Chapter 9 – Decisions

Saturday, December 5th, 2020

Gabi's POV

A knock sounded on the door as I was supervising lunch as I looked at the two of them before heading towards the door. Troy was at a shoot around this morning, and I wasn't awake when he got home last night. I felt him get into bed and his body wrapped around me, but I made no move to let him know I was semi-conscious. I still wasn't sure what to say to him and luckily, I think he was happy to let me mull over this decision until we went to Statesboro next weekend.

I swung the door open, and I gasped as Beth launched herself at me. "What are you doing here?" I gasped and she laughed, "I literally told you I was going to be here today. You needed me. I'm here." I closed my eyes as I just squeezed my sister trying to stop any of the tears. "I spent too long not being here for you. I am going to make it up to you." That broke the basket, and she squeezed me right back. "Mamamamam," the babbles echoed between the two of them as I pulled away and wiped my tears away.

"I am so happy to see you. I was just joking."

"I wasn't." Beth squeezed my arm, "I am staying for the rest of the month. The cowboy grumbled about it, but I think you need me. I want to be here for those two and their first Christmas time." I gave a smiled as I was officially going to be done with my other job after Wednesday. I'm wrapping some things up and then going to be at the dance studio full-time.

"SUTTON! SAYLOR!" Beth went in and started loving on both of them. I couldn't stop my laugh as they were giggling as I gave them each more food as the garage door opened. Luna came sprinting in, "Gabs, hey," Troy sat his bag down and then he looked up, "Beth! Hi!" he greeted Beth with a hug. "What are you doing here?" he asked her, and Beth gave me a look and I just nodded. I wasn't hiding anything from him. "My little sister was upset last night, and I showed up."

Troy whirled around to look at me with a bit of surprise on his face. "You were upset last night?" he abandoned Beth and I looked back over at Beth who just nodded as she started to entertain the twins. I walked upstairs with Troy hot on my heels. "Gabi, baby, why were you upset last night? Why didn't you tell me this morning?" I turned around to look at him. "Why do you think?" he inhaled, and he shook his head, "This shouldn't cause this much distress. You don't want to do it. Say no. That way we can move on." Those blue eyes beat on me as I shook my head. "Because I want to go to Statesboro. I want to look around. I want to make sure I give this a fair chance before I make assumptions."

"But Zoey's and…"

"We don't have to talk about this today." I told him and he cupped my face. "I want this to go away though. I want the two of us to be happy again. I want this stress of a job offer I wasn't even looking for to disappear."

"And I don't want to waste this opportunity for you because of my fears." I responded.

"Fears?"

His words were almost a squeak and I sighed as I leaned back against our bed. "Yes, am I terrified to leave Zoey's behind because of all the work I put into it? Yes. Do I still want to be a part of that every single day? Yes. The two-hour drive though won't prevent me from being somebody with Zoey's and it might look different than I thought but that isn't what I am scared of. I'm scared because our life was finally good. We were good. Our families were good. Things felt normal. I am finally happy for the first time in a long time, and I am scared that by doing this – we are changing everything. We are moving away from our families. We are moving away from our lives. I am scared that it is going to disrupt everything after I've worked so hard to be this happy again."

I couldn't stop the tears and he only pulled me into his body as he didn't say anything as he just kissed my head. "I will always be happy by your side, but I am scared that it's just going to take adjustments to get back to this kind of happy."

His lips found my head and he inhaled softly, "You still want to go to Statesboro with the girls?"

"Yea, I do. I want to see what life down there would be like. You gave me my dream and I want to give you yours. It will take a lot of work and I would be back and forth between here and there more than you probably want me to be until we can afford to open another Zoey's by me but on that front, I could make it work to make both of our dreams. I just…I need to reassure myself that this is going to be good for us."

He cupped my face, "I just need you to talk to me about this."

"The most complicated part about this is your friends. If this was just the two of us in this decision, I think it would be easy but all of you are going. All of you. We won't be alone down there, but I also feel like this decision is falling back on me."

"It isn't. I am thankful you are keeping an open mind into Statesboro, and we can thoroughly discuss everything once you get back. This isn't on you. If you don't want to do it, then I don't want to do it. I didn't think about how we have both finally settled into life. How you finally settled into life after everything that happened, and you are happy. Fuck, I should have just told the guy no." I wrapped my hand around his arm, and I shook my head. "No, you shouldn't have. Change is a good thing. I am just…" I exhaled and gave him a smile. "I am just scared that this change could change a lot of things and it will change the life we know together a lot."

"It will and that is something we both have to acknowledge."

