My brothers finally got the clue and left shortly after we ate. Thank fuck, I love them, but those cock blockers had to go.
The sun is slowly setting, the temperature is starting to get cooler, so I light up the fire pit while Summer changes out of her bathing suit.
When she gets back down here, I’ll go do the same thing, and grab the ingredients we’ll need for s’mores. I warned Summer our food would be burnt leaving the grill manned by Heath and Mason. It wasn’t a lie, the chicken was so charred you couldn’t cut a knife through it, and the shrimp was more like rubber. We all ate the sides that weren’t burnt, the whole time Summer was blushing.
Heath and Mason just shook their heads. Those two will go downtown tonight, I don’t feel bad at all. They should have paid attention to Mom when she was teaching us how to cook, instead they were glued to a video game.
Summer comes down while I’m getting everything we need. I have my hands full of graham crackers, chocolate bars, marshmallows, and roasting sticks.
She looks completely at home in here. Something, I’d love to see for the rest of my days on this earth.
“Hey, want me to bring those outside so you can change?” Summer questions. She’s wearing this sleep set thing. It leaves a lot to the imagination but after seeing her today, I know what she has hiding underneath.
“Sure,” I croak out, trying to get my wayward thoughts under control.
“Okay, I’ll be outside,” she responds, and I kiss her before making my way upstairs.
I walk into the master bedroom and laugh, her clothes are piled up in the chair in the corner, as if she’s trying to contain her mess. Yet, it spills over.
With that thought in mind, I head into the bathroom to rinse off the pool water of my body. I stop when I see her toothbrush beside mine, the hair ties she left abandoned on the counter.
It only shows how she’s meant to be here now and forever.
20
Summer
“This is the perfect way to bring in the new year,” I tell Rome as we make s’mores and watch the fireworks light up the sky.
“Any day with you is perfect,” he replies. It melts my heart and solidifies what I’ve been thinking myself.
It’s really going to suck when we both have to go back to work, him working sixty plus hours and me traveling the globe. I can only hope we both fight for this new relationship we’re working towards.
We’re sitting on a small bench he has outside, there’s cushions so it’s nice and comfortable. After I make my last s’more, completely and utterly full of the sugar we just devoured, I lean back into his side. Rome’s arm wraps around me and I nuzzle into his neck, breathing in his scent that is uniquely his.
“I’m really not looking forward to going back to work this week,” I state.
“Where’s your next job at?” Rome asks.
“I’m going to Boston, cold and snowing I’m sure. It shouldn’t be a long shoot, it’s the traveling and waiting game I have to deal with.”
“That will be hard, who’s taking you to the airport?”
“Probably an Uber or I’ll park my car at the airport. It’s what I usually do,” I hate paying all the extra money out, but I was never going to ask my parents to take and pick me up.
“Depending on the time, I can take you and pick you up. Knowing my brother’s, if I’m not around for some reason they’ll pick you up too,” Rome admits.
“Are you sure? The airport isn’t a hop, skip, and a jump.”
“I want to, we’ll look at your itinerary and see if it lines up with what I have going on.” He responds.
“Thank you, Rome. Thank you so much. Really, it means so much to me that you would even offer,” my nose glides along his and we stay in the moment until the fireworks are long over.
“Nothing to thank me for, it’s something I want to do. I hated that black-tie event, but if it brought me you, I’d do it all over again.” I can’t compete with the words he just said, all I do is nod my head and try to suck back the tears that are threatening to fall.
I stand up, once I gain a semblance of control and reach out for Rome’s hand. A small smile is playing on my face, I can see the want he has in his eyes.
Rome stands up and I ask, “Ready for bed?”
“Yeah, baby. I am, let me close down the fire pit and lock up. Can you take the leftover food and roasting sticks in?”
“Sure will,” I pick everything up and hustle into the house. I’ll do the dishes tomorrow morning before I have to head home to pack and leave out the following day.