The next few days went by fast and Friday quickly arrived. He let her run the show when it came to them doing anything intimate together. It still hadn't gone beyond kissing and touching. He wouldn't force it on her.

"I'll be home an hour earlier today," he said as he kissed her goodbye. "Should we order something and be lazy all evening?"
"Watch a few movies and cuddle in bed?" She asked.
"Yeah," he smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

A few hours passed before her phone started ringing. She didn't think twice about it being an unknown caller ID. She was so caught up in the happiness inside her that she answered without thinking about it.

"Hello?" She asked.
"Hi, baby," Joe said. "Don't hang up!"

She didn't say anything. She wanted to hang up but she stood there frozen.

"Are you still there?" He asked.
"Yes," she answered lowly.
"I got the promotion," he said.
"Congratulations," she said.
"It was my time. This means I'm moving. I want you to come with me," he said.
"You can't be serious," she said.
"Dead serious. Come on, Roman? You've had your fun this week and I'm not even mad about it. But you and I both know we're meant to be together. So tell him goodbye and go home. I'll stop by tomorrow with that cherry pie you love from the bakery and we can start planning our future," he said.

She didn't know what to say. No matter what she said, she wouldn't be able to get through to him. Instead she hung up. He called back right away. She turned her phone off completely and sat down on the couch. She didn't realize how long she had been sitting there until Roman suddenly came home.

"Whitney!" His voice sounded so far away. "Hey, sweetheart, snap out of it!"

She felt him lightly shake her shoulder. She turned her head to see him sitting next to her on the couch. He had a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.
"He's moving out of town," she answered.
"Who? Joe? That's a good thing, isn't it?" He asked.
"He's coming for me tomorrow," she answered.
"He what?" He growled. "No, no, no! He doesn't get to play like that! I warned him! I fucking warned him!"

He jumped up from the couch in anger. She stood up too, staring at his back.

"Roman?" She asked.

He spun around, engulfed her in his arms and kissed her. He slowly moved her out of the room. He didn't let go until he had moved her all the way to the bathroom.

"Why are we in here?" She asked.
"I won't let him hurt you. I promise. Now you're gonna run yourself a bath and relax, okay? Just relax, sweetheart. I'll be back soon," he said.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"To make him understand that I wasn't kidding the other day," he answered.
"Roman," she said.
"You can't talk me out of it," he said.
"I wasn't gonna. I was gonna tell you to be careful," she said.

He kissed her again. So many feelings came out of him and into that kiss.

"I love you. I probably don't have a right to say that yet but I've loved you for so long," he said.
"I love you too," she said. "Be careful. And hurry back."

He locked the front door behind him as he left his house. He looked at the clock and realized Seth was getting off work. He drove to the shop and parked right outside. Seth came out two minutes later.

"What are you doing here?" Seth asked.
"Get in," Roman said. "We're paying Joe a visit."
"I know he's an idiot but what did he do to deserve getting beat up?" Seth asked.
"Saturday," Roman grabbed the steering wheel tight. "He raped her upstairs. He fucking raped her while we were partying downstairs. And now he won't leave her alone. He's leaving town and I'm gonna make sure he doesn't ever wanna come back to visit. I don't need you to do anything other than make sure I don't kill him."
"Fuck that!" Seth jumped into the car. "If he raped her, I'm beating him up too."

They drove directly to Joe's house. The lights were on. Roman grabbed the handle of the front door and found it unlocked. He walked inside with Seth following behind. Music sounded combined with Joe singing. They followed the sounds and found him in the kitchen cooking dinner.

"Hey asshole!" Roman said.

Joe spun around and was met with a fist to his nose. He fell backwards into the countertop as more fists followed by both Roman and Seth.

"Please! Stop!" He begged.

A few kicks landed on him too and then he was pulled up. Roman had his hands on Joe's shirt and they were standing almost nose to nose.

"I told you to leave her alone or I would come for you," Roman said.
"I'm sorry. I won't bother her again. I promise," Joe said.
"Give me your phone," Roman said.

Joe pulled out his phone and Seth quickly grabbed it. He located Whitney's number in Joe's phone.

"What's her number?" Seth asked.
"I don't know," Joe said.
"What's her god damn number?" Roman yelled.
"I don't know! I never bothered to memorize it!" Joe yelled back.
"Good. That's all I need to know," Seth said.

He deleted the number along with the history of text messages and calls placed to it.

"All clear," Seth grinned.
"Good," Roman said. "When are you moving, Joe?"
"Two weeks from now", Joe said.
"Wrong answer," Roman said.

Roman pulled Joe to the stove, grabbed Joe's wrist and held it dangerously close to the pot he was boiling pasta in.

"No, please!" Joe cried.
"You're moving tomorrow, aren't you, Joe?" Roman asked.
"Yes! Tomorrow! I'll be out of here first thing!" Joe cried.
"Good boy," Roman said.

He released Joe's wrist and mockingly tapped his cheek.

"Pack tonight, move tomorrow. If I ever see you in this town again, boiling water will be your preferable form of torture when you see what else I can do to you," Roman said.

Roman and Seth returned to Roman's house together right after leaving Joe's house. The door to the bathroom was open and Roman could hear that Whitney was still in the tub.

"Go to the kitchen and find a pizzeria to order from," Roman said.

Seth walked out in the kitchen and Roman walked out to the bathroom.

"Whitney?" He asked.
"Come in," she said.

He walked in and looked at her in the water. He sucked in his breath and her eyes dropped to his crotch.

"Looks like something came up," she joked.
"You're a mean woman, you know that?" He said.
"I've been thinking," she said.

She moved around to sit on her knees. Her bare breasts left the water and was right there, ready for him to touch.

"I think I'm ready," she said.
"Think?" He asked. "Sweetheart, I want you to know."
"Just be gentle," she waved him over. "Come here."
"Just a second," he said.

He took a step backwards and turned his head.

"Seth?" He yelled.
"Shit, he's here?" She asked.
"Yeah?" Seth yelled back.
"On second thought, why don't you drive down there and buy the pizzas in person?" Roman yelled.
"How long do you need?" Seth yelled back.

Roman looked at Whitney with a grin on his face. She shook her head at the obvious guy talk.

"30 minutes should be enough! I'm not giving her the full ride just yet!" Roman yelled.
"30 minutes it is. Better be hungry when I get back!" Seth yelled.
"Oh, we will," Roman smirked at Whitney.

They heard the front door slam. Roman grabbed a towel and walked over to the tub. He helped her out of it and started drying her.

"So if I'm not getting the full ride, what am I getting then?" She asked.
"My tongue," he grinned. "Slow. Painfully slow. I'm gonna drive you to the edge again and again before I allow you to fall over. I want you to soak my sheets so much that I need to change them before we go to bed."
"Roman!" She whimpered.
"And tonight you'll get the full ride if you're ready for it. And don't go telling me that you are if you're not," he said. "Honesty is the key if this is ever gonna work. I've waiting so long for you. I can always wait longer."