Part 26 (1/2)

I thought Ethan had fallen asleep, so he surprised me when he suddenly spoke. ”Move in with me.”

My head jerked to him. ”What did you say?” I asked.

A lazy grin came over his face. He stayed still, but his eyes were looking at me. ”You heard me. Move in with me.”

Emotions flowed through me, from ecstasy to utter fear. So much had happened the past forty-eight hours. Moving in together? That was huge.

He started laughing and turned over, adjusting his pillow. ”Don't look so enthused, Aly,” he said, his eyes gleaming.

I blushed, looking down and twisting my hair around my finger, again. ”It's not that, Ethan. You just caught me completely off guard.”

An understanding look appeared in his eyes and he reached over for me. ”I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. But I mean it, babe. Move in with me.” His eyes hooded over, desire filling them again. I looked at him in awe, a million feelings coursing through my body.

I knew there was no need to hesitate. I wanted this. I climbed onto his lap, pressing my forehead to his, my hands on his cheeks. ”Okay,” I said.

His eyes bulged, understanding hitting him. ”Really?” he shouted, wrapping his arms around my waist.

I nodded, a huge smile on my face. I ran my hands through his hair and leaned over to kiss him. ”Really,” I whispered.

He flipped me over to my back, pure joy on his face as he looked at me. ”I love you so much, Aly,” he told me as he lowered his head to kiss my swollen lips.

I stopped him right as they brushed mine. ”I love you too,” I said, then reached up to finish what he started.

The next day we stayed in bed until it was time to go to my parents for dinner. Luckily Ethan remembered as it had completely disappeared from my mind. While I would much rather have stayed in bed with him the rest of the night, I knew we had to go.

We drove over to my parents, holding hands the entire time. We'd discussed our new plan of moving in together, Ethan's place being the obvious choice. It was bigger and in a security protected building. I would be giving my landlord my notice in the morning.

We reached my parents colonial style home and parked in the circle driveway. Ethan came over to open my door, taking my hand and helping me out. He brushed his lips over mine, then shut the door, leading me to the entrance. We walked in, hand in hand. ”Mom? Dad?” I shouted.

”In here!” we heard my mom shout from the kitchen.

We continued walking in, pa.s.sing the huge living room with my mom's favorite country style furniture adorning the room. We got to the kitchen where we found my mom mixing something in a bowl at the huge island that stood in the middle. She eyed our joined hands and raised a brow, but didn't say anything. Instead she dropped what she was doing and came over to greet us.

After kissing me on the cheek, she took Ethan in a big hug. ”I'm so glad you made it, dear,” she told him.

He hugged her back, then taking my hand again. ”I wouldn't miss it, Mrs. Chase,” he told her.

She patted his cheek. ”None of this Mrs. Chase nonsense. Call me Patty, okay?”

He smiled and nodded.

She went back to what she was doing. ”Dinner is almost ready. Why don't you go find your father and tell him to come along. He is in his study.”

”Okay, Mom. Be right back.”

We found my father watching some golf tournament in his study and said h.e.l.lo. After hugging me tight, he pumped Ethan's hand in a strong handshake. ”It's good to see you again,” my father told him.

We walked downstairs together and I couldn't get over how good this felt, how right. Ethan had always fit in with my parents, but now that we were together it took on a whole different meaning. He looked at me as he spoke with my father and I think he felt it too. I squeezed his hand and felt him squeeze mine back.

Dinner was lovely. Mom made her famous roast and mashed potatoes and the conversation never lacked. Every so often I would feel Ethan squeeze my thigh or my knee and I loved it. Mom would glance between us with a knowing look and I blushed each time.

Once dinner and the cleaning up was done, we retired to the living room with gla.s.ses of port. I'd just taken a sip when Mom finally said something. ”So, you two, are you going to enlighten us on what's going on here?”

I choked a bit on my drink and Ethan started to laugh. I got control over myself and looked at him. He shrugged and whispered, ”It's your mom, babe.”

I stuck my tongue out at him then turned back to my parents. ”Well actually, Ethan and I recently decided to take our relations.h.i.+p to the next level and are now dating.”