"But I want to do this together and we have to do this together." He easily lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. I buried my face into his neck, and he just held me. "We're a team. You haven't o want this with me to make it work so if you have any doubts? We're not doing it." I just nodded and we both held on to each other. "I was joking with Beth last night that I wish she was here and that's why she showed up today."

Troy laughed as he kissed me softly and he threaded his fingers through my hair. "I love you and I never want you to think otherwise, yea?" I nodded as he kissed the top of my head again. "C'mon, let's go spend time with your sister."


Friday, December 11th, 2020

Gabi's POV

Josie, Sara, Sage, Lennon, and I were all in a car on our way to Statesboro, Georgia. There was a slight change of plans as the boys were all going to join us tomorrow down here as we needed to see it as a couple, but we also needed girl time to make sure we all understood what we were getting into. I inhaled as the trees were blurring by outside the window as we had just left a little over thirty minutes ago. "What do you think this town is like? Sleepy? Boring?" Lennon was in the driver's seat as I nibbled on my lower lip. "I honestly have never been before. I just love that it's a short drive to Savannah,"

"I was telling Dylan that we should move into our own house, and I guess this is our opportunity." My stomach somersaulted as Sage grabbed my knee in comfort. "I want this for them," Sara said as her hand landed on her belly. "I want this for him because he never thought he could." I gave a look towards Sage as I didn't want to say anything right now. I just wanted to listen to everybody else at the moment.

"I mean, I just started in my job but if this was going to make him happy then I am willing to look for another law firm in Georgia. It's just so far from all the cities. Savannah is still an hour away. Which means there won't be much for a lawyer." Lennon bit on her lip as I shared another look with Sage. It seemed like the group was a little bit divided on what the best plan was. I know all the boys wanted it, but we all did have jobs and families nearby.

"Gabi, can you believe those babies are going to be one soon?" I shook my head as I ran my fingers through my hair. "I truly cannot believe it. It's shocking to think they have come this far in a year. My itty-bitty babies are all grown now." I gave off a pout as Sage groaned, "I just can't believe Noah isn't far behind."

"Before we know it, we'll have a fourth to the mix." Sara let her hand fall right to her belly and we all gave a smile. "Gabi, do you and Troy think you'll have more?" Lennon asked and I nodded, "Yea, I just don't know when. This of course will change a lot of things for us, but I don't want our kids to be that far apart in age. I don't want my kids to have a seven-year age gap. I want them to all grow up together." Sage nodded her head, "We talked about trying again once Noah hits 12-15 months. It took a few months to get pregnant with him and then they would be about two years apart."

"I think I would have to talk Troy into that," I said with a laugh.

"It's promised sex, he'd go for it." Josie said and I laughed, "Sure fire way to get Dylan to have a baby." Josie let out a laugh, "I told him I want a ring before he puts a baby inside of me, but he tries his damn hardest to." We all laughed in the car as Lennon gave a shy smile, "I think we're going to try as soon as our honeymoon starts. I want to have my wedding but after that? I don't care. I want all of Cam's babies."

"Good for you. Does this change anything? I mean basketball season just got a little longer and if you tried after your honeymoon that would be like January." Lennon pressed her lips together as she thought about it. "Hmm…I guess this could change things. Probably harder for him to miss time in college compared to high school." I nodded my head in understanding as now we really did need to plan our pregnancies better or I wasn't going to have the help like I did last time with Troy. Not like we planned the first one though.

The drive seemed to fly by, and we were entering the surrounding area of Statesboro. We all began to pay more attention to outside of the car. Once we made it through the beginning parts of town, we entered the downtown area, and it was the exact picture you would think of rolling into a small city downtown. The buildings were brick and old but still put together well. All of the Christmas decorations were out, and it was quite beautiful. The hotel we were staying at wasn't far from the campus.

"This is slightly better than I pictured it to be."

I eyed a few other places as I took note that a dance studio down here would be amazing.

I exhaled with the thought as Josie parked the car and we all piled out to stretch our legs to walk around for a little bit. We found a little café on the corner before stepping inside to find a table. We all ordered drinks and browsed the menu before Sara started it. "Okay, let's going around and state one positive about the situation and one worry about the situation. We all have them and none of them are dumb. We need to make sure we are all making a great decision for all of us because it affects all of us."

Sage nodded, "The boys said we have to be unanimous, and they don't care if we do a blind vote or we if talk about it, but we all have to be happy with this decision."

Lennon sighed as she took a drink of her sweet tea, "I'll go first. I am so proud of them in general for just getting to this point in their career and I think it would be amazing for all of them. They deserve to show the world how amazing they are as coaches. They've been doing it for years now and have gotten great results, but I am worried about finding a job. I don't want to be a stay-at-home mom and I love my job so that is truly the hard part."

