Page 29

“Is that it?” Britt asked, looking at the four boxes sitting in the living room of my apartment with Tanner and Jackson. Her brows were furrowed, and her tone sounded almost disappointed. How much stuff did she expect me to have in my room?

“Yup.”

“Wow. Okay.”

“Is there a problem?”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “Why did we rent a U-Haul to pick up four boxes?”

“We didn’t. We have all your stuff too,” I reminded her, stepping toward my wife and placing my hands on her hips.

With her hair in a bun, she was wearing my old high school T-shirt, and the combination was turning me on. I leaned in to kiss her, but she backed away until her back hit the kitchen counter.

“Is there something wrong, Mrs. Mathieson?” I placed my hands on either side of her, encasing her against the counter as I rocked my hips into hers. Even though she tried to hide it, a smile quirked on her lips at the mere mention of her new last name. The one she officially changed it to. The paperwork had been sent and I hadn’t stopped saying it since. I knew she liked hearing it almost as much as I liked saying it.

“You know I love hearing that, but you can’t just throw my name around like that, you know?”

“Why not? I was with you when you signed those papers in the courthouse. You’re officially a Mathieson now.” Grabbing her hips, I lifted her up and she squealed when I sat her on the cool marble.

“Technically, but we still haven’t told my brothers, and I’m worried about their reaction.” I opened her legs, stepping between them, and kissed her on the lips. Her hands cupped my cheeks as I backed away, seemingly wanting more. Something I’d never deny my wife.

Although Britt’s mom practically screamed down the phone when she heard the news, she didn’t think her brothers would be as excited, and she knew them best. Since I planned on being with her for the rest of my life, we needed to make sure her family became mine too.

Due to her brothers’ extensive schedules, we’d arranged a dinner with them in a couple of weeks, and we were going to see how things went. I couldn’t deny I was a little nervous about it. If Bryce and Max were anything like Sam, I had a feeling I’d be on their shit list for a few years, but I could handle that. Britt was worth it, after all.

“One phone call would change that. I’m happy to do it right now and admit everything if it means I can fuck you senseless on this countertop.” I grinned, nipping her earlobe.

She gasped, turning her head while she whacked me on the chest. “Stop it.”

I kissed her on the cheek, then placed my lips against her neck, breathing in her scent. My hands were still resting on her thighs as I gently caressed them, making my way up to the only place I wanted to be.

Britt grabbed my hands, pushing them down to my knees. “We can’t do that here. On the kitchen counter.” She looked around as though there were other people in the room.

I licked my way up to her earlobe, giving it a little nibble as I smiled into her skin. “Why not? It’s just a light snack. Besides, you’re the only thing I’m ever hungry for.”

She closed her eyes, tilting her head back, which gave me a little more room to play with. See, she wanted it as much as me.

Britt moaned, arching her back in a way that suggested if I kept going, she might actually let me have my wicked way with her.

When I heard the door open, I kissed down her neck, surprised she didn’t push me away. She would soon, though. Once she realized people were walking in, but I figured I might as well work her up as that would benefit me when we got home later.

Home. It still felt crazy to be calling it that, but that was what it was now. Our home. Britt’s clothes would be in the closet soon, and her bed would be ours. Everything would be shared between us, and that thought alone made me the happiest person on earth.

I heard the heavy footsteps and knew immediately who it was. “Gah. Seriously? In our kitchen? Tanner, don’t come in here. Your virgin eyes won’t be able to handle the sight,” Jackson said as he entered the room.

“I’m not a virgin,” Tanner grumbled.

“You sure? Because you acted like one in the game last week. You didn’t pass the ball to me once.”

“Kind of hard to throw to you when you’re on the defensive line.”

I pulled away from Britt quickly enough to see Tanner whack Jackson upside the head and nearly knock his baseball cap off. I was so happy in my new life with Britt, but I couldn’t deny that I missed hanging out with the guys in the evenings. I didn’t miss having to listen to Thea and Jackson argue anymore, though. I still wasn’t sure what happened between them in the last two years, but I wasn’t willing to listen to either of them to find out.

“Excuses, excuses,” Jackson said before stepping toward me. “You couldn’t just wait until you got to that huge mansion that Aiden’s jealous of before fucking your fiancée? You had to do it on our kitchen counter? I eat there.”

“She’s my wife,” I stated, and squeezed Britt’s thighs. “And it’s still my apartment, so I could always take her to my room and do it if I wanted.”

“Oh, is that what our apartment has become? A love nest for the two of you? Doesn’t Britt still have her dorm room on campus? Why can’t you use that?”

“Because Erik is over there trying to convince Lydia he’s worth a second shot,” Britt explained.

“Is she the redhead that gets mistaken for Aster all the time?” Tanner asked.

“Yup,” I replied.

“Is that all that Erik does?” Jackson asked before picking up the TV remote and falling onto the couch. “Grovel to extremely hot women, hoping one of them will jump on his cock? It didn’t work with Britt, so I doubt it will work with her roommate.”

“Watch it,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

He raised his hands and leaned into the seat. “What?” He then pointed at my wife. “Am I not even allowed to talk about Britt’s hotness anymore? She’s right there and still one of the hottest people on this campus, it would be rude not to acknowledge that.”

“She’s my wife, so no. You aren’t allowed to say shit like that.”

“Matty.” Britt knocked my thigh with one of her toes but didn’t move to get off the counter.

“Wow. I didn’t peg you for the possessive-asshole type, but I guess you learn something new every day,” Jackson said with a smirk.

BANG!

We all jumped when we heard the door open and whipped our heads to see who was coming in.

“Guys?” I heard Thea’s voice before seeing her, and as she shuffled into the room, Tanner raced to her side.