My mom sat up straighter and gave a clap. ”Are you really?” she asked, smiling from ear to ear.

I laughed. ”Yes, really.”

She jumped off the couch and ran over to us, hugging Ethan first. He grinned looking at me as she wrapped him in her arms. I laughed at her excitement. I knew she had wanted us to be together since I met him and I knew she was ecstatic at this news.

I looked at Dad and saw the happy and peaceful look on his face. When he caught me looking, he gave me a sweet smile and nodded his head, letting me know he approved. I returned the smile.

Mom pulled me up from the couch and wrapped me in her arms. She kissed my cheek then bent toward my ear. ”You don't know how happy this makes me, darling. I've known you and Ethan were meant for each other since the first time you brought him over to the house.”

I felt the tears br.i.m.m.i.n.g and squeezed her tight. She leaned back, looking at me, and when she saw the tears she dabbed at them with the tissue in her pocket. ”You deserve to be happy, Aly, and you've found it.”

We stayed and chatted a little while longer, also letting them know of our plans to move in together. While I knew they wouldn't love the idea, they didn't tell us they were disappointed either. My parents are more traditional and would have preferred we married first, but they accepted our decision graciously.

We got back to my apartment, and barely made it to the bedroom before we exploded from need. Being with Ethan was spectacular, like nothing I'd known before. He always wors.h.i.+pped me and I knew I'd never tire of it. When we were done, the tears came at the sheer happiness I felt, and I turned my head to look at him.

He saw my tears and wiped one away with his thumb. He left his hand on my face, staring at me intently. ”I hope those are tears of happiness, angel,” he whispered, leaning over to kiss another one from my cheek.

My love for him grew stronger in that moment. ”They are happy tears. I love you so much,” I whispered.

He pulled me into his arms, turning me over so we were spooning and he scooted me back to his chest. ”I love you more, ” he whispered into my ear. We stayed quiet like that, until sleep overcame us both. The last thing I remember thinking before I fell into a deep slumber was that I was the luckiest woman in the world.

The next day Ethan insisted on taking the day off and being with me as I went to work to gather my things. Someone from work had called earlier letting me know that Mr. Pierce would appreciate it if I came in before noon as he'd be out of the office all morning. That bothered me, but I knew I had to accept it. I'd hurt him and he wasn't in any shape to see me. Ethan still insisted on being with me in case he ended up arriving early.

We arrived with a few boxes in hand and got straight to work. I couldn't stop the tears as it hit me that this was really happening. I'd spent the last three years of my life dedicating myself to Pierce Homes and its projects and now it was over. I wasn't sure if I'd make it through the day, knowing I'd never be back here again.

Ethan stopped me from what I was doing a few times and just held me. He knew how important my job had been to me and knew this would shatter me. I let him hold me as I bawled, releasing all of the pain and sorrow I felt. Once the tears from this round dried up, we finished getting all of my things and I took one last look around.

Paul's office door was shut and while I had no desire to see it one last time, I couldn't help but go over to it and brush my hand along the door. I had so many memories in there, some good, some bad. I knew I would always hold a special place in my heart for Paul, but it was time to let him go.

I felt a steely resolve build in my system and I turned around, ready to leave. Ethan picked up a box and asked, ”Are you ready, babe?” I looked around one last time, then nodded. Picking up the other box, I said, ”Yes, let's get out of here.”

We walked out and some people gave me strange looks, obviously wondering what I was doing. I didn't tell anyone I was leaving for good, I couldn't deal with the attention it would bring.

Ethan took me back home and helped me go through everything in the boxes. I kept a few things I knew I'd want to remember, but most of it was junked or recycled. The tears flowed as I gave one last toss of the things I wasn't keeping, and I turned and fell into Ethan's arms.

”Shh, it's okay. You did the right thing,” he told me as he rubbed my hair down my back. I nodded into his chest, acknowledging that I agreed. I was mourning the loss of my job with Pierce Homes, but I knew I'd be okay. Ethan and I were starting new adventures together and I was ready. In fact, I couldn't wait.