Page 86 of Catch Me (Becoming Us #4)

Roman

“Merry Christmas!” Mom announced as she carried a stack of presents over to the couch.

Travis got to his feet and took some of them from her. She smiled at him, and it made me feel warm in a way that had become familiar in the two months we’d been together. There was something about him that made it impossible for anyone to dislike him, except for people like Anthony and my dad.

I pushed the thought of him away. I sent him a text this morning to wish him a happy holiday.

He texted back, just something reciprocal.

It was like he still acknowledged that I existed, but that was the extent of it.

I didn’t think it would ever be more than that, which I would come to terms with someday.

Allegedly. My mom, the Holloways, my friends, and Travis were my family, and they accepted me, even when I was a dick, which still happened often enough.

Ross, Noah, and Theo were talking to each other off to the side. They were all very different people, but they got along really well. Brooks’ dad was surprisingly nice and down to Earth. A far cry from his batshit crazy son .

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Travis said as my mom passed a gift to him.

“You’re part of the family,” she replied.

He smiled and looked down at the box as if trying to hide it. Travis didn’t look timid often, but there was a different kind of softness that he displayed around my mom. I didn’t want to point it out, but I wondered if it had to do with his own mom.

He unwrapped the gift, then his eyes widened. “Oh my god. This is beautiful. Tessa, come look at this.”

She bounded over, followed by Cocoa, Ross’ mastiff. They sniffed the wood sign and wagged their tails.

It had a golden retriever carved into it alongside ‘McKinney.’ Underneath, it had Travis and Tessa’s names. The mahogany wood was beautiful, and I was surprised that it wasn’t lacquered.

“There’s space for another name,” she said conspiratorially. “In case you ever need it.”

Travis glanced at me. His amber eyes were bright, and it was obvious that he liked the idea. I understood why the sign seemed unfinished now.

“Moving on.” I got to my feet and grabbed a large, flat square that was leaning against the wall. “Mom and Ross. You have to do this one together.”

“It’s huge!” Alex shouted.

Til’s eyes widened. “What the fuck is that?”

“He stole the Declaration of Independence,” Brooks muttered.

When I brought one over to him, he just stared at it for a moment. Til jumped in to take it from me, looking a lot like his brother with the excitement in his eyes.

I sat and put an arm around Travis’ shoulders while I watched them open it. He turned and kissed my neck, then bit down on my earlobe with a playful laugh.

“Are you serious?” Brooks asked. Instead of his usual flippant attitude directed at me, he looked genuinely shocked.

Til covered his mouth with one hand while he stared at the image of them on their balcony.

They were kissing like in the picture I’d seen on Instagram a year ago.

It was five square feet and had taken me months to complete, along with my mom’s portrait.

That one was from a picture I’d taken of her and Ross on their deck a coup le of years ago.

She’d looked so happy that, for a moment, I hadn’t felt angry or lost.

“Roman,” she crooned. “This is beautiful.”

“I would’ve done the whole family, but I didn’t have time for that.”

“This is perfect,” Ross said. “Thank you.”

I tensed when Til jumped to his feet. I stood and he hugged me, which was awkward, but I wrapped my arms around him in return.

“I never thought I’d say this, but you’re pretty amazing and anyone who doesn’t think so is a dumb bitch.”

“Tilian,” his dad scolded.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not apologizing for that one.”

When I sat down, Brooks leaned across Travis and held out his fist, so I bumped it. “Thank you. Really. Maybe I don’t loathe your existence today.”

Travis elbowed him in the side, making him swear. I failed to hold back a smile as I relaxed into the couch and watched more presents get passed around.

Home was the thing I’d never found except in Travis’ eyes. Now, I felt it here too, and it hit me with an unexpected force that threatened to take my breath away.

*****

11 months later

“Can we fucking eat yet?” West asked. He put a hand over his stomach as if he was starving. I’d seen him grazing—more like Kirby inhaling—all afternoon and couldn’t understand how he was hungry at all.

Kai set the turkey on the island. His house was what I would call quaint, and it fit them so well that they looked perfect just being in it. They still hadn’t decided if they would stay in Seattle after he graduated, but they had a few years to figure it out.

“Happy Friendsgiving,” he announced.

“Finally,” Sen added. “We were supposed to do this the last two years.”

“Well, we were all too busy in 2025, and last year, Roman had dad trauma.”

“Hear, hear,” I said with a snarky smile. Things hadn’t improved much on the dad front, and we still only sent each other a single messag e on holidays, but I’d come to terms with our relationship at this point. I had so many others that filled my life with everything I needed.

“Who’s carving this?” Kai asked, looking around the room. He frowned when it was silent.

“I don’t know how,” I admitted. Everyone voiced similar sentiments.

“Well, I don’t know what to do now.”

West grabbed onto a leg, which must’ve been extremely hot, and twisted it. There was a crack before he pulled the whole thing away with a grin. He grabbed a second plate to load up with sides.

Linc burst into laughter and dropped his face into one hand. “It works, I guess.”

Brooks wrinkled his nose. “Are we just gonna gnaw the meat off the bones like animals?”

Til leapt on his back. “Get your hands dirty, baby. It’s Thanksgiving. You think they had clean fingers back in pilgrim times?”

“No, their hands were stained with blood.”

“Hey, keep the history lessons to yourself. We all know it.”

I watched everyone butcher the bird as they worked on getting meat on their plates. It was more entertaining than it should’ve been. They were like a flock of vultures picking at a carcass.

Travis appeared at my side and kissed my cheek.

