AN: I'm super not sure how this chapter is. I wrote most of it in the middle of the night and just finished it late at night so all mistakes in there I'm sorry about. So please review and let me know if you still like this story. And a quick and grateful thank you to all that have reviewed thus far. And thank you to all that have followed it and fav-ed it. I do love you all (even though I don't know you) :-)
Three Months Later
The day had finally come where Will was moving back to Chicago. Everything had been sorted out in New York and he was completely certain that leaving his pal Henry is charge was the best idea he had. Diane had never met the man but she'd agreed with Will, having put her trust in his decision. It wasn't often that Will had a bad idea or made a terrible mistake; at least not too often as Will knew Diane would say. He had definitely missed their silly banter with each other over the working day and he couldn't wait to get back to it.
Of course, he couldn't wait to get back to Alicia too. Her more than anything. Since his spontaneous (and bumpy) visit roughly three months ago he hadn't missed a day to call her, or her calling him. They almost constantly had nothing to say to each other but just hearing each other's voice was enough. And now Will would see her in person. He'd be able to see her lips moving while she spoke, and see her eyes glisten in the light, and see her smile when she'd notice he was only watching her talk and not listening entirely. It stirred something inside of him and he couldn't wait to finally see her in the flesh.
He'd booked a flight back to Chicago for the early afternoon, knowing he could get to his new place and settle down a little before Alicia would meet him there after her day of work. They'd planned it weeks ago, both of them too excited to wait until the time was closer to Will moving back. So Will had packed up the last of his things on Thursday and waited for the movers on Friday morning to take a lot of his furniture back to Chicago. He'd go into work for a few hours and make sure everything would be handled by the right people, and then he'd catch his plane back. And surprisingly, it all went smoothly and as planned. The movers were only a few minutes late (which is spectacular considering how movers usually are with times), he didn't need to remind everyone at work about their own duties at all, and his plane was able to leave the airport exactly on time with perfect weather.
And the thought came into his head as the plane was about to land at O'Hare.
Today is all about good timing.
There was no other word to describe how Alicia was feeling today. Happy. Alright, she would admit to herself that there was an abundance of words to describe how she was feeling, but all of them would come under happy. It was rare when Alicia knew she was feeling just happy and nothing else. There would always be something or rather happening in her life that would put a damper on her overall happiness, but not today. Today had been excellent so far. The kids had just started their summer holidays and they were completely happy themselves. Zach had finally finished high school and he was preparing himself to start at Princeton later that year, which made everyone nervous but endlessly proud. Grace had overcome everything a couple months ago and everything seemed to be back to normal, because she was her happy and gorgeous self again.
More importantly though, Will was coming back. Every time Alicia thought about it while she sat at her desk it sent shivers up her spine out of excitement. She instantly had to calm herself down so she wouldn't catch any attention to herself. But he was coming back and she wanted to scream from the rooftop from happiness. So that was why she'd describe her only feeling as happy.
She would be able to see him and hold him and kiss him in just a matter of hours. She'd said goodbye to the kids that morning because they would be going out for the day and then straight to Peter's, as she would be going straight to Will's new home after work. He'd told her the address and it was conveniently located almost dead center between the L/G offices and her apartment. Of course she would never point out to Will that she'd noticed that. He probably already knew that she noticed it anyway. And instead of Alicia having silent freak-outs about him moving so close to her, her heart sang with joy that he wanted to be so close. And close he would be at the end of the day…
Will almost jumped out of the cab when he reached his new townhouse. It was a gorgeous three story place that had just been completely renovated. Of course it seemed to be a large place for only Will, but he hoped that maybe one day Alicia could move in there with him. He loved the thought of it, but he wouldn't exactly share that with her yet. She would still have Grace in school and want to spend as much time with Zach before he left for university, and although she would be completely divorced within the next couple of weeks he wouldn't want to shock her with a big proposal of them moving in together. It would all be too much for her to cope with, he just knew.
He collected his suitcases from the taxi and reached for his new set of keys in his coat pocket. He hauled the bags up the steps to his new front door and slipped the key into the lock. Will didn't know why he felt nervous, but he did. It was just a new house but even still, it was a new house. One he could freely take Alicia and spend unknown amounts of time with her there, and only her. No one else had been there with him, and he hoped no one else but Alicia would ever be there with him. Not including his few friends and maybe even Alicia's kids.