“Oh my God, Thea. Are you okay?” Thea’s eyes were wide and somewhat blank as she stared into the room with ash covering her clothes and body. She looked so out of it, even Jackson got up to check on her, which was saying something.

“What happened?” Britt asked, moving away from me as Thea came walking in tucked under her brother’s arm. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were singed, and I could barely make out her facial features. She fell forward, coughing so hard I felt it in my own chest. Jackson was at her side instantly and rested his hand on her back.

“Thea, please talk. You’re scaring me,” Tanner said.

“Yeah, you not talking for longer than ten seconds is a cause for concern,” Jackson added, and Tanner whacked him in the stomach. “Ouch. I thought you said you were a lover not a fighter?”

“There was a fire,” Thea croaked out between coughs. “At the sorority.”

“Are you serious?” Tanner asked, and when she nodded, he cursed. “For fuck’s sake. I knew that place was trouble.”

“What happened?” Britt was next to Tanner, eagerly awaiting Thea’s response. “Did someone set it on fire?”

Thea coughed loudly again. “They haven’t been able to find the object that started it, but I was, uh, close by.”

“How’d you get out?” Tanner asked.

“I walked.”

Jackson raised his hand. “Whoa, wait. You’re telling us you walked out of a burning building and then came here?” He looked her up and down, and his lip curled with something other than disgust. For the first time since I met him, I could have sworn he looked impressed.

“Well, yeah. They wanted to talk to me, but I didn’t want to hang around.”

“Why not?” Jackson asked.

She shrugged. “I figured once they found out who my brother’s girlfriend was, they’d think I set the place on fire to get revenge?” A strange conclusion to jump to, but this was Thea.

“Did you?” Jackson was smiling now. Wider than I’d ever seen.

She shook her head, making the ash fall out of her hair. “Of course not, but I knew I’d be implicated once they saw what was on my record.” She gave Tanner a knowing glare, but no one noticed because Jackson barked out a laugh.

“What the fuck is on your record, you badass?”

Tanner just shook his head, ushering Thea to the couch. “I told you moving there was a terrible idea.”

“Well, don’t worry. I can’t live there now. You’ve had your dream come true. I’m homeless again.”

“You’re not going to be homeless,” I said, stepping forward. “You can stay here.”

All three of them turned to me. Tanner and Thea looked at me with wide eyes while Jackson’s were narrowed, but there was much less venom there than usual.

“No, she can’t,” Jackson said.

Thea raised her hand. “As much as I appreciate how long you guys let me sleep on the couch, I can’t do it again. My back would never recover.”

“Drama queen,” Jackson mumbled with a smirk on his face.

“Watch it,” Tanner retorted. “My sister was just in a fire and you’re still going to act like an asshole toward her?”

Stepping forward, I stood behind my wife before saying, “You don’t have to sleep on the couch, Thea. You can have my room. I’ve paid for the rest of the year, and I’m not going to be in it, so you might as well use it. You’ll have your own place to stay, and Jackson will have nothing to complain about.”

“I’m sure he’ll find something,” she said, glaring at him.

“Are you serious?” Tanner asked.

“Of course. The room would be empty otherwise.”

“And used as your sex room. We know. You don’t have to keep telling us.” Jackson sighed.

“Sex room?”

Thea’s nose wrinkled, but Tanner strode past her. “She’ll take it,” he said, opening his arms and hugging me before his sister could say anything else.

Thea sighed loudly and somewhat dramatically. “When am I going to have control over my own li—” Thea bent forward and a coughing fit ensued, only calming once Jackson rested his hand on her back.

“You good?” he asked.

“I’m good,” she squeaked out just as Jackson patted her on the back one final time.

“I think we need to get you to a doctor.” Tanner eased over to his sister.

“I can’t. They’ll know I was there, and they’ll start to ask questions.”

“What are you hiding?” Jackson asked.

“Ummm.”

“I think we should go,” I said, knowing that another argument was about to start, and I didn’t want to listen to it. I wrapped my arm around Britt, hauling her to my side, and felt the metal of my mother’s ring when her palm landed on my hand. She hadn’t taken it off since I slipped it on her finger two weeks ago, and I hoped it would stay that way forever.

“Can I come? Please?” Jackson clasped his hands together as he begged us from across the room. “I’ll be quiet as a mouse, and if you ever want the occasional threesome, I’ll be right there.”

“You can come over for dinner sometime,” I said, giving Britt a kiss on her cheek. “But I don’t want you there for what’s going on later.”

“Matty,” Britt whisper-shouted, slapping me on the chest.

I chuckled. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, we’re taking Thea to the doctor now, anyway.” Tanner already had his jacket draped over Thea’s shoulders.

“We?” Jackson frowned, and Tanner glared at him.

“Yes, we . She’s our roommate now, after all. We need to protect her.”

“Fine,” Jackson drawled out, dragging his feet to my boxes. “I’ll help Matty with these, then join you in the car.”

“I’ll come back for you if you take too long,” Tanner said as he ushered Thea out of the apartment.

“At least this saves me listening to their bickering for five minutes.” Jackson picked up one of my boxes as I grabbed another and brought them down to my car. After the second trip, I thanked him and watched him trudge over to Tanner’s truck.

Taking Britt’s hand, I led her to the U-Haul and helped her into her seat. Once she was buckled up, I smiled. This was it. This was really it. Britt and I were moving into our new house and moving on with our new lives. Together.

I cupped her cheek and kissed her. Long and slow because we had plenty of time to be together. No one would get between us now.

“I love you,” I whispered against her lips.

“I love you too,” she said, dropping her forehead onto mine.

Beep! Beep!

“For the love of football, can you please move?” Jackson yelled out of the window.

“Shall we head home?” I asked, ignoring my friend’s behind.

“I couldn’t think of anything better.”

And like that, I was happy to be starting my new life with my wife.

THE END