It’s Friday afternoon and the bell just rang announcing the end of the school day. It’s also the beginning of the three-day holiday weekend.
Dylan has plans for us. He’s reminded me often over the last three weeks, not giving any hints. Well, I guess there is one hint—it’s just going to be the two of us. When you think about it, that’s not much of a hint, considering he told me that was his goal when we talked about it that first night.
“Hey, girl, you excited for this weekend?” Harley asks, stepping into my classroom.
“I am. I wish I knew what we were doing, but I’m excited to just spend some time with him.”
“You’re going to love it.” She beams.
“He told you?”
She shrugs. “He told, Brad. That’s telling me by association.
I laugh at her explanation. “I’ll have to remember that in the future.”
“While you’re having this romantic getaway, I’ll be painting.” She says it likes it’s going to be a pain in her ass, but the smile on her face tells me otherwise.
“You love it and you know it. When are you guys going to start moving in?”
“Hopefully after this. The closing took forever, and then they requested an extra thirty days to move. I didn’t think we would ever get the keys.”
“I’m excited for you. As soon as we get back, any help you need, just let me know.”
“I will, thank you. This could be you, you know?”
“What? Staying home to paint your house?” I know what she means, but I like getting her worked up.
“Avery,” she scolds me. “Dylan bought you your dream house and you have yet to step foot in it.”
“I know.” I sit down in my chair and sigh. “I just can’t go in there and see the future I’ve always planned with him and then not get it. That would break me.”
“Have you been sleepwalking through the past couple of months?” She’s completely serious.
“No.”
“Then you’re an idiot. I love you, Aves, you know I do, but come on. He loves you. Dylan has never given up on you or his feelings for you. You know he’s not going anywhere, unless you plan on leaving him?”
“No,” I say firmly. “I love him. I admit that, at first, I was afraid it was all too good to be true and I wanted to wait and see how things went. Now it just feels like I should wait until we make things official, you know? Wait until we’ve made the decision to move in together.”
“Are you mad that he bought it?”
“Not at all. I’ve always loved that house and he knew it. It’s still hard for me to process it and believe it’s real, Harls. Everything I ever wanted, or talked about wanting, he’s making it happen. Every day he reminds me of something that we said or did back then, and I fall in love with him all over again.”
“Have you told him?”
“Not yet. I’m going to do that this weekend.”
“How have you held out for,” she lowers her voice, “sex this long?”
I laugh. “It’s been a struggle, for sure, but I’m also glad we waited, that we worked on us before adding in sex.”
“So, this weekend?” She wags her eyebrows.
“God, I hope so,” I admit.
She throws her head back and laughs. “Have fun, and be safe. I need to get going. I’m hoping we can knock out these couple of rooms we have to paint and then maybe move our bed and some clothes in so we can start staying there.”
“You should go pick up an air mattress and surprise him. Have a little sleepover.”
“I knew there was a reason I liked to keep you around.”
“Good luck,” I say, standing to give her a hug.
“You too.” She waves over her shoulder.
I finish packing my bag after she leaves. I have a few tests to grade that will have to wait until Monday night. I’ll have to make sure we’re back in time; no way am I taking them with us wherever it is we’re going.
“Ms. Stanton,” I hear from my doorway. Looking up, I see Cody, one of my students and a player on the football team.
“Hi, Cody, what can I do for you?”
He pulls his hands from behind his back and hands me a single red rose. The other hand is holding an envelope. “Delivery from Coach.” He grins.
“Thank you, Cody.” I take them from him, sniffing the rose. “Where is he?”
He shrugs. “Don’t know, he just told me to make sure you got these right after the last bell rang.”
I just shake my head. “Well thank you. Enjoy your long weekend.”
“Yep,” he says before turning and walking away.
Carefully, I open the envelope.
I can’t seem to help smiling when it comes to Dylan. He makes my heart happy. I think it’s time I tell him. I grab my things and head home. I’m already packed for the weekend, so after a quick shower to wash away the day, I’ll be ready to go. I might have an ulterior motive to shave every inch of skin. I need to be ready for him.
I’m sitting on the front porch like a teenager, just waiting on Dylan to show up. I’m the only one home, and I was going crazy watching through the window, so I brought my Kindle out to the porch swing. When a new white SUV pulls into the drive, I stand to greet whoever it is and tell them Mom and Dad aren’t home. I stop in my tracks when I see Dylan climb out of the driver side.
