He shook his head. “He’ll be calling you in the next week to discuss it with you. I’m sorry and I should have told…” His words trailed off when I kissed him. “You…”
There was a knock at the door, and Matt and I scrambled to cover ourselves. “Yes,” I answered, smiling at Matt.
“It’s me, Destiny. Jacob and I are about to go to bed, and I’m just checking to make sure you guys have everything you need tonight,” Destiny asked in a hushed voice.
Matt and I looked at each other mischievously. He smiled, and I answered, “Yes, we have everything. Thank you!”
“Okay, see you guys in the morning. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight Destiny.”
I looked at Matt again. “Thank you, too, for e
verything.” No one had ever done anything to help me like everything Matt had done for me, since I met him. I could find out specifics about my job later. I just wanted him to see that I appreciated him, and I would never take that for granted. “And, I do mean everything,” I whispered as I crawled on top of him for his goodnight greeting.
Chapter Seventeen
Matt
Reliving the Past
“Goodbye sweetheart. You got yourself a kindred spirit in Matt. Take care of him and he will take care of you,” Tasha’s aunt said. That made me smile. She was supposedly whispering, but I could hear her while I sat in the car waiting for Tasha, with the music playing softly. Things went better than I could have hoped for, as our Atlanta trip came to an end.
“Thanks Aunt Clara. I wish we could have spent more time together,” Tasha said after hugging her aunt’s neck.
“Yeah, but those damn Irish tried to keep us over there as immigrants,” she laughed. “I thought I was going to have to nut up if they didn’t let us get on a plane, but John handled everything and got us here in time to see you before you left. You know he’s the saner of the two of us.”
John, who was Jacob’s father, put an arm around Tasha’s aunt and pulled her close to his side. “I wasn’t going to let her miss you,” he said. John reached his free hand into my window and shook my hand. “Nice to meet you, Matthew. The next time I’m in Miami I’ll look you up, so we can play a few holes.”
“That would be great. I’d like that,” I said, smiling.
After everyone had hugged and said their goodbyes, including Montie Jr. and Cody, we headed back to the airport. I enjoyed seeing her so happy and, even as we left, she still held a smile on her face. It was evident that she really was okay leaving Atlanta and heading back with us. I looked over at her and watched as she looked out the window as we hit the highway to get back to our home. Soon, we had endured a quick flight and landed in Miami. I had a great time in Atlanta, but nothing compared to the sight of the “Welcome to Miami” sign hanging over my city.
“It was great meeting your cousin, her husband, and your aunt. I had a really good time.”
“So did I,” Cody said, piping up from the backseat.
Tasha turned and looked at us. “I’m glad you had a good time. I’m glad we all went.” She reached over and grabbed my hand and we held hands all the way back to her place. I would have offered again for her to stay with us, but she told me several times she needed to go to her apartment to tidy it up. When I pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex, I grabbed the nearest spot to her building.
“I’ll walk you upstairs,” I said.
“Okay.” She nodded and turned back to look at Cody. “See you later Cody!”
“Are you coming over for dinner?” Cody asked, an excited look playing in his expressions.
She looked at me, and I tried to portray eagerly that that was exactly what I wanted. I responded in her place. “I’ll certainly try to persuade her to, buddy.” Then, I laughed and got out of my car. I went around and got Tasha’s suitcase, and we walked to her apartment building.
“So…dinner huh?” she asked, laughing slightly.
“You know I would love for you to come over, when you get done here. But I also know that you need time alone sometimes. I don’t want to crowd you,” I said, leaving off the rest of my thoughts of ‘unless you want to be crowded.’
We walked up her stairs to her apartment. When we reached her door, she turned to me. There was a gleam in her eye. “I do have to eat, you know.” She laughed, and I dropped the suitcase and snickered, brushing my hand against her cheek.
“That you do. But another thing I was thinking about,” I started. “You know, it seems kind of silly for you to still be living here. You should come move in with Cody and myself.”
The minute the words left my mouth, I was surprised I said them. I was unequivocally in love with Tasha, but moving in was clearly the next level. Her eyes widened, and her mouth hung open. I playfully touched her chin to close to her mouth.
She laughed. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting that.”