earworms that I know will get stuck in Nelson's head for days. He complains, but I know he secretly loves me for it. Or maybe I just love hearing him singing to himself while doing mundane things, like showering or cooking.
He won't be cooking tonight, though, because I already have dinner ready. It's staying warm in the oven right now.
I step out onto the porch and smile at my boyfriend. I officially moved out of my apartment two weeks ago. We're living together on the farm right now, but he did get approved for the house we went and saw. We're doing a few small cosmetic things to it before we move in. If all goes well, we'll move in the last weekend of September.
"Honey, I'm home." Nelson holds his arms out and as much as I want to wrap my body around him and kiss him, I refrain. Ieven take a step back and place my palm against his chest. I can see the sweat on him from here.
"I love you, but shower first. I have dinner ready already, so make it quick."
"Are you always going to be this bossy?" He drops his arms, but he's still smiling. I'm glad he seems to have had a good first day on the job.
"I'm being supportive and romantic," I say. "But you're sweaty and it wasn't caused by me. Consider me jealous."
We walk inside and I smile when I see the way Nelson stops and takes a deep breath in. "Oh, that smells amazing. Did you make a roast?"
"I did." I beam behind his bad, glad that he can tell what it is just by the smell. It means I didn't fuck it up. "Now, shower quickly and I'll get the food ready. Do you want a drink?"
"Just tea is fine," he says. He kicks his boots off by the door before moving toward the bathroom. I can't wait to move into our new home. It has a mudroom where he'll be able to keep his work shoes separate from the rest of the house. I hear the shower kick on I sneak into the bedroom after him, hoping he doesn't hear me from the ensuite.
I get on my knees and reach for the box I hid under our bed two days ago. It's a present for him, for completing his first day on the new job. I knew the decision wasn't easy for him. After he explained how my brother, of all people, helped them save the farm, we talked about the future a lot. He was torn between what he's always done and what he could do.
I helped him make a pro and con list for each decision. We talked about what each future could look like. The drives into town if we stayed on the farm. The Sunday drives to the farm if we moved. No matter the decision or the hypothetical futures we laid out, the fact that we were together was always the baseline.When I pointed it out to Nelson, he shrugged and looked at me confused.
