August 24th #2
“Gearing up for the season. Chase’s mom is glad to have her garage back. She and Haley brought it all here this summer. Decorated. Organized. It turned out nice, I think,” Damon says, then leads me to a wide hallway lined with doors.
There’s lots of exposed brick, and the floors look like they are original to the building.
I can hear voices toward the end of the hall, but Damon stops and says, “Home sweet home,” then opens the door.
And his condo is so cool.
“Do they all look like this?” I ask him.
“Most of them are two-bedroom condos, but there are two with three bedrooms. They were decorated with our parents and our little siblings in mind. The rest have slightly different styles and color palettes, but the floor plans are the same.”
I take in the high ceilings, exposed brick wall in the living room, the deep green kitchen cabinets, wood floors, and comfortable furnishings.
“Want to know why I chose this one?” he asks me, pulling me back into his arms.
“Why?”
“Because the kitchen matches the color of your eyes,” he says.
“Really?”
Because he can’t be serious. It’s a condo. They probably all have green cabinets. But he did say they have different colors, and Jadyn’s designs are always amazing.
“Really,” he says, sealing it with a kiss, then taking my hand and leading me into his bedroom.
There’s a cognac leather padded headboard behind a king-size bed. The walls are painted a shade lighter than the cabinets. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer views outside.
“This is really nice,” I say, which is a total understatement, but it’s hard to think about pesky things like words when Damon starts kissing my neck.
I slide my hands under his shirt, wanting to take it off him.
“I promised you dinner first,” he murmurs.
“I want you first,” I tell him. “Even if it’s quick.”
And it is. But we have three days together before he leaves for his football game and I go to school. Lots of time to take it slow. Plus, I could smell the red sauce the second I walked in. And I’m starving.
Since our clothes were never fully off, it’s easy to get ourselves put back together, then go into the kitchen, where he pulls out a chair for me to sit in.
I notice things I didn’t see before, like the fact that he already has the table set. That he included cloth napkins and candles on the table.
“Would you like wine with dinner?” he asks me.
“I thought you didn’t drink during the season.”
“I don’t, but I wanted to offer you some,” he says.
“Nah, I’m okay. Thank you. I’ll just have whatever you’re having.”
He grabs a big bottle of sparkling water out of the fridge, fills our glasses, then adds a lemon to each.
A few moments later, he adds a big bowl filled with salad, a pan of lasagna, and cheesy bread to our table.
“This looks and smells wonderful, Damon. Did you cook all this?”
“Well, I bought the bread and added the cheese, but everything else, yeah.”
“You’re amazing.” I smile at him as he dishes up our plates, and we start eating.
“I read a quote recently about how the only happiness in life is to love and be loved,” Damon says.
“While I agree with the sentiment, I feel like there’s so much more to it.
Because it’s not just your love that makes me happy every day.
It’s hearing your voice, seeing your face, making you laugh, touching your skin.
Whether we are together or apart. Happy or sad. ”
“Possibly because you are in love with me?”
He rolls his eyes. “So, you’re saying all that goes back to the quote? That I’m happy because I’m loving and being loved?”
“I guess it depends if you feel that way when you hear everyone’s voice.”
He leans across the table and gives me a kiss. “I most certainly do not.”
“I also don’t think the poet was just referring to romantic love,” I tell him.
“That’s true. Although it’s different, the love I feel for my family, my friends, my dog also makes me happy.”
“I think the physical side of our relationship adds another dimension to it.”
“Speaking of that, we need to stop talking and eat so I can get you back in my bedroom,” he says, his eyes turning dark with desire.
I point down the hall, where I can hear voices. “Does that mean no game night?”
He sighs. “I want to wrap you up in my arms, hold you close, and keep you to myself, but I also want you to meet everyone.”
“Is that your answer then?”
“Yes,” he says in a begrudging tone
“Can I talk to you about something else?” I take a bite of food, waiting for him to reply.
“Of course,” he says.
“When I went to lunch with my mom, she introduced me to a guy. Who she’s dating. I am struggling with that, to be honest.”
“We talked about divorce in the Ozarks. Floating around the lazy river. Remember that?”
“I do, and I appreciated it then. It’s just … no one has heard from my dad. My uncles have tons of money. You’d think they could find him.”
“Ainsley,” Damon says, “your dad is an adult. If he wanted contact with his family right now, he’d call. It sucks that he hasn’t, but there really isn’t much you can do about it.”
“And what about the fact that my mom is dating when they aren’t divorced yet?”
“You can’t control your parents’ lives,” he says with a shrug.
And I know he’s right.
After dinner, he leads me out to a big gathering area.
“This is like a sports bar. Couches. Televisions. Tables.”
“Yeah, it’s awesome. Fun to have our friends here, and the space functions well during game weekends.”
“I bet. I can’t wait to see you play,” I tell him sincerely.
“Speaking of games,” Damon says.
“Where did your friends go?” I ask him.
“I’ll show you.” He takes my hand, leading me to a set of French doors, then up some stairs to a rooftop deck.
I don’t know what I was expecting when he said they were having friends over. But it wasn’t this. There are several people sitting at a big teak table, playing cards. Soft music in the background. No beer in sight.
“Stupid question,” Damon says to me. “But do you like games? Cards, stuff like that?”
“I love them. And I should warn you, my competitiveness doesn’t end with golf.”
“Oh boy. Should I mentally prepare for defeat?”
“No, only winning for you—just maybe not when you play cards with me.”
He puts his arm around me, and we walk to the table.
“It’s about time the lovebirds joined us,” Dani says with a smile, quickly getting up and giving me a hug. Then she says, “Everyone, this is the famous Ainsley. The Ainsley my brother won’t stop talking about.”
“His future wifey,” a guy says. He’s tall and buff, and he looks like he plays football.
“That’s right,” Damon says. “Ainsley, this is Treyvon. He was Chase’s roommate last semester and plays wide receiver.”
I reach out to shake his hand, but he pulls me into a hug.
“Oh, girl, I feel like I already know you. Most everyone else here is all booed up, but I’m very, very single.”
“Me too,” another guy says. “Hey, I’m Eddie. Frat boy and Dani’s ex-love.”
My eyes go wide while Chase and Dani laugh.
“Why do I feel like there’s a story here?” I ask.
“Oh, because there is,” Eddie says. “Dani and I became friends. She asked me to go home with her for Thanksgiving last year.”
“And I was extremely jealous,” Chase says. “Wanted to hate Eddie, but he’s impossible to hate.”
“It was a disaster, to be honest,” Dani confesses, “but it all worked out in the end.”
“ ’Cause we’re married!” Eddie and Treyvon say in girlie voices while holding up their empty ring fingers.
Everyone laughs, including me.
“And we’re Amber and Garrett,” Garrett says while Amber shows off a sparkling diamond. “Recently engaged.”
“Congratulations,” I tell them. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“And last but not least, me,” a pretty girl says. “I’m Lauren. Single. Got my eye on Eddie, but he’s clueless.”
Eddie goes, “You do?”
“What are you playing?” Damon asks them.
“Spoons,” Chase says. “Killing time until you finished dinner.”
“But now that you’re here, we have a card game we want to try. It’s supposed to be sort of like a fast version of Monopoly, where you gain properties to up your net worth, but the fun part is, others can steal them from you.”
“That sounds fun,” Damon says as we take seats around the table.
And it is fun. Mostly because I win the first round. But by the middle of the second, I can’t hide my yawns anymore even though it’s only nine o’clock.
When the round is over, Damon says, “We’re out. Ainsley was up early and drove here all the way from the Ozarks.”
“And is yawning like crazy,” Eddie says.
“Sorry,” I reply. “You are all so welcoming, and I’m having fun.”
“You also won the last two games. We’re cool if you go to bed. Give one of us a chance,” Amber teases.