Moving house was easy when you had money, Jay had discovered. For all intents and purposes, there had proven to be no need for him to be there to help out. Erin had hired a company who had shown up at Hank's place with two men and a van, loaded up all of Erin's things that she wanted to take with her, taken them over to Eagle's Nest, then unloaded them all into whichever room she wanted them in. Even that had been taken care of ahead of time, as she had labelled all the boxes. For that reason, all Jay had been able to help with was some unpacking, as all of her furniture was in place too.
"I feel like I didn't do much today," Jay said. All of the unpacking that Erin wanted to do on day one was completed, and they were now standing in the living area, looking out at the view through the glazed wall. Although it was late March, a low mist hung in the valley below the house, making it appear that they were above the clouds. It was truly remarkable. Jay had never seen anything like it in his life.
"It's not about whether you did or didn't do anything. What matters is the fact that you came. You always put so much effort into this relationship, more than I do, and I'm the first to admit that. I'm going to do better."
Jay smiled and put an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. "You've put way more effort into making me happy in the months I've been known you than anyone else has combined for the rest of my life. And I'm not exaggerating. I'll never not be thankful. You're my world, Erin. Truly."
"Oh, Jay," Erin said, cuddling up to him. He knew that it meant so much to her when he managed to find the words to say something like that. They stood for a couple of minutes in silence, simply enjoying being together.
"Erin, this place is unreal," he said eventually. "I can't even believe what I'm looking at right now. You're so lucky that you're going to live here."
"Remember when I said I don't want to live her on my own?" Erin asked.
"Yeah," he said vaguely, concentrating on the view.
"I meant it. I don't want to live her on my own. I want you to move in with me, Jay."
He looked at her, sure that he must have heard wrong. "What?"
Erin looked up at him and gave him a warm smile. "You heard me. I want you to move in with me. Not now necessarily. Whenever you're ready. It'll be a big step for you and I get that, so no pressure. Seriously, no pressure."
Jay had an instinct to accept the offer right away, but he knew that was neither a good idea, nor what Erin wanted him to do. She wanted him to move in when he was ready, whenever that was. And he needed to think over what would be a massive life decision.
"I'd like to move in, when I'm ready. I'll think about it."
"Okay," Erin said happily. She reached up and gave him a peck on the lips. "Love you so much.
"Love you too, Erin." He gave her an adoring kiss on the forehead.
The next day, Jay was back on the road with WWE to work a non-televised event. Erin wasn't there of course, more than occupied with her work at HQ in accounts, as well as with the ongoing preparations for her immanent promotion.
Days like these, with a couple of hours to kill at the arena while waiting for the show to start, were when Jay liked to catch up with Raquel. They had fallen into a routine where they didn't text much, mainly because neither of them were particularly good at it, and would instead talk when they saw each other. It was fine because they saw each other three or four days a week. That was sometimes more than Jay saw Erin. The amount of travel wrestling for WWE involved really did suck.
"Here you go," Raquel said, putting a cup of coffee in front of him on a table in the catering area.
Jay was feeling annoyed. While waiting for Raquel to fetch the drinks, his brain had become aware of how loudly his various colleagues seemed to think they needed to talk. Once an irritation like that got into his head he struggled to get it back out.
"Thank you," he said, picking up the cup. "Actually, can we go find somewhere quieter to talk? Everyone seems so loud today. It's grating on me."
"Sure," Raquel said comfortably. Similarly to Erin, she was getting used to his idiosyncrasies and took them in her stride.
"I've got some news for you and I don't want to be having to shout it at you across catering," he said as they made their way out of the room.
"Good news or bad?" Raquel asked.
"Good. Definitely good," he assured her.
She smiled. "Alright then. I have good news too. But you can go first."
They proceeded down the hallway and after a couple of minutes or so of searching they found a dressing room which was not in use. There was only one metal chair in the small room, but there was a wooden bench that formed part of the locker against the right hand wall. Jay took the bench, allowing his friend the slightly more comfortable chair.
Raquel sat down and drank some coffee before saying, "Okay, hit me."
Jay wasted no time or words on getting to his point. "Erin asked me to move in with her now that she's moved into Eagle's Nest."
"Really?" Raquel asked with raised eyebrows. "And how do you feel about that?"
"I think I want to do it. In fact I almost accepted on the spot, but Erin wanted me to think about it. She made it clear she wasn't putting me on the spot, and I can move in whenever I want, if I want."
"She'd such a sweetheart," Raquel said fondly. "You're very lucky, Jay. Would you be comfortable sharing a house with someone?"
"With Erin, yes," he said without hesitation. "With anyone else, probably not."
"What about the fact that it's the house she chose to buy? She has decorated it. She has furnished it. Understand that I'm not being negative, I'm just suggesting things to consider before you make a decision. I had the same things on my mind before I moved into Z's house."