Sage nodded her head, "I agree with the sentiment that the boys all do deserve this. They have been working on this for much longer than any of us and I think moving to a new area would be fun, but my worry is that we are losing our families help with Noah. It's been so nice having their help and I don't know how much I love being away from my family when he's this little. They love him." I nodded in understanding to what she was saying. That was part of mine.

Josie smiled softly, "I think for Dylan and me neither of us have that many worries about leaving. I want to move somewhere else and branch off. My family isn't around, and I think it's a good opportunity for the both of us. I don't like my job and Dylan is so excited about it he vibrates. I think my worry is that he'll be disappointed if they don't go." I inhaled as I just nodded as I spoke up next. "There is a lot of good about this job for all of us here. The opportunity, the fact that all of us go, and that it isn't too far away from family. I think most of you can guess my worries. Zoey's, my family, and the fact that I just found stability in my life again after a few years without it. I've been at war in my head for weeks since we found out and I am just…" I stopped as I inhaled deeply.

"I want to say yes but I am scared that it will be so different, and Troy and I will struggle too much. I want him to reach for his dreams and I want his friends to as well but it's so hard and scary. I am so thankful we would all have each other though." Sage squeezed my leg as Sara went last. "I agree with almost everything said at this table. I do want to go but I understand everybody's fear. I think we take a tour of the town and get a feel for it to see how it is all going to go."

"I am surprised that nobody said money." Lennon spoke and I sighed, "Troy said I can't care about the money. That it shouldn't be the factor that we choose it because trust me – that motivates me a lot, but we also need to be happy as a family. If we aren't going to be happy as a family, then there isn't a point in moving. He wants us to be happy with this decision and that is the one thing I am scared of. That this is going to change a lot of things and that I won't be happy with the decision."

"I asked Jesse if we could trial this for a year or two. If it's not going well and it's too complicated and too hard then we could back out." I looked over at Sage and I nodded as I did like that. It gave him a chance to do this and if it wasn't working, he could easily move back to a high school position. "We have to be in this together as wives though. We will have to lean on each other and we're going to have to be our own little army." Sage mentioned.

"I agree. I think we should see if we can find a new neighborhood or apartment complex or something like that where we can all live together and around each other. That way we can have each other to make this transition and the boys will be gone a lot more than they are now but will also get more time with us at the same time. It will be different." We all nodded in agreement. "Plus, we won't have families around and I think all of us have our concerns that are valid, but it also sounds like we want to give them a chance." I grimaced and I knew they all saw it.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just hard, y'know? I finally did my big dream and opened Zoey's and I know I will still very much be a part of it. I just makes me sad that I am moving away from it for now." Lennon pulled me into her side as I wiped away my tears. "It's just been hard having to let it go and that I won't be there every single day. I talked about it with Dana, Mia, and Brea who are more than happy to pick up my slack while I would take over a lot of the advertising, brainstorming, business side of it which is not exactly what I wanted to do. I want to dance."

"Maybe in the house you guys buy you can make a room for you to be able to dance and teach a class from here. You can go up every few weekends. You are just as important and maybe one day you can make an expansion here in Statesboro. It does appear to be lacking." I couldn't stop my laugh as we all looked at each other and we all came to a decision with each other. "I do want Troy to live his dream and I am so excited to watch him coach at the college level and I want this for Dylan, Cameron, Jesse, and Jax. I want this for them. It was just such terrible timing."

The group laughed as we agreed and then we moved on to eating. It still nagged on me deep in my soul, but I knew deep down this was the right decision. I was going to be a part of Zoey's, and nobody was kicking me out. If we can expand it in a few years, amazing, we will have one in Georgia and we will make it just as well down here. Nobody was taking that from me, and I was going to get to do it while supporting my husband.

"How hard to do you think this is going to be?" Sara asked as her hand fell to her belly and we all shared a look as none of this was going to be easy. "I think the hard part is we are all in the middle of starting our families. Lennon and Cam are getting married, Josie, we know you aren't far behind. We are all having kids. It's just a very busy part of our lives and they are going to be busy. We thought film was bad before?" we all groaned together.

"Let's go find things for us to do around here as a friend group."

We all agreed as we paid our bill, and we began to walk around the little downtown area. We found a coffee shop, a little bakery, a play place for kids, and a bunch of little boutiques. We ventured and found a big park with a bunch of play areas, and I felt it in my bones that the kids would love it here. I felt peace fall over me as I looked at Sage and she gave a tiny smile, "I think it would be a lot of fun to raise a family here."