He turned the key and opened the door. Will took a deep breath and stepped through the doorway. The entire place was empty but he still felt like the place was warm and inviting. It just felt like home, which he took as a very good sign. He pulled in his bags and left them by the door as he started to walk around a little. He had his real estate agent send him photos of every single room, every single corner of the place because he couldn't get there himself. Which was why it was so nerve racking to walk through the door. What if it didn't feel right? He'd once thought to himself after making the decision to take it. He kicked himself internally for not thinking of that before he signed the lease papers and sent them to his agent, but he immediately made peace with that thought now. It was perfect. He walked through the lower floor which had a large front sitting area, a study, and a bathroom. It also led out to a little private terrace in the back. Will went up one floor and looked over the kitchen, dining and living areas. All of which were perfect and felt right. He again climbed the last flight of stairs and walked through to the master bedroom.
He started to imagine where he'd put the bed. It didn't matter, he thought to himself. If Alicia was in that bed with him, it wouldn't matter if it was in this room, the kitchen, on the roof even. Hell, he could very well do without any bed at all knowing how much they both like to utilize some desk space, or a place on the wall. Will grinned to himself as he went back down the stairs and began to wait for the movers to get there with his furniture.
They didn't take more than an hour to arrive, which was almost right on time. The strong and muscly men brought in all that they two vans had, which didn't like a lot due to the size of Will's new place. It had taken a while to move some of the larger pieces of furniture up to the second and third floors. Rather a challenge really, but they handled it well and with care. He'd have to go out and get some filling furniture. Probably a good idea to bring along Diane… Will thought as he tipped the last guy and saw them drive away. She always had a great sense of style and Will didn't know what to buy since he already had all that he needed, but it just looked so empty. He took a glance at his watch.
5.47.
Alicia would probably be on his front door step soon. If she didn't work too late, and Will thought that she wouldn't considering they hadn't seen each other in months. So he decided to venture out and bring home some food that would be needed since he had absolutely nothing yet. He grabbed his coat and dropped the new and shiny keys into his pocket as he left and closed the door behind him. He knew the area pretty well since it was rather close to the office and Alicia's apartment, so he didn't have to walk far to find a place that had some really good pizza. He pondered over the menu for a while and finally decided on a pizza with the lot, because he couldn't actually decide on anything else. He walked a little further down the street and picked up a six pack of beer while the pizza was cooking. What better way to celebrate his new home than with pizza and beer with Alicia? This particular way to celebrate was practically their tradition now.
The sky had started to get dark as Will walked home, and as he started to approach his new front door he spotted a figure looming at the door. He got closer and looked at who was leaning against the door. He could spot those legs anywhere, Will thought to himself as he felt his stomach do excited flips. Will stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked up to Alicia. She pushed herself off the wall and tilted her head to the right.
"Hey." Her voice washed over him like a warm breeze. It was like his bones had been frozen for the past few months and just seeing her at his door was enough to set them on fire. He went up the steps and looked into her eyes, aware of the pizza in his hand, careful not to drop the box.
"Hey." He said softly. She gave him a huge smile and placed her hand over his arm. "Come in then." He needed to move along so he could set the pizza and beer down and take her in his arms and hold her incredibly tight. He handed her the pizza box and pulled out his keys from his pocket.
"It looks like a really nice place, Will. Very nice."
"I think it is." He unlocked the door and opened it, letting Alicia walk in before him. As she walked past she brushed against him and lingered for a moment. Which made Will catch his breath for a minute, it had been way too long since they had seen each other. He closed the door and switched on the hallway light. He had time to familiarize himself with some of the main light switches before he left to get the food. He turned back around to Alicia who had started to wander, no doubt inspecting the new place.
"Just as good inside as it is out?" Will asked her nervously. She spun around on her heels with the biggest smile on her face that completely melted him.
"Will, it's perfect. I love it." At least that was a good sign regarding his future (far in the future) plans. He gave her a smile back as he walked towards the stairs, silently telling her to follow him up.
"I'm glad you think so. Come up." She nodded her head and followed him. He flicked on another switch that illuminated part of the second floor. He walked over to the left, where the kitchen area was and placed the six pack on the island counter top before turning on another switch to lighten up the kitchen some more. Alicia followed slowly, still looking around. There were at least five unpacked boxes in the kitchen and Will had absolutely no idea what was in each box. He wanted to find plates, but it seemed like it's be a very long task.
"We'll be fine without plates, right?"
"They're completely unnecessary." Alicia answered him happily as she set the pizza box down on the counter next to the beer. "But do you know what is necessary?" Will gave her a confused look, definitely not knowing what was on her mind.
"What?" She stepped around the counter to him and gently reached her arms around Will's neck. Then he understood what she was thinking. He smiled softly at her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. Will softly pushed his lips towards hers and kissed her. It was sweet and slow and perfect. After a couple more sweet kisses Alicia pulled away from him.
"Does your oven work?" Well, that is certainly out of the blue, Will thought. Why on Earth would she want to know that?
"Yes. Electricity, gas, all of that is up and running. Why?"
"We'll have to reheat the pizza."
