Cal's POV

"I'll meet you guys in the garage in five!" I yelled to the guys as the clock changed to 1500 and my shift was over. It was Wednesday, the last day of my work week. But more importantly than that, today was the day that Steph was moving to Trenton. Les, Junior, Woody, and I were going to take our personal trucks and a U-Haul to move all of her furniture and personal belongings to the house she had rented just a couple of miles from RangeMan HQ.

After looking for a job in Newark for a month, Steph decided that Trenton's proximity to me made it preferable to her current situation. She surprised me after my shift one day and took me to the house she was looking at. Much to my relief, it was in a good area and already had one of our security systems installed. The plan was for her to continue her job search in this area after moving.

I changed clothes quickly, grabbed the weekend bag I'd packed this morning, and met the guys in the garage a few minutes later. I hopped in Santos' truck so he could drop me off at U-Haul to pick up the rental.

"Thanks for dropping me off, man. And for helping to move Steph," I said as I buckled my seatbelt.

"No problem. I wouldn't miss the opportunity to see you moving in with a woman," he teased, and I slugged him in the arm.

"I'm not moving in. I still have my apartment on four," I reminded him.

"For now," he conceded. "But I don't think you will for long. And I'm not sure you'll ever set foot in it other than right before or after work."

"We're not rushing anything," I insisted. "It's only been a couple of months." Truth be told, I knew without a doubt she was the woman for me. I also knew she'd been burned before and so I didn't want to push her to move more quickly than she was comfortable.

"Maybe so, but you can't tell me that you're not whipped," he joked.

"Hell yeah, I am. You're just jealous that I saw her before you left the club with her," I shot back.

"Hooah!"

Les pulled up in front of U-Haul and I sprinted inside to get the truck and get on the road. A few hours later all of Steph's earthly belongings were neatly sorted into the appropriate rooms in her new home, and we were finally, mercifully alone. I pulled Steph to me and kissed her soundly.

"I can see you as often as I want now," I said softly as I held her. She seemed to have this power to calm me and make me feel more at peace.

"That better be often, mister!" she warned me.

"I was thinking every single day," I chuckled.

"That's a good start," she shot back. "Now...what should we unpack first?" she asked as her eyes swept around the room.

"What box are the bed sheets in?" I asked with a wink.

"Your guess is as good as mine," she giggled.

I looked around the room and saw the box marked "Bedroom Linens" and smiled. I had gone to great lengths to make sure everything was appropriately labeled, despite Steph's unorganized packing methods.

"Why don't you go pick up Pino's for us?" I asked. She looked at me questioningly, and I shrugged. "Please? I just want to do something nice."

Her face broke into a smile and she nodded. "Alright, you win this time," she conceded.

I tucked a couple of twenties into her back pocket and kissed her. "Thank you. And don't argue – I want to buy dinner for your first night in your new home," I insisted. Woman was stubborn as hell when it came to being taken care of.

"Fine, but you're pushing your luck," she finally agreed.

I heard the front door close two minutes later and jumped into action. I retrieved Steph's favorite sheets and duvet out of the linens box and made the bed and then plugged in the lamps and straightened the nightstands. Then I spread a blanket out on the floor for a picnic dinner and grabbed some candles from another box and spread them throughout the room. Next came plates, napkins, cheesecake I'd stashed in the fridge without Steph seeing, and a couple of beers because we were anything but fancy. I spent the rest of the remaining time before Steph got back further straightening and unpacking her bedroom and smiled when I heard the front door. I dimmed the lights in her bedroom and smiled when I heard her gasp.

"Wow…you…what's this?" she finally landed on.

I took the pizza from her hands and sat it down on the blanket I'd spread for dinner. "Just wanted to make tonight special for us," I told her. I sat down on the floor and pulled her down next to me and then kissed her soundly.

"You make everything special," she whispered when we pulled apart.

"Good, because you deserve it," I informed her. I grabbed our plates and served up some pizza and then offered a toast over our beers.

"To your new home, your job hunt, and to many, many more nights like this in our future," I offered.

"To us!" she added, and we clinked our beers. We each took a sip and then dug into our pizza.

By the time we'd finished dinner we were both exhausted and ready for bed. We crawled into the bed and met in the middle, where she curled into my arms and sighed happily.

"This is perfect," she whispered with a yawn. "Or almost perfect, at least."

"Oh yeah?" I asked.

"Mmm-hmm. The only thing that would make it better is christening my new bedroom," she answered.

"Say no more."

I took my time and relished every inch of her body. Most of the time our passion was hot and frantic, but tonight it was quiet and tender. When she finally fell asleep on my chest, her body spent and boneless, I laid awake holding her. These nights right here – they were what I wanted for my future.

I finally drifted off to sleep only to be woken by my phone a few hours later. "Yo!" I answered, my eyes not even open. Steph was a heavy sleeper and didn't even stir. I listened to the voice on the line and scrubbed my free hand over my face. This was it - the call I knew was coming, but hoped wouldn't.

"When?" I asked. I glanced at the clock and did some quick math; I had six hours. "Affirmative."

I hung up the phone and looked over at the woman sleeping on me. I had warned her that this could happen, but that didn't make it any easier. I rubbed her back and began kissing her face and shoulder. She slowly stirred and opened her gorgeous baby blues.

"Hmmm?" she mumbled.

"I need you to wake up, Baby. It's important," I told her. She instantly sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Sort of," I replied, unsure of how to answer that. "I just got the call and I leave at 0800."

She nodded and crawled into my lap. "Okay, I'll miss you but I know you have to go," she said bravely. "Do you need to sleep?"

"No, I need to be with you," I assured her. I could sleep after my pickup.

"That's what I need, too," she whispered. We didn't need words as we made love until I had to leave. I wanted so badly to tell her that I love her, but I didn't want to scare her and then leave. Instead I tucked her into bed and kissed her thoroughly, intent on remembering her just like this.

"It shouldn't be more than a month at the most. Les will get updates about my mission and will tell you if anything goes wrong. Call him or my family if you need anything, okay?"

She nodded and blinked back tears. "I promise. You just worry about coming home safe to me," she insisted.

"I promise, Steph. Nothing is more important to me."

Because I love you.