"You're doing your job as my best friend, and I appreciate it," Jay said. In that moment he suddenly felt a bit emotional. He was lucky to have Raquel's devoted, unequivocal friendship and he knew it. "How did you find moving into Z's place?"
"At the start it felt like I was living in someone else's house, not like it was my own new home. But I got used to it. I'm thinking you would too with Erin's place."
"Safe to say I've never lived anywhere like it before," he said before drinking some coffee. As he drank, he remembered a message that he was supposed to pass on. "Oh, Erin said she's going to have a housewarming party. She doesn't know when yet, but she wanted me to say you and Z will be invited and that she'll speak to you both when she's got it figured out."
"We'll be there," Raquel promised, sipping her coffee. "Looking forward to seeing the place in person. I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice."
"They really don't, Raquel. It's unbelievable. My brain still hasn't come to terms with the idea that I could live there. I'm almost certain I'm going to move there though. How could I not? Living with Erin is the thing I want most in life right now. I love her."
"I know, and it's past time you told her that."
Shit, Jay thought. He hadn't told Raquel about that bridge being crossed either. "Actually, I did, a couple of nights back. But Erin beat me to it, which was frustrating."
"Ah, that doesn't matter," Raquel said with another smile. "The important thing is you told each other how you feel. I'm so happy for you."
"Thank you," Jay said. He was starting to get uncomfortable, as he always did when he was the topic of conversation for any length of time. "So, enough about me. What is your news?"
Raquel downed the rest of her coffee. "This is going to sound really out of left field. I got an offer to appear on a TV show. It's about a rich couple who bought a large area of land in the Florida Keys. They've been searching for Spanish treasure that they believe was buried there in the 1600s. They need a highly qualified diver who also has the kind of skills I have for working on construction underwater. There's a deep drill shaft that was put in by the land's previous owners. It's almost filled with water and there is a lot of junk and debris inside that needs to be cleared."
Jay felt surprised to say the least. This was not at all what he had expected to hear. He didn't know what to make of buried treasure, it sounded a bit fairy tail, but starring on a TV show outside of WWE was a good opportunity for sure. The work sounded dangerous though, which worried him. To say the least, he did not want Raquel to get hurt.
"Seems like a really good opportunity, if Hank allows it," he said. "Does sound dangerous though. Are you sure you'll be safe?"
She nodded. "Absolutely. I've done much more dangerous underwater work. Plus these guys will have to undertake all of the appropriate risk assessments and safety measures. I'll be fine. I get to be on the show, and maybe even help these guys find some treasure. Wouldn't that be awesome? I'm excited about it."
"What kind of treasure are we talking about?"
"They know the Spanish shipped over millions of dollars worth of coins on ships. A significant amount, these guys believe, was buried on their land. They think there may be other treasures buried there too." She shrugged. "I don't know if I believe that or if I expect to find anything, but I'm excited to help them look. I spoke to Hank and he's given me the go-ahead, so long as I don't miss any TV for WWE."
Jay smiled broadly. "That's great. I'm excited for you. I have to ask, why and how did they choose you? Don't take that the wrong way, please."
"I won't," Raquel said with a little laugh. "They got my name from a guy I served with in the army. He's now a professional diver outside of the military. He'll be working overseas on the dates needed for the show, so he recommended me to them when he had to turn them down. Apparently the producers loved the idea as they have no female members on the team apart from the wife in the couple who own the land. One of the producers called me and we talked for half an hour, before he offered me the job. The money isn't bad, the work isn't far from home, and they'll even allow Z to come with me if she's available, although she won't feature on the show."
"I'd like to come too," Jay said, making a spur of the moment decision without thinking about it.
Raquel seemed surprised, in a good way. "Really?"
"Hell yeah. You're my best friend and this is a big deal for you. I want to be there if I can. I get that these people might not want an entourage turning up with you though, so I guess all you can do is ask if they mind me being there, at least for your first day filming. And that's also if I'm not on the road for WWE. That applies to Z too, I guess." Jay well knew that Hank might have given Raquel the go-ahead to film, but there was no way Zelina would get time off to go with her. It would only happen if Raquel's filming happened to be on an off day.
"Thank you, Jay. Come here." Raquel stood up, wanting a hug.
Jay put his coffee cup on the floor and stood. He gave her a hug, tightly like theirs always were.
"I love you, man. Thank you for going all in on our friendship. It's something I've never had in my life."
Jay squeezed her tighter for a second because her words meant so much to him. "Love you too, mami. Our friendship is very special to me. Who wouldn't want to be friends with a real life treasure hunter?"
She laughed and shook her head at the joke as the embrace ended.
As he sat back down, Jay felt proud of himself for one of the first times in his life. He had built himself a wonderful, strong, loving relationship with Erin, and a special, deep friendship with Raquel. He actually wasn't a total failure in his personal life. That felt so good.
A/N: Do you think Jay should immediately move in with Erin, or should he wait?
What do you make of the TV project that Raquel has been recruited for? Do you think she will do well on the show?