"It's still hot Alicia." He was definitely confused. Until she looked at him like that. She'd given him that look time and time again, and since he had a working oven, he could delay eating for a while. "It can wait." He whispered.
"Yeah, it can wait." She said breathlessly, focused on Will's lips. Will again pulled her into him and pressed his lips against hers, more urgent this time. He quickly pushed off her coat and let it drop to the ground. He felt Alicia's hands slide into his own coat and slide it off. Her hands then started to make their way up Will's shirt, pulling it up as they went. They broke apart briefly while she pulled Will's shirt over his head. He then continued his passionate attack on her lips and pushed her back against the kitchen counter. She groaned softly in his mouth which set a fire beneath Will's feet, it'd been too long and there was no way that this would be a slow reunion. He pushed off Alicia's jacket and pulled up her skirt so it bunched at her waist. He felt her reach between them and unbuckled his belt and pulled it off, throwing it hard on the ground with impatience. It seemed to be that he wasn't the only one who was expecting their first time together in three months to be passionate and slow, taking their time to appreciate each other's bodies again. No, this was needy and filled with burning desire for one another. And neither one of them had any problem with not taking their time.
Will and Alicia were spread out on the kitchen floor trying to regain their breathing. Three months had actually gone by and they both had an incredible need for one another.
"Well that was certainly a good way to make myself feel at home here." Will joked.
"I'm so glad." They laughed together, happy to be in each other's arms again.
"I'm glad that I won't have to explain the screams coming from a woman to any neighbors above or below me." Will chuckled to himself.
"Hey!" Alicia called out and slapped his chest playfully. "I'm not that loud."
"That's what you think." She started to sit up and move from his arms but Will held on tight and pulled her completely against him. "I'm kidding." He laughed again and felt her smile against his chest as she kissed him there.
"Should we eat now?" She asked absentmindedly as she turned her head into Will's shoulder.
"Sure. I'll go get you something to wear." He knew it would probably not be ideal if she put her work clothes back on. He wasn't sure if they would be able every piece of clothing she had on anyhow.
Will stood up and left the kitchen. He went to the first floor to fetch his suitcases and bring them up, knowing he had at least a shirt and a pair of boxes for Alicia to throw on. He walked back to the kitchen and saw Alicia sitting up on the counter, naked, with a piece of pizza in hand. Will opened up one suitcase and pulled on a pair of track pants while getting out a large shirt for Alicia to put on. No matter how much he liked to see her walk around in absolutely nothing it was a little cold for her to do so. He walked to stand right in front of her and pushed his body between her legs, which wrapped around him reflexively.
"Cold pizza?" He asked, amused.
"It tastes the same when it's hot, and I'm too hungry to wait. I did build up quite the appetite just now you know." She smiled at him seductively. Oh yes, he knew.
"You have a point there. Let me have a bite." She extended the slice out to Will and let him take a bite. "Hands up." He mumbled, still eating. She obliged as he fiddled with his shirt so he could slip it over her head. He pulled the shirt down over her body, letting his hands glide over her soft, flawless ivory skin and pulled her to the edge of the bench to hold her tighter to his body.
"Mmm. Just as good cold." Will said, leaning forward to place a quick kiss against Alicia's lips.
"So." She stated.
"So?"
"What do you plan to do this weekend?" There was no flirty hint in her voice, so Will couldn't just blurt out he planned to stay in bed with her. Even though that's what he thought would happen anyway. He reached out to the pizza box and grabbed himself a slice.
"I thought I'd just sort out all of this…" He looked around at the furniture that was just placed around randomly and the unopened boxes, "stuff."
"I don't have the kids so if you want my help, I'm here."
"Of course I want your help. I'll need it. I don't know where to place everything. You probably know better than I do where everything should go."
"Like Feng Shui-ing the place?" She softly giggled.
"Exactly!" He took a large bite of his pizza and reached behind Alicia to grab a bottle of beer. Alicia finished off her piece of pizza and wrapped her arms around Will.
"We can start all of that tomorrow, but Will?" He mumbled an 'mmm' while taking a bite of his food. She leaned in and let her lips brush against the skin just below his ear. "I haven't seen the bedroom yet." She whispered and placed a kiss on his neck. Will immediately dropped the piece of pizza and lifted Alicia off the counter. She held onto him tightly as he carried her away from the kitchen and up the stairs, straight to his new bedroom. She laughed loudly as he almost ran up the stairs, the sound echoing around the relatively empty house. It almost made Will decide then and there to never furnish the place so he could constantly hear that gorgeous and full laugh bounce off the walls an fill the empty places.
He knew then that this new house could probably be the place where he would spend the rest of his days with the woman he truly loved. He had so many years left and he couldn't imagine not spending any of them without Alicia by his side.