I nodded as I looked around as it was so pretty, especially during Christmas time. "We'll do it together." I gave her a smile and a nod because we were going to do it together.


Troy's POV

Saturday, December 12th, 2020

The girls had gone radio silent since they arrived except for Gabi and Sage who checked in with the babies, but they didn't mention one thing about how it was going. I was nervous. "Is Gabi really going to be the one to shut this down?" Dylan asked turning to look at me and I shrugged, "Guys, I don't know. She's scared."

"Scared of what? The money?" I shook my head. "I think we all missed the point where my wife finally was doing well for the first time in two years. Had everything going in the right direction for her. We are married, we have our kids, our families are around, she opened the dance studio – she was comfortable and damn, maybe she is scared that she is going to disrupt all of that, and I will feel horrendous if she starts to fall back into a hole she doesn't love. I love seeing her smile and laugh every fucking day. She's happy again and losing that would hurt me more than anything else."

The car was silent after that little speech, "Fuck, I never thought about it like that." Dylan mumbled. "I don't think she doesn't want it because of the job. She's just wishing it was down the street instead of two and half hours away."

"That is fair. I know Lenny is really worried about finding a job."

"Sage is just scared because we won't have any family."

"We are a family," Jax pointed out and I nodded, "I know, and they know that but it's easier when parents are around when people are busy." I said as I knew my parents would stay in South Carolina but maybe Gabi's parents would follow us. It truly sounded like James was going to follow Blaine – at least live closer to him so that Zoey could have her big brother and so they could all start fresh. Beth lived in Wyoming with Colt and if Gabi moved? Might as well follow her grandchildren and that was still close.

"Have the girls said nothing?" Cameron asked shifting in his seat up front as I glanced down at my phone to see nothing on the front of my phone. I missed her. She left just yesterday but we had been busy. We were going to finish Christmas shopping together on Monday as I took the day off work since we didn't have a game and we needed to get everything finished. I was thankful we were going to have the day together as we were also preparing for the babies first birthday.

How it had been a year is beyond me.

The scariest and best day of my life.

"No, they must be plotting against us." Dylan mumbled and I couldn't help but laugh as I shook my head. We were close to the town, and we were meeting the girls at campus. I told Mitchell we were coming down and he was going to give us a tour. The team was on the road, and it was the perfect opportunity to get a look at the gym, locker room, weight room, etc. The girls were going to wonder campus while we did that before they hosted us all to a dinner tonight.

Once we pulled into campus, I shot Gabi a text letting her know we were here, and she responded quickly that they were by the gym. We all tumbled out of the car, and we began heading towards the gym on campus. It wasn't too far from where we were parked when we spotted the girls. They were all chatting amongst themselves, and I spotted Gabi who had a smile on her face and laughed at something one of the girls said.

"Look who finally showed up," Sara teased as we approached, and we all branched off as I went to Gabi as I framed her face. "I missed you," I murmured as I dropped a kiss to her mouth, and she smiled. "I missed you and my babies. How were they last night?" I grunted. "They wanted you. I think they are a little too used to you nursing them at night." She laughed as I wrapped her up in a hug as I looked over my shoulder to see Mitchell Anderson walking our direction. He smiled once he caught my attention. "Troy, coaches, welcome." I went to shake his hand as the guys followed behind me.

"Mitchell, I'd like you to meet my best friends and coaching staff. Jesse Lewis, Cameron Harrington, Dylan Suthers, and Jax Patterson." They each shook his hand and introduced themselves. "And who are these amazing women behind you?" "This is my wife, Sage." Jesse introduced Sage first. "This is my girlfriend, Josie," Dylan pulled her into his side as he kissed her head. "This is my fiancé, Lennon." Lennon shook hands with him as Jax pulled Sara into him. "This is my wife Sara and we'll be finding out soon if we are having a son or daughter,"

"Congrats! That's amazing."

"And this is my wife, Gabi." Gabi shook his hand and he smiled, "Welcome all of you to Georgia Southern, ladies, I am going to have my assistant take you around to all the things that will make your lives easier here. This is Maggie," the girls all greeted her as she took them off in a different direction as Mitchell had us follow. "I am glad you all came down this weekend to check out campus. I hope it didn't interfere with your high school schedule." I shook my head, "No, we took this weekend off. Finals are next week, and I want them to all study."

Mitchell smiled as he opened the gym doors and led us through the door. "Welcome to Hanner Fieldhouse," we all stopped on the edge of the court, and we took a look around. It was twice the size of our high school field house, and it was full of like. Eagles were coated across the floor, and I took the first step out into the middle of the court. I let my shoe run across it and I stared down at how amazing the court looked. It was like I was back at South Carolina.