“Dylan?” I say, surprised. “Did you rent a car for the trip?”
“Hey, baby.” He snakes an arm around my waist, pulling me into him. “You ready?” he asks, pressing a kiss to my lips.
“Yes.”
“I like that word from your lips.” He kisses me again before releasing me and grabbing my bag. “Is this all you have?”
“Yes.”
He grins. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“You going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Nope. Not yet. You’ll know when we get there.” He loads my bag in the back before opening my door for me. Leaning in, he steals another kiss before shutting my door.
“I love this car,” I say as soon as he climbs in the passenger seat. “How long is this road trip?”
“Couple of hours.”
I mess with the radio and find a country station, putting it on low. “How was your day?”
“Long as hell. All I could think about was getting to you to start our weekend together.”
“Thank you for the rose, and the note.” It hits me. “I guess you really did show up in white,” I laugh at his description of the rental car.
“What’s this button?” I ask as Dylan stops at the light in the center of town. I push it and the bumper of the car in front of us pops up on the screen. “No way, how cool is that?” That little discovery spurs me on push all the buttons and mess with all the gadgets. “We could’ve taken my car, saved the money on the rental, but this is pretty sweet. This is my dream car.”
“About that,” Dylan says.
“Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound good.”
“This isn’t a rental.”
I let his words sink in. “You bought this?”
“I did.”
“Dylan, that’s awesome. It was time for you to have a new vehicle. Although, I see you as more of a truck guy, not the SUV type.”
“I am,” he agrees.
“Then why did you buy a Tahoe? I mean, yeah, it’s a truck, kind of, but you should’ve bought an actual truck.”
“I’m going to. I actually found one that I like when I was there buying this one.”
“Why do you need two vehicles? New ones, at that?”
“I don’t. I bought this one for you.”
“What? Dylan, that’s crazy. You can’t buy me a new car.”
“Too late.” He glances over at me and grins.
“I don’t even know what to say right now.”
“Say ‘thank you, Dylan.’”
“Dylan, I can’t accept this.”
“Sure you can. I wanted you to have it. Besides, our last road trip, we took Brad’s mom’s and you said you wanted one, remember?”
“I do. Just because I said I wanted one years ago doesn’t mean you go and buy me one. Who does that?”
“The man who loves you. I want you to have everything you’ve ever wanted, Avery. You’re just going to have to accept that.”
My mind is racing with this new discovery. He bought me a new fucking car! I remember every detail of that trip; it was where we had sex for the first time. Then it hits me. Turning in my seat as much as my seat belt allows, I look at him. “I know where we’re going.”
“You think so?”
“The cabin.”
“That place holds good memories for us.”
“I love you,” I say with conviction. Not the most romantic place but it’s the truth. “Not because of—what are you doing?” I ask as he signals and pulls off onto the side of the road. Once the car is in Park, he turns on the flashers, takes off his seat belt, and leans over the console.
His strong hands cup my face. “Say it again.” His eyes are dark as they bore into mine.
“I love you.”
He crashes his lips to mine, sucking on the bottom one. “Again,” he says between kisses.
“I love you.”
He kisses me hard before pulling away and resting his forehead against mine. “Avery.” His voice cracks with emotion. “I wish…” He swallows hard. “I wish I could find the words to tell you how much I love you. I can’t breathe without you.”
“You just did,” I say softly.
He kisses me again before sitting back in his seat. I don’t take my eyes off him as he closes his eyes and slowly exhales. “I wasn’t sure. I mean, I knew you cared about me, but I wasn’t sure I would ever hear those three words pass your lips when it comes to me.”
That’s when I take off my seat belt and mimic his earlier actions. I take it a step further and do what his big body isn’t capable of, climbing over the console and straddling his lap as I cup his face. His eyes are locked on mine. “I love you.” His big hands grip my hips. “I’ve always loved you, Dylan. You were my first and only love. I don’t ever want that to change.”
“Not as long as I’m breathing.” Bringing my lips to his, I kiss him, slowly, only to be interrupted by the honking horn of a passing car. “We definitely need to get these front two windows tinted.” He laughs.
“Agreed.” Awkwardly I climb over the console and back into my seat. Dylan waits for me to get buckled back in before he pulls back on the highway. The rest of the drive is quiet, but comfortably so. I think we’re both lost in our thoughts and feelings and the question of what it all means.