Chapter 8 #2
The way Carter furrowed her eyebrows at me and wrinkled her nose was doing nothing to calm the throbbing of my center. “You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face. We don’t have time for another round of sex.”
“That’s not what I-” I stopped talking when Carter gave me a look that said I shouldn’t try to lie. I moved my eyes toward the ground. “You were right. That’s exactly what I was thinking, but I feel bad. I didn’t get to reciprocate. It only feels right that I should.”
“You can reciprocate at my grandma’s house.” Carter pointed a finger at me, a wicked grin on her face, and I knew exactly what was coming. “No hickies though. I can’t have my grandma thinking she has bed bugs again. We’ll get stuck calling an exterminator.”
I laughed at the reminder of the time I marked Carter for her whole family to see. Oops. I put my hands on her hips and pulled her close, placing a quick kiss on her lips. “I promise to only put them in places your grandma won’t see.”
Carter groaned and put her head on my shoulder. “If you keep talking like that I’m not going to be able to keep us on schedule.”
“Fine.” I gave her a squeeze then gently pushed her away from me. “Now stop trying to seduce me. I have places to be.”
Carter rolled her eyes at me, but gave me one more kiss before pulling away completely. She looked around the apartment and sighed. “Goodbye for now, old friend.”
It was sad to think about leaving this place that held so many memories. I couldn’t be that sad, though, given that I knew we’d be back now and then. It wasn’t goodbye forever. At least, not yet. I pointed toward the door. “Hello to our future.”
Carter reached out and took my hand, an adoring smile spread across her face. “Saying things like that also makes it hard for me to control myself.”
I put my hand on my chest. “Miss Miller-Cooper, you are such a romantic.”
“And so are you, my dear.” Carter squeezed my hand. “But can we please go before I start freaking out that we are going to be late?”
“Do your moms have somewhere they need to be today?” I wracked my brain trying to remember.
“No. They aren’t leaving until tomorrow morning. I just like being punctual. Grandma likes that too.”
That got my feet moving. “Then we better go. Can’t keep Grandma Miller waiting.”
“You’re too cute,” Carter said with a giggle as we walked out of the apartment together with Speck circling between our legs.
After a very long drive, which felt even longer than usual since Carter and I had to drive separately, we finally made it to Maryland.
I jumped out of the car and stretched my arms and legs. It felt so good to finally move. When I was done with all of my stretches, I found Carter leaning against her car watching me.
She waved a hand at me. “Don’t stop on my account. I’m enjoying the view.”
Two can play this game. I turned around and bent down to touch my toes, making sure to give Carter the perfect view of my ass.
Carter whistled at me. “I like that stretch.”
I walked over to Carter and wrapped my arms around her, because honestly, it had been way too long since I touched her last. “If you think my ass looks good when I’m stretching, you should see it when I’m naked.”
Carter leaned in and kissed me, and it felt like we were the only two people in the world. “That better be a promise.”
I pulled Carter closer to me, loving the way I could feel her heart beating against mine. “Oh, it is. This ass is all yours. In fact—”
“Please don’t say it,” Carter said, but the fit of giggles she broke into gave me no choice.
I’d give anything to hear that laughter forever, even tell the same joke that I’ve told a million times that she somehow still finds funny. “Fine. I won’t tell you that your name is tattooed on my ass, but it totally is.”
“Get a room!” someone shouted from the front of the house.
I looked over to see Mama Charlie waving to us. Momsy Reagan walked out of the door behind her and put her arm around her wife. She stared at us, but pretended as if she was addressing Carter’s Mama. “I think they already did that here, didn’t they?”
It was a good thing I didn’t get embarrassed easily, because these women were never going to let me live down the fact that the whole family saw the big hickey I gave their daughter. “Ha! Good one!” I shouted back at them.
We walked toward Carter’s parents as they did the same and met in the middle. “It’s so good to see you two,” Mama Charlie said as both she and her wife pulled us into tight hugs.
Momsy Reagan looked between the two of us after she pulled away. “Do yourselves a favor and, if Grandma asks, make sure you tell her you’re married.”
It seemed strange to lie to an old woman, but I also wasn’t going to go against my future mother-in-laws, so I nodded in agreement.
After grabbing Speck from the car, we walked inside, chatting about the last three weeks, and when we reached the kitchen, I found Carter’s grandma sitting by the table in her wheelchair. “Welcome home, girls!” she said cheerfully.
That was all I needed to see to know we had made the right decision. This woman was a completely different person than the despondent woman we had left behind a few weeks ago.
I put Speck down, then walked over to her and bent down in front of her wheelchair, taking her hand in mine. “We’re happy to be home.”
The old woman’s eyes glistened, and I was pretty sure she was trying to hold back tears.
“Ever since we got a full bathroom put in down here, I don’t go upstairs anymore.
My husband and I have been sleeping in the den for the past two years.
” She looked toward the ground. “Well, now it’s just me in there.
” When she looked back up, the smile was on her face again.
“Anyway, feel free to make the upstairs completely your own.” She pointed between me and Carter. “You two are married, right?”
I looked at Carter, who gave me a subtle nod, then focused my attention back on her grandma. “Yes, ma’am.”
Grandma Miller nodded slowly. “In that case, if you would like to, you are welcome to share a room.”
No wonder Carter’s moms told us to lie. I have to remember to thank them for the warning.
“The master bedroom is obviously the biggest, but feel free to stay in whichever room you are most comfortable in.”
I stood up and walked over to Carter. “Shall we go pick out our room?”
Carter reached out and took my hand. “We shall.”