"It's amazing," I said turning around and Mitchell nodded as he took us back to the locker room. It was huge with each player having individual lockers and chairs before going into a lounge area where players could do homework or hang out with a fridge that was fully stocked of milk, Gatorade, water, and a few other drinks here and there. "Finally, the office area. This is where all of you would reside." He pushed through another door that connected to the locker room and we walked back as each of us would have our own office. They were all decent size and Troy; this would be your office. The door propped open, and it was twice the size of the rest. It had all the other coach's stuff, but it was cleaned as if they knew we were coming. There was a white board, round table, and a large flat screen with a couch on the back wall.

"Jesus," Cameron muttered, and I nodded in agreement as I inhaled and turned to look at Mitchell. "It all looks fantastic."

"I did some negotiations with our president, and we found room in our budget to increase all of your salaries." We all paused as he looked at us each. "Troy, we'd bump you to 175, all of your assistants to 150 with the same signing bonuses."

"Jesus,"

I inhaled as I wanted to accept on that alone but Gabi.

"We are also planning on opening a brand-new field house in the next handful of years."

We all shared a look and I felt all of them look over at me. I had to convivence Gabi.


Gabi was getting ready as she was telling me all about how their tour with Maggie. "Troy, they have a daycare that they pay for all faculty – which would be you. We can use their gym, and if I wanted to get my MBA. I could for free." My eyes looked up at her and she was putting an earring in her ear. "They bumped up our salaries." Gabi twisted to look at me and I nodded my head. "I would be making 175, the rest of them 150. They initially told me they were going to bump me up over 200 and leave the other guys alone and I told them that I wouldn't want that. I told that upfront that I wanted them to be just underneath of me. So, they spread it around again."

She walked over to me in a dress and those small heels as I pulled her between my knees. "What are you thinking?" I murmured to her, my eyes looking up at her. Her hands ran through my hair softly as her make-up was so simple tonight and she looked rested. It was something I hadn't seen in a while as if she had come to peace with whatever was happening in front of her. "We are going to all go grab coffee tomorrow, us girls, before we drive home, and we are going to take a vote before we tell you guys. That way it comes from all of us."

"But what are you thinking?" I redirected and she nibbled on her lower lip with the soft pink lipstick. "I am thinking that there are a lot of opportunities here for our family here. I think that if all the girls are in and want to do this and we do this as a family? Why wouldn't we? Am I still scared? Yea, I am but I think that is going to come down to the two of us and our communication. I think the girls and I have some ideas we want to implement before we promise anything and make a final answer but Troy, I am proud of you." Her hand slid over my cheek, and she leaned down to press her lips to mine.

"Thank you for coming down here,"

"The campus is gorgeous." Gabi said and I nodded in agreement as she finished getting ready as I was in dress pants and a button-down shirt as we made our way down to the lobby. Our friends were down there as I nodded towards Dylan that the conversation that I had with Gabi was good. It was good and I think we would like it down here. Tomorrow we were going to take them to a neighborhood that Cameron had found that was all new builds in the middle of being built and there was a full neighborhood of them not too far from the campus. They were all in a decent price range for us and we could all live in the same neighborhood and the girls would always have each other.

We were having to build our own family down here.

I tucked Gabi against me as we were walking to dinner down the street, and she nuzzled into my arm. "I can't wait for Monday," Gabi whispered as we all walked in and found Mitchell. I gave her a smile as I kissed her head. "Yea? Just you and me?" she nodded. "I think I'll take the kids to daycare before you even get out of bed and then maybe we stay in bed for just a little bit." I smirked at her, and she laughed pinching my side. I chuckled as we took our seats around the table as Mitchell introduced us to a few boosters at the table and the head president as we went around.

"Troy, do you have any kids?" I found Gabi's hand under the table as I nodded. "We have twins, a boy and a girl who are turning a year at the end of the month. Jesse has a son that's about three months younger than our kiddos."

"Jax when is your baby due?" Mitchell asked as we all placed drink orders around the tables besides Sara. "We're due at the very end of May." Jax said as his hand fell towards Sara's belly even though she wasn't showing by any means. The boosters asked us all questions and we were talking a lot of basketball and how our plans were to improve the basketball program. They had a decent team and with new ideas and new coaches it could be taken to new heights. Gabi's phone buzzed at one point, and I could see it was her mom calling and she got up and I just nodded as she walked out of the restaurant.

"Will you all have a decision soon," one of the boosters, David, asked. "I think our wives are meeting tomorrow morning to talk about all of the final things. It has to be a unanimous vote and we will have one by the end of the week next week most likely." I spoke and the ladies nodded. "I hope we've impressed all of you."

