1st weekend in May

Elizabeth was beyond excited to fly to Michigan to see Lucas. The last seven weeks had gone by fast but slow at the same time. They talked at the very least every night. Most days though, they texted throughout the day. Needless to say, she missed him. Every. Single. Day.

"Should I get a room somewhere?" That was the text she had sent him about an hour before she left for work. No response. Yet anyway.

It was noon so by now, they had usually texted half a dozen times. Where was he?

He had gotten her text. The problem was, he didn't know what to say. He, of course, wanted her to stay with him or on his couch/bed in his living room. He wanted that more than anything but he didn't trust that he could resist her.

"Can u call me at lunch?" he texted back.

"Of course."

He took his lunch at 1:00 so at 1:05, she called him.

"Hey, beautiful."

"Hi. So…what do you think?"

"I want nothing more than for you to stay with me."

"I sense a 'however' in your tone."

"So, if we stay together in the same house, what do you think about sleeping arrangements?"

"I mean, whatever makes us both comfortable. Would you rather I stay somewhere else?"

"I want you with me. I need to know what makes you comfortable though, Beth."

"You make me comfortable, Lucas. I think I want to stay with you and just see what happens."

"Alright." He stayed quiet for a moment. She pulled her phone from her ear to make sure they hadn't lost connection.

"Are you still there, Luke?"

"Yeah. I really miss you, Beth."

"I miss you too."

She was flying out in two days and it couldn't get there fast enough.

…..

Two days later, noon

Lucas waited for about a moment in the pick up lane before she walked out the door with her carryon. He got out and gave her a hug and a brief kiss and then they drove off.

He held out his hand and she slipped her fingers between his.

"Hi, Luke."

"Hi. Its so good to see you…to have you here in Michigan with me."

"It's good to be here."

"Did you bring a dress?"

"I did and warmer clothes for tonight's bonfire. I'm so excited to meet your friends."

"I think you'll love Rosie, despite her Rosieness."

"What does that mean?" Elizabeth asked with a laugh.

"She's dramatic. Like every word that comes out of her mouth. But, she's very kind and sweet. So you'll love her."

"Do they have kids?"

"No. They haven't been able to but they are in the process of adopting a little boy from Texas."

"Oh that's wonderful. I'd love to adopt a child."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'd love to carry a baby too, but I always told myself if I never found a partner, I'd adopt as a single woman."

"You have a wonderful heart, hon." He kissed the back of her hand and smiled.

"Would you…if we got married.."

"I'd love to adopt or have a biological child, or both."

She nodded. "How many kids do you want?" she wondered, curious.

"At least two. I feel like I know what its like to be an only child and its lonely. I mean, I have a step sister now but there was a long time where I was the only one."

"I agree. I have my two sisters and they are my best friends. I can't imagine not having them."

"Am I your best friend?" he asked, knowing the answer but needing the verbal confirmation too at the same time. They did live 582.3 miles apart.

"Of course you are, babe. You mean so much to me."

As they drove to his house, Elizabeth thought about the shopping trip to the mall she had taken before leaving Philadelphia. If they truly were going to just let things happen, she wanted it to be special. So she picked up a few things.

"You warm?" he asked, noticing her pink cheeks.

"No, I'm…just thinking."

"Oh. About me?" That smirk on his face made her blush even deeper.

"Yes, Luke. About you. No one else makes me blush as easily as you do."

"Good to know."

"So tonight we are going to the bonfire and then tomorrow…?"

"Tulip festival and taking you out for dinner and a movie."

"And then Sunday we are having a fancy dinner, right?"

"Yeah but the rest of the day, we can either sightsee or just hang around the house. Whatever you want."

"I would love to sightsee. Road trip?"

"I can take you to the west coast of the state. Lake Michigan is gorgeous."

"Deal."

He didn't want to think about Sunday night. She would leave again and he knew it would be harder than it had been in the past.

"What, Luke? You're clenching your jaw."

He smiled at her and kissed her hand again. "I just remembered you're leaving Sunday night."

"Yeah. That's always in the back of my mind."

"Let's not think about it though. Let's just enjoy the time we have."

He pulled into a nicely manicured driveway of a ranch style home about twenty minutes later.

"Here we are," he told her.

"Its so cute, Lucas."

"Its a house," he shrugged.

"Its not home?