“Planning on it. You two planning on doing anything with the rest of your offseason?”
Graham scoffs. “Other than moving in? No.”
“Hey. We have some plans.”
“Like?” Graham sips his beer.
A devious smile crosses my face. One that is a promise of things to come.
“Things I can’t say in mixed company.”
The doorbell rings, signifying the pizza we ordered is here.
“I’ll get that. I don’t want to hear about your sex life.” Nick runs out of the kitchen to the front door.
“Soooo…what I’m hearing is if we start talking about sex, we’ll scare everyone out?” Graham asks, rubbing his hand up and down my back. “Think it’ll work?”
“Fat chance, boys.” Uncle Alex walks into the kitchen with half the pizza boxes while Uncle Carter is behind him. “There is no scaring us off.”
“Damn,” I mutter under my breath. “Then everyone better hurry up and eat.”
“Is that any way to talk to the people who moved you into your house?” Dad claps me on the shoulder.
“If it gets you out of here faster, yes.”
Troy pops open the lid of one of the boxes and grabs a slice. “I’m only in town a few days, and you’re trying to get rid of me? Rude.”
“I don’t feel bad at all,” Graham fires back.
“Well, we’re not even close to being done,” Frankie tells us, worming her way between Graham and me. “We have to make this house a home.”
“It is, Mom,” Graham tells her, groaning.
It’s a feeling I know well. Of mothers smothering us.
We might have a long way to go in settling in, but the fact that this is our own place—together—means everything.
We’re not just roommates anymore. We’re partners. In hockey. In life. In everything.
I never thought that this is where the two of us would end up.
It’s the only place I want to be.
“Oh no. These walls are too white,” Mom reiterates. “We need to get some paint up here. Maybe some pictures.”
“I agree. Maybe gray? Or a navy? We’ll have to see what the light looks like in the afternoon.”
“While you’re planning, maybe put a big ol’ picture of me up in the living room. It’d look great.” Uncle Colin throws an arm around both of our shoulders, sandwiching Frankie in between us.
“Great idea,” Knox tells him. “We can use it as a dartboard.”
“Stop it, you two,” Frankie tells him as Knox flips Colin off.
Dad rolls his eyes at him as he comes into the kitchen. “The house looks good as it is in case they don’t get to it, Ten.”
“I’m just saying it could use a little love.” She ignores Dad as he presses a kiss to her head.
“We’ll be fine, Mom.”
