“Woah, watch out, Little Man.” David sprints past me with one of the smaller boxes. The one I’m carrying slips the tiniest bit, and I readjust it until I have a solid hold.
“Sorry, Carlos.” He runs into the house and I hear a thunk as the box hits the floor. I hope like hell there’s nothing breakable in there.
The day has finally come for me and Caroline to move in together. It’s been almost a year since she introduced me to her ex-husband as her boyfriend. It hasn’t always been easy learning how to be a bonus dad, but it’s been worth it. Now we can be under one roof all the time instead of going back and forth to each other’s houses.
“Dude, why do you have so much stuff?” Eric brings another box inside. “It was only you.”
Shaking my head, I set the box in my hand on the couch. “I’m a lot older than you. I’ve accumulated more stuff. Besides, I didn’t hear you complaining too much when I told you I’d rent my house out to you.”
“True.” He sets his down and puts his hands on his hips, checking out Caroline’s, I mean our, house. “Thanks for leaving the dishes by the way.”
“Consider them a housewarming gift.”
“That’s a thing?”
“Yes,” Caroline laughs from the hallway. “Maybe we can throw you a party to get you some of the other basic necessities.”
He makes a face and shakes his head. “Thanks, but no thanks. I have quite a few things already. Hand-me-downs from family members. I think they were waiting for this day to happen.”
“Probably.” I open my box to see what’s inside…clothes. “How many more boxes do we have?
“Only a couple.” He glances over at David throwing a football in the air and catching it. “After we get them all in, maybe David and I can go outside and toss the ball around. It’s not like I have to work today.”
“Really?” David’s eyes light up.
“Sure thing.” He glances over at me and winks. “We can go far from the house so I can see what that arm of yours can really do.”
“Awesome.” David rushes out of the house to grab another box. Throwing the ball around with Eric is his motivation for getting it done fast.
“What was that about?” He always has an ulterior motive, and I know this is no different.
“I figured we could give you and Caroline a little alone time to do whatever.” He raises his eyebrows up and down. As if I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“You know there’s more to relationships than just sex, right?”
“Yeah, but it makes it more fun.” Before I can say anything else, he hightails it out of the house. There are times, like now, when I’m reminded just how young he is. His priorities are definitely different from mine.
“He’s not wrong, you know?” Caroline comes into the living room and wraps her arms around my neck.
My arms go around her waist, pulling her closer to me. “I never said he was.”
She leans up on her toes until her lips meet mine. It starts off sweet and innocent. A peck here and there. But then her fingers work their way into my hair and she grabs it in her hands deepening the kiss. This is one thing I’m happy I’ll be able to do whenever I want.
My hand slides up her back, coiling the ends of her hair around my finger. A slight tug elicits a small moan from her. She will be my undoing, and I wish like hell Eric would take David for ice cream or something. We’re going to need more time.
“Gross!” David yells. We jump away from each other like kids who’ve been caught with their hands in the candy jar. “Get a room.”
“Where did you even learn that?” Caroline turns toward him and puts her hands on her hips in the signature “mom” stance.
“Uncle Bryce,” he grins. “He says y’all kiss too much in front of people. He’s right.”
I can’t see Caroline’s face, but I can feel her roll her eyes. I also know this isn’t a battle I’m stepping into. “Your uncle needs to mind his own business.”
He drops the box on the floor and grabs his football. “This is all the boxes.”
“No it’s not.” I know for a fact that Eric said there were a couple more and that I packed more than this.
“Yes it is.” He grins and it’s one that will get him in trouble in his teen years. “I stacked a bunch in Eric’s arms.”
He runs out the back door, and I rush to the front to give Eric a hand. “I shouldn’t have told him anything about throwing the ball until he helped me with the last of these.”
“For sure.” I grab two boxes to give him some relief. “He knows how to play people.”
He nods as he follows me back inside. “You’re going to have trouble with that one.”
He’s not wrong. It’s something I joke about with Caroline. Though, I don’t think she finds it as funny as I do. The humor will likely fade when he’s actually older. “Just set the boxes there. We’ll figure out where to put them.”
“I’m sure you will.” He sets them down and heads toward the back door. “I’ll keep him occupied for as long as I can.”
“He knows we aren’t actually going to do anything, right?” Caroline opens a box and pulls out a blanket my mom made. “I mean they are right there. And it’s weird with other people here.”
“Who knows,” I shrug. I grab the blanket out of her hands and throw it on the couch. “But we can make out.”
“Mmm.” She moves until she’s in front of me. “I do like the sound of that.”
We pick up where we left off when we were interrupted, and I almost can’t believe this is my life. The relationship I idolized between Mom and Dad is finally mine, and I can’t wait to see where this new chapter leads us.