“Hey,” I said.

He grinned. “Hey back.”

It still made me smile every time he said that. There was a conspiratorial look in his eyes that made me nervous and excited. He took my hand and dragged me out of the kitchen, then through the front door.

“What are we doing?” I asked.

“Patience, baby.”

“I don’t have that.”

“Oh, I’m very aware.”

When he opened the back door to his Jeep, I narrowed my eyes at him. How could I say no, though? Whatever was on his mind, I’d probably be into it. We were just in sync that way, no matter what weird shit he cooked up in his head .

Since the windows were tinted, I didn’t freak out too much when he pulled off his shirt. I immediately scooted backward and pressed my lips to his chest. When I pulled away, his lips were parted, so I licked the lower one, then clutched the back of his neck as I stroked his tongue.

A deep, throaty sound escaped him, making my body feel warm. He didn’t even unbutton my pants before he yanked them down.

“What’s the occasion?”

He kissed my thigh, then brushed his lips over my shaft. “It’s celebratory.”

“Feel free to share with the class.”

“No class. Just you.” I frowned and he smirked up at me. “I want to be inside of you first.”

“Well, now this sounds like something I wouldn’t agree to unless you’re fucking me.”

“You’d agree loudly and boisterously.”

“Boisterously,” I laughed. “If you say so.”

He grabbed a bottle of lube that was stashed in the console. I laid back and let him open me up with his fingers. He was quick about it, and I had no complaints. There was never a time when I didn’t want to feel him inside of me.

I watched him apply lube to his dick before he stroked himself.

Everything he did was too damn hot, especially when he kept that playful expression on his face combined with animalistic hunger.

He hated hookups and had gone a couple years without sex before me, but I’d learned that Travis had a hell of a sex drive.

He called it ‘chasing the dopamine.’ I just said he was fucking perfect and always up for a good time.

“Fuck,” I gasped when he thrust inside of me. “Warn a guy.”

“You were distracted. I fixed that.”

Leaning over me, he pulled his hips back slowly, then readjusted on the seat. We were too big for this, but after he put one of his feet on the floor, he figured out an angle that worked.

He slammed into me hard, reaching so deep that I saw stars for a second.

With the pace and the force of his movements, the Jeep rocked back and forth.

I dug my fingers into his back, holding him close enough that his torso rubbed against my dick and drew breathy sounds from me that were quickly turning into moans.

“Fuck, Roman. I want to spend every Thanksgiving like this. ”

“Working . . . up an appetite.”

He dropped his face into my neck and laughed. When he pressed his lips to my skin, I tilted my head back. He moved lower and circled his tongue around my nipple. I gripped his hair, holding on for dear fucking life as he continued like that and thrust into me harder.

“Oh, god,” I groaned.

“Roman.” I met his eyes expectantly. “I love you.”

I smiled. “I love you.”

“It’s been a year.”

“Mm.”

The way this fucker could have a conversation while in the middle of sex always astounded me. And annoyed me.

He slowed, focusing his movements in a way that sent ripples of pleasure through my body. It felt like I was underwater, desperate to take a full breath, but he was keeping me right on the verge of it.

“I’m tired of going back and forth,” he said. “We’re usually both at my place or yours anyway.”

“Mhm.”

“I want to live together.”

I tried to slow my racing heart and catch my breath. “Okay, I...” My eyes closed and my abdominal muscles tightened. “Fuck, uh...I have to figure things out with some clients here.”

He kissed me firmly and reached between us to touch my dick.

I gasped at the sensation, unable to hold on for a second longer.

His teeth tugged on my lower lip as my thighs squeezed his hips.

His groan vibrated against my mouth, and his fingers dug into my leg.

By the time he broke away from the kiss, we were both gasping for breath and I was a little dazed.

“Keep your apartment here,” he said. “But just for when you need to be in the city.”

Immediately, I nodded. “Yes. Okay.”

“After next season, I’ll be a free agent. Maybe we can get out of Georgia.”

“You’d want to do that?”

“Fuck Georgia. Yes, I want to get out of there.”

“You’re gonna make an assload of money when another team signs you, huh? ”

“I’m already making an assload of money, but yeah, I will. That’s why I just spent so much on this.”

He opened the console again and pulled out a small black box. My eyes widened as he rose up on his knees, then opened it.

“I was gonna plan something super romantic,” he said. “My dad carried my mom’s around for months, but—” He shrugged. “I couldn’t keep looking at you all day and not ask you to marry me.”

“Jesus, Travis.” I sat up and touched the white gold band. “When did you get this?”

“Yesterday.”

Dropping my forehead to his shoulder, I laughed. “Yesterday? You really were impatient.”

“Yeah, well, I was ready to commit myself to you after you stayed in my house for three weeks, and when you showed up for the World Series, it only took me a week to jump on board all over again. What’d you expect?”

“You did warn me that you got attached quickly.”

“When there’s a connection,” he added. “I’ve never felt anything close to what I do with you, so I never stood a chance. Are you going to give me an answer?”

“You didn’t really ask.”

He made a frustrated sound before he kissed me. “Roman Asher Valdez, you’re a pain in my fucking ass and you always have been, but I don’t want it any other way. My life isn’t complete without you, and Tessa wants you as her stepdad. She told me so herself.”

I smirked. “Did she?”

“Goddamnit, will you marry me?”

“Yes. Will you marry me back?”

As he put the ring on my finger, he chuckled. “Always. Every day. Forever.”

“Forever,” I repeated. “That’s a promise.”