November 25th
Sexy daydream.
Ainsley
“It’s really gotten cold out,” Sammy says, tightening his coat against his neck as we walk home from a dinner with some friends from class.
“As Pooh Bear would say, It’s a blustery day,” I tell him, but then again, I love fall.
“The wind is cold. And look at the sky. It almost looks like it could snow,” he says.
“No way. It’s too early for that. Plus, it can’t snow. I have places to go this weekend. And so do you.”
“I’m just sayin’,” he says.
When we get home, I go to my room, take off my shoes, and put on my warm slippers.
“I’m turning the heat up,” he says, just as my phone buzzes with a weather alert.
“Wow, you were right. Our area—really, a lot of Kansas and Nebraska are in a winter storm watch.”
He grabs the remote and flips on the TV to the local news. And what it’s showing is not good.
“Sleet starting tonight, wintery mix on Thanksgiving, and snow on Friday and into Saturday,” he says. “Well, shoot. That’s going to mess up both our plans.”
“And we purposely let ourselves get low on groceries since we were going to be gone.”
His eyes get big. “Give me your keys. I’m going to the store.”
“To get what?” I ask him.
“I don’t know! Everything! Before it’s all sold out!”
About thirty minutes later, Damon calls. “Have you seen the weather forecast?”
“Sammy and I were out to dinner with some friends from class, so we saw it when we got home.”
“I don’t want you driving in that. They are saying that your area could get two to three inches of ice tonight with snow tomorrow.”
“I think my mother just heard you,” I say as a text pops up from her. “She doesn’t want me driving either. Will they cancel your game?”
“The weather isn’t supposed to be bad in Lincoln until Friday afternoon, but they moved up our timeline so that we’ll leave before the ice hits. The good news is, if the storm follows the predicted track, it will miss Iowa City.”
I let out a sigh. I was eager to see him.
Eager to tell him.
To get it off my chest. To stop keeping this secret.
And just to see his face.
I pray every night before I go to sleep that he will be happy. That he will still love me. That he won’t hate me.
And that it won’t negatively impact him. His game. His team.
Us.
“That was a big sigh,” he says. “I’m disappointed too. I haven’t held you in my arms in way too long.”
“I know. It sucks.”
“And it’s going to be crazy busy between now and Christmas. If we win this game, we’ll go to the conference championship.”
“Where will it be held?”
“Indianapolis. You think you can come? I’m sure my dad will get a box. It’s next Saturday.”
“Gosh, I don’t think I can. I have to finish my final design projects.
I don’t know how I’m going to get it all done.
One is on lighting, and it’s very technical.
I can pick out light fixtures, place lamps, and choose the perfect light bulbs, but the mechanics of getting it all on the architectural design is literally my least favorite thing.
For my internship, we didn’t have to deal with it.
The hotel lighting plans were done, as they should have been, by an electrical engineer.
But they want us to understand it all. I have most everything chosen for my other interior project, but it’s still a lot to put together.
Then Sammy and I graduate on the twelfth. But I’ll try.”
“That’s before finals week, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess when they used to hold it after finals, a lot of people didn’t attend the ceremony. I mean, everyone is always ready to leave as soon as their tests are over.”
“I want to come to your graduation, but if we win the conference championship, I’ll have practice that Saturday. If we don’t, I’ll be there, for sure.”
“While I’d love for you to be there, I would much prefer you keep winning,” I tell him. “Do you know yet when you will get to go home for the holidays?”
“Coach already said that if we end up in the playoffs, we should plan on only getting two days off—Christmas Eve and Christmas.”
“Hmm, so our Christmastime plan may not work out either?”
“No. I’ll be home for the holiday. Actually, I’ll be wherever you are. Where will you be?”
“In Kansas City, at my mom’s place.”
“Perfect. That means you can come to Lincoln with me the day after Christmas, and we’ll get you all moved in. It may not be a long Christmas holiday together, but at least we’ll be living together after that.”
“Sounds like a dream. It feels like this semester has flown by, but at the same time, it seems like it’s been so slow because I’ve been counting down the days until we can live in the same place.”
“I’m really glad you chose the job you did,” he says.
“Neither job was a dream job, so I chose the one that would allow me to live with you. Do you think it will work?”
“Us?” he asks.
“Yeah. Like, us living together. On a daily basis. Every-single-day kind of thing.”
“When Dani and Chase moved in, they each had their own condo. My sister felt like it gave them both space, and she says it allowed them to date. To keep some of the mystery before they decided if they were going to be together forever. You could do that too. We don’t have to live together completely. ”
“I want to live with you, Damon. Do you want space like that?”
“I do not. At all. I want you as close to me as you can get. And most definitely in my bed. Every. Single. Night.”
And the way he says it makes it sound like a threat.
Of the most delicious kind.
“All right,” he says, “I’ve got to go. I’ll text you before bed. Love you, Champ.”
“Love you too,” I say dreamily.
I’m still sitting here in a sexy daydream when the front door bursts open and slams against the wall.
“You have no idea!” Sammy says. “The bread was nearly gone. Everyone was buying up all the water and toilet paper. We’re talking three, maybe four days of slick streets. It’s not the apocalypse, people.”
I get up and hold the door open for him. “Did you manage to get anything?” I ask, but I can see that he did because he’s loaded down with a bunch of bags.
“Of course I did. I’m a forager. I bought a turkey and all the fixings.
We’ll have our own Thanksgiving dinner. I created a list of planned meals, game-day snacks galore, and lots of ice cream and chocolate.
I even got a few bottles of wine for myself.
I figure we’ll be either watching football, movie marathoning, or card game playing. ”
“Or maybe working on our projects?”
“Can’t really do that. The school is closed for the holiday.
All our stuff is there. And besides, how often do we get snow days?
We’re going to bask in the glory of it. We’re going to reflect on our time together and celebrate our futures.
” He gets misty. “Our futures apart. I can’t believe I’m not going to get to live with you anymore.
I’m going to be so lonely. Maybe I’ll get a fish. ”
“That should be a suitable replacement for me,” I tease.
“Oh my stars! I did not mean it that way.”
I grin at him and start putting food away. “I know you didn’t. And I agree. We’ll have fun.”
“I was thinking about something on the way home. This is sort of a freak storm. We usually don’t get ice this early. Maybe you really aren’t supposed to tell Damon until his season is over.”
“The regular season will be over this weekend, but if they win, they will go to the conference championship, and if they make the playoffs, they could play up to four additional games.”
“Which go until mid-January,” he says.
“Right.”
“So then, whenever you see him next, however those stars align, that’s when you’ll tell him.”
“Yes, I will.”