"The free day care is a real bonus," Sage said, and Jesse nodded his head, "Truly, it is. Plus, just giving all of us more financial stability in our lives. That is worth so much to all of us." Gabi came back and her face was a little white. "You, okay?" I asked leaning forward so she could just hear me. She nodded her head, "Yea, it was just my mom. Saylor has been inconsolable tonight. She wanted to know if I had any tips or tricks." Her eyes were heavy with worry, and I let my hand fall on her back. "They have her." I murmured to her, and she nodded her head, "I know. I just feel bad. My baby girl wants her mama,"

"She could want me." I tossed to try and get her to relax, and Gabi laughed with a shake of her head. "Can our families travel with us?" Cameron asked and Mitchell cleared his throat. "Any of the plane rides you guys have – yes. Your families can travel but by bus there wouldn't be enough room for everybody. You would have a charter but with all the staff that travels there won't be enough room but once you get to the hotel and the family goes all of those expenses will be paid."

Gabi squeezed my leg and I nodded because Gabi would be working from home, and I would want her to travel with me as much as possible, but it would get challenging with more kids. Our dinner continued without much fanfare, and it was nice to just get to talk and ask all the questions that we had. The school paid for our dinner and once we walked out, I could see the girls looking at each other and I felt nothing but hopeful at the moment.

"Let's go grab a night cap," Lennon suggested. We all agreed and headed back to the hotel with a downstairs bar. We piled in around a pub table as we all placed orders and we all stared around each other. "What are you boys feeling right now? I know how much you all want this, but do you have any concerns?" Josie asked as Dylan linked their hands together on the table. "I think my biggest concern is the five of you. This is us taking on a huge responsibility at a college. There is so much more pressure here and we may be busier."

"We thought about this yesterday – if we thought film was bad now?" the girls all groaned again, and we all chuckled. "We have a huge film room at the college but yea, there will be a lot of film to be watched."

"I think something all of us girls want you boys to consider this needs to be trial period for all of us. I think we give this two years before we can make any complaints. The first year is going to be hard on everybody because it will be new but the second year if this isn't working then any of us can back out. I think all of us need to make an agreement that there will be no hard feelings if somebody wants to back out and if the rest want to continue, they can." Sage mentioned and all eyes turned to her as it was a good idea. "We can all re-meet and see if everybody wants to continue or if people want to back out because it can become too much. Gabi made a point yesterday – we are all starting our families and you boys are going to be busy. We will just have to be open with all of our communication."

"I like it," Cameron said with a nod, and I agreed, "I do, too. I think it gives us time to figure it out and make changes because you are right, Sage. The first year is going to be hard on all of us." My eyes flickered to Gabi with the concern worming up in my chest. "And we can't make snap judgements off the first year, but I think two years is safe. I think we can make decisions and choices off two years and we can reevaluate."

"Us girls still all want to meet tomorrow morning without all of you to make our final discussion of the situation but we all know that is the first stipulation."

"Pros as a group," Gabi mentioned, and we all quickly started listing them off.

"Free daycare,"

"The money,"

"A great opportunity,"

"We get to do this together,"

There was more listed out as we continued and once, we got to cons the biggest was moving away from family and for Gabi it was leaving Zoey's. Lennon was scared about finding a good job but besides that – there wasn't nearly as many. Gabi's phone rang again, and I watched her slid off the booth and this time I followed her outside as she answered the phone. "Is she still mad?" Gabi asked and I reached to wrap my arm around her waist to pull her against me. It was chilly tonight.

"She might just be teething. Did you give her Tylenol? There should be some in the bag." Gabi waited for her mom to answer, and I watched as she chewed on her lip nervously. I let my hands fall over her shoulder as Gabi nodded. "Yea, the dose is labeled on the back of the bottle for each of them. If that doesn't help, we can drive home tonight," I could hear her mom's protests through the phone. "Mom, I am not going to leave you with a very grumpy baby. That's not fair."

She went silent and I could only make out bits and pieces, but her mom was just telling her that she could take care of it. It wasn't long before they hung up and Gabi rubbed her face, "Hey," I whispered as I pulled her into my arms, and she just rested her head on my chest. "I hate that my baby girl doesn't feel good." I tugged on her hair gently and I kissed her softly. "Your mom is 100% capable of taking care of her and we will be back tomorrow afternoon. She's okay,"

Gabi looked up at me and I cupped her face, "Let's use our resources while we have them, yea?" Gabi laughed softly, "My mom and dad talked about moving down here or at least splitting time between here and Charleston." I pulled back a little surprised, "When I told my dad he shrugged and told me that with Beth in Wyoming, James is going to follow Blaine, and with us here…why would they? My mom has always been a stay-at-home mom and my dad can work from anywhere and should probably retire soon. They could travel around to all of us."

