“But now I have to worry about all the things he might have forgotten to do. Like, what if we get to this mysterious destination and he’s like, ‘Oh shit I forgot to book the hotel’?”
Rae snickers and tapes up the box she’s done packing. “This is Xander we’re talking about. He’s not like that.”
“Ugh,” I groan.
“You’re being dramatic,” she tells me. Which is true, I know.
“I just hate it when he springs things on me. I figured we’d spend the next two weeks before he goes off to training camp hanging around our house and getting everything unpacked. Oh, my God.” I sit straight up. “Seriously, what the hell is he thinking? The movers are coming tomorrow after graduation and now he’s telling me we’re leaving then. Oh, no. Boy’s about to give me a heart attack,” I ramble.
I shoot up off her bed and scurry out the door then down the hall.
“Xander!” I burst into our room.
“Jesus Christ, you scared me.” He jumps a foot away from the closed suitcase on the bed.
Prue, our dog, jumps up from her bed in the corner and growls. When she realizes I’m the cause of the intrusion, she sits back down.
“We can’t leave tomorrow—the movers are coming to pick up our stuff and take it to the new house. They’re not going to know what’s ours and where to put everything.” I can feel my anxiety building.
“Relax.” He closes the distance between us and takes my hands in his. “I have it covered.”
“What? How?”
“Jace and Nova are going to make sure everything is put where it’s supposed to. It’ll be fine. You trust me, right?”
I frown. “I do, but you’re pushing your luck at the moment.”
He chuckles and cups my cheeks. “I’ve got this. I’ve thought of everything, believe me.”
I wrinkle my nose, not believing him, but I choose not to say that. “It just feels like bad timing,” I argue.
He smiles, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “It’s the perfect time. We need a break, Thea. We’ve been going non-stop since we got married. This is our last chance, since you’re graduating and don’t have class, I don’t have training yet, and you haven’t started a job.”
“Don’t remind me,” I grumble. I’m not looking forward to job searching.
“If we don’t do this now, then your five-year plan will kick in and we won’t ever be able to do it.” He eyes me, waiting for my response.
“I’m sure I could pencil it in somewhere,” I mumble.
He raises a brow. “That’s cute.”
I fight a smile. “Okay, so maybe it’d be a tight squeeze.”
His hands find my waist, and he pulls me into his body. “We’re going on vacation, and that’s final.” He grins. “You know, you might be the only girl that’d complain about a spontaneous trip.”
I wrap my arms around his neck. “I gotta keep you on your toes,” I joke, and stand on my tiptoes to kiss him. He smiles against my lips and pushes away.
“Now go. Let me finish.”
I sigh. “Okay, okay.” I raise my hands in surrender and leave the room.
I head back down the hall to Rae and Cade’s room.
Rae now stands, pulling the last of their clothes out of the closet to pack.
Tonight is both of our last nights in this house before we move on.
Cade and Rae got an apartment in the city, close to where Jace and Nova live, while Xander and I bought a house in the suburbs. We looked at apartments in the city but they were all so cold and not homey. The house we bought has too much room for us now, but I know we’ll grow into it one day.