Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Brandon
Iwalk out into the middle of the field, wondering what the hell we’re doing here. There’s a weird-sounding bird in the distance, but no other sounds around us. The grass is that scraggly kind that grows tall and thin in various shades of brown and almost green.
“Okay, I’m here,” I say, turning to Robbie. “What is this?”
His ridiculous face is far too smug for the situation. “Well …” He takes me by the hip and steers me to face the other way. Then he wraps his arms around me from behind. “I think this might actually be the toilet.”
“Ah … what?”
“Mmhmm.” He shifts me to the left. “And probably a hallway right here that leads down to some kind of family area.” Robbie steers me forward a few steps.
“And this could be the kitchen, because if you turn to look out at that view …” I’m nudged around a bit further, and I have to admit the view of the small, swampy pond isn’t terrible.
“This could be your view while you’re cooking dinner. ”
“Cooking … dinner?”
I’m slow on the uptake tonight because I’m not following what the big guy is saying. “You want me to cook dinner in a field?”
He throws his head back and laughs. “Fuck, dude, keep up. We’re going to live here. We’re going to buy this block and build a house, and this would be the perfect place for us to plan to put the kitchen.”
I turn in a circle, completely speechless. The block looks about an acre in size, give or take, and is right on the outskirts of Kilborough. It’s too far to commute every day for work, but we’d be building for a while anyway.
As much as I want to get excited, there are two problems that I can see. One, we haven’t been saving for a house deposit, and two, we only have one car.
“Are we going to commute to the city every day together?” I ask dryly. “Hour there and an hour home again? Fighting over who gets to pick the playlist?”
Robbie hums and looks away. The whole back of the block gives way to woodland, and he sets his hands on his hips as he admires it. “The thing is …”
“Yeah?”
“My job kind of blows.”
“Okay.”
“And you’ve always wanted to open your own business.”
“Right …” I watch him carefully, looking for a sign that this might be going where I think it’s going. Robbie is rarely ever still or serious, and him being both has me paying close attention.
He swings around suddenly and grabs my arms. “I want to have kids. I want us to spend the next year building this place and putting in the work to find mini humans to help us fill it.” There’s so much longing in his voice it stops me short.
“I know we’re still young and all that other shit, but this is the dream, isn’t it?
Our own place. You working for yourself.
And two little tornados to keep us busy. ”
“Yeah …” I say, feeling stunned. “That is the dream.”
“I’m not saying we have to do it right now, but this block of land is a steal. Dad said he’s happy to come over for a month or so to help me clear the land, and your parents know some builders they can recommend who will do the job for a fair price.”
“Does everyone know about this?”
He lifts his beefy shoulders. “I was excited, and I wanted to surprise you, but the only way I could do that was by telling literally every other person we know.”
I bite back a laugh, what he’s saying starting to sink in. “So … we build and then … move here.”
“I figure it’ll all probably take a year or so.
We keep working in that time, keep saving.
The money we’ve saved for the car, plus what our parents chip in, will cover the land.
I’m not joking when I say it’s stupidly cheap.
There’s no plumbing or sewerage or anything, so that will all be on us to organize.
But once it’s done and we move here, I thought …
” His eyes are so sweet and sincere as he says, “Maybe I could quit. My job. I’ll find something in town to keep me busy—your parents said there’s always casual work going on, and then once the kiddies are here, it’ll give me more flexibility to look after them.
” Robbie shifts. “It’s not a glamorous life.
It’s not big or important, and we’ll never have a penthouse in New York like Chad and Bailey or something on the beach in California like Zeke and Charles, but I think we’ll be happy here.
Really happy. I don’t need big or fancy if I can give you that. ”
My smile trembles to life, and for the first time since we got here, I let myself see it.
I let myself give in to the image of this place being ours.
Our own little pocket of the world. A house with a huge porch.
Some chickens. Two gorgeous kids running around and exploring the woods.
Two ATVs we can take them riding on. Maybe a horse.
Or a cow. “I love it,” I whisper just as the sun dips behind the trees and sends the whole sky an orangey-pink haze.
The type of wide, open sky from my childhood.
“Good.” Robbie takes both of my hands in his, stepping in closer. “You know that when we met, I was never the settling-down type. A night without hooking up was a night wasted.”
“Yeah, why are you reminding me of that?”
“Because I want you to remember this next part is entirely your fault.” A mischievous spark lights up his eyes.
“Next part?”
Robbie drops down onto one knee. “I couldn’t afford a ring because I wanted to make buying this place a priority, and I knew if you saw a large withdrawal, you’d start asking questions.
But even without a ring, I hope you know I’m serious.
No marching bands, no karaoke, no big production.
Just you and me, in the place where we’re starting our forever. ”
Tears prick at my eyes.
“I love you so fucking much, Brando. More than I thought it was possible to love someone. You make everything about life funner, and the fact I maybe get to spend my life with my best friend is just blowing my mind because it feels too good to be true. Marry me, Brandon. Make this the greatest day of my fucking life.”
“Bro my god,” trembles from my lips, and his whole face lights up. “Yeah. Of course I’ll fucking marry you, Robdog. There’s no one else.”
Robbie’s whole face lights up, eyes reddening but not crying like my dumb ass. He leans in and presses his face to my stomach, crushing me to him with those big arms that always make me feel safe. Protected. Loved.
I haul him to his feet and hug him back. With my face buried in his shoulder, I absorb the moment, wanting to live in it forever.
“Should we call our parents and tell them the news?” he asks after a few minutes.
“You haven’t told them already?”
He shakes his head. “Everyone knows I was going to ask you at some point, because duh. But I didn’t tell them it was happening today. Or even soon.” Robbie’s large hand cups my face. “I might not be able to keep a secret to save myself, but that question was for you and you only.”
“Somehow, you still manage to surprise me with how big your heart is. Even when it was your life’s mission to cause me constant headaches, you always had the best heart of anyone I know.”
“Isn’t it strange? That even before we were something, we were still so drawn together? I swear I did half the shit I did because I wanted you to yell at me. You’re so fucking hot when you’re all pissy.”
“Ah. So that’s why you leave your socks all over the house?”
“Ooops. You caught me.”
And now he’ll be able to leave his socks all over this house. Ours. Where, one day, I’ll be living with two kids and a husband.
Nothing else ever felt so right.