"That would be really nice and really helpful." Gabi nodded in agreement. "It really would me."

Gabi let her head rest on my chest, and I just held her for a moment as we both took a moment to just breathe.


Sunday, December 13th, 2020

Gabi's POV

The boys had a surprise before we all met at a coffee shop. We only had two cars and they pulled us into what looked to be a brand-new subdivision. "Before we get out – do we all know how we are voting today? Should we just tell them?" Lennon asked and I looked around as I don't think anything was changing my decision at this point. I made me anxious and scared but I knew this was the right decision especially after confirming with Brea, Dana, and Mia.

"Yes," I spoke up first and all eyes turned towards me. Lennon grinned, "Yes,"

Sara and Josie both let a yes slip from their mouths quickly thereafter.

All of our eyes turned towards Sage, and she just smiled wide.

"Are we going to do this?"

"Only if they agree to our rules."

We all laughed as I exhaled as the boy's car came to a stop on a street as we parked behind them. We all piled out of the car as the boys stood in the middle of the street as they each were grinning. "What if we all became neighbors?" Dylan asked holding his arms up. "All of these unfinished houses are for sale. All within our budgets. We could pick the rest of the finishings on them." Jax added. We saw eight unfinished houses on the block and all of them were unsold.

We approached them and Troy gave me a smile, "We have two we can choose between from." I arched an eyebrow, "Why two?" I questioned and Troy chuckled, "Apparently, since I am making the most money, I am the one putting a pool in the backyard." I grinned. "Two of them are walk out basements. One has three bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs and the other one has two upstairs and three downstairs."

"Five bedrooms?" I asked with a raised eyebrow and Troy smirked, "We can all of a sudden afford more children," he said tugging me closer to him. I laughed as we all headed towards different houses. "I want to see the one with more bedrooms on the main floor. If they are little, I want them closer to me." Troy nodded as he headed towards the one in the corner with a big backyard which would suit a pool and all the different fun activities. "How did you guys find this?" I questioned.

"We were just looking around for houses that were near each other, and we stumbled on this neighborhood. They will all be done in June. We just have to pick our finishings and we really can't change the layout." I just nodded as Troy walked up to the first house and we stopped at the front as there was big double doors with a big front porch. "Can we hang a swing up here?" I asked turning to look at him and he nodded with a smile on his face. "I can picture sitting right here and watching all of our kids play in the front yard. I love that it's off a main street so the kids can run around without cars speeding by."

Troy and I walked up the front steps as it in the middle of some work, but you could see the bare bones. The entrée way wasn't too long, and it led to the stairs that went downstairs on the left. On the right hooked to what appeared to be two bedrooms. Each of them was a good size with a decent closet and a shared bathroom between them. Once you came out of there was an open concept living room, kitchen, and dining area. The pantry was behind the fridge and was massive with an extra sink and dishwasher hook up. "Damn," I muttered, and Troy chuckled as we moved to the back hall where you could enter from the garage which had a mudroom with built in lockers. "Do you think we could put doors on them?" I asked Troy.

"We can ask," he grabbed my hand as we walked down the hall towards our bedroom, and it was wide open and had so much potential. Sliding back doors were in the back that opened to the backyard, and it had its own little deck. "I can envision many nights out here," I murmured, and Troy wrapped his arm around me as we walked through the bathroom which was huge and then the closet blew me away. It led straight into the laundry room. "Wow, Troy, this is…amazing and we haven't even seen downstairs."

"C'mon,"

He took my hands as we went downstairs, and it was all open in the middle with nothing there yet. A bar was on the back wall with more sliding glass doors. "Wait, I thought is there two more bedrooms down here? Is there a third?" I asked as there was a similar set up on the left side but on the right, there was more rooms. "One is more of a play area because there is no closet, but we could make it whatever but a playroom for them is probably best and the other is going to be an office." The first room was just windows, and it was a smaller room but could easily be a great playroom. The other was smaller but we could make it an office.

I felt the tears in my eyes as I turned to look at Troy.

"What's wrong?" I shook my head as I walked into his arms, and he kissed my head. "It's perfect." I whispered and Troy smiled. "I want this one. I don't even want to see the other one." Troy chuckled as we finished looking around and I was also thinking about everything I wanted but I couldn't wait to fill these rooms with kids. We walked back to the middle of the cul-de-sac as everybody was grinning. "Should we just?" Josie questioned.

"What?" Cameron asked and all of us girls nodded our heads, "We're in," I said quietly.

Troy spun around to stare at me, and I could only grin back at him and he laughed as he picked me up, "You're in?" I nodded my head as tears filled my eyes. "I'm in, Josie's in, Lennon's in, Sage is in, Sara's in, we're all in." Troy spun me around as I couldn't stop my laugh as our arms locked around each other and I buried my face into his neck. I could hear the laughter and cheering behind us as Troy held me so tight to him. "Thank you," he whispered into my ear. "I know how much this scares you. I know how much you are giving up. I know you just started your dream, but I want us to achieve our dreams together. I want us to do this together. I love you." I couldn't stop my tears as I held his face. "I'm proud of you and I can't wait for this adventure together, but I need you to talk to me throughout it. I need to make sure we are both getting our dreams together and not sacrificing our marriage. Our marriage and our kids come first."

"Of course," he whispered to me.

He kissed me hard and possessively, "Bolton, get off of her. We have champagne." Five bottles were passed around as we lined the guys up as we got on our Instagram. "You can't post anything. We aren't telling the boys until closer to when the university will announce it." Troy said and we all shared a look but nodded as it was fair, but I wanted the memories. They each popped the bottle as we got it on film as they sprayed each other with laughter echoing and I was happy, and I was excited, but I was nervous.

Troy shot me a wink and I grinned, "So we extended our stay one more night. We are meeting with the relators tomorrow and we're signing contracts tomorrow." Jax said and we all just laughed because this was…this was going to be an amazing opportunity.


Monday, December 14th, 2020

Gabi's POV

I snuggled both of my babies as everything was official today.

The house was under our contract, and we were having plenty of zoom meetings to start making decisions on the house and what we wanted.

Troy and the guys all signed their contracts to be college coaches.

Today they all put in their resignations for next year and asked to keep it quiet until closer to the end of basketball season.

We told our families tonight.

It was official and it had been a good day. We made it back by afternoon and we did what we were planning to do all day with shopping and picking up everything for their first birthday. We had chosen a theme of Oh what fun it is to be one with a fun Christmas/winter theme for the two of them. They were both asleep and snuggled against me. I let my hand run up and down their back as I was excited about the house. I was excited about getting to watch Troy live his dreams and growing up by all of his best friends.

I had yet to tell Jenna and I was the saddest about this.

I was leaving my best friend.

Not that I wasn't going to be in Charleston a ton. We had plenty of business here and it wasn't that far that she couldn't come visit whenever she wanted. It was going to be good for our family and with all of the raises and how quickly this could go well for Troy. I could easily open another dance studio.

"I love watching you hold them like this," I looked up at Troy and he smiled as he was leaning in the doorway. "I love holding them in general. I missed them." I kissed each of their heads as Troy picked up Sutton and he snuggled him as he put him in his crib as I put Saylor in her crib. "We never got a chance to celebrate," he whispered as he moved my hair, and I pulled back for just a second. I turned to shut their bedroom door and make sure the baby monitor was on as I pulled Troy to our bedroom. "Mm…not sure what this is about. Not the celebration I was talking about."

"Please don't forget what I am giving up to do this."

Tory blinked as he stared at me, "You don't think I realize how much you are giving up? How hard this was for you? I know how hard this was Gabi. I almost just told them no because I felt bad that you were making such a decision. I know I am saying celebrate but I am celebrating because there are a lot of good things, too." He tucked my hair behind my ear, and he kissed the top of my head and inhaled softly. "You are doing so much for this, and I am so thankful. I was thinking maybe we can share the office and I can set up an area for my desk and whatnot that I'll need at home and then we can make the back area somewhere you can zoom with the dance studio and teach classes or what not."

"I would like that."

"Or we make it your office and I can find someplace else. I will have a whole office at work and home is your work."

I gave a smile and I let my head fall against his forehead. "Thank you for listening to me."

"Baby, I will always listen, and you are right. Our marriage. Our kids. That's first and if something isn't working in one of those categories then coaching in college won't be for us. Yea?" I nodded and he pulled me into a gentle kiss with his hands gripping the back of my neck and pulling me between his legs as I easily straddled his lap. "We are going to do big things, baby." He whispered against my mouth.

"I love you," I whispered to him.

"I love you more."

"Not possible, Bolton."

He smiled as he then pushed me back into the bed to do the celebration that he wanted all along.


Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed! Let me know all of your thoughts! Such a hard choice for the two of them but I can't wait for this next journey!

See ya'll in two weeks! Loyal is coming along really well and I am hopeful that I can get it out within the next month or so but I'll keep you updated on an exact date when I have one!

Next Update: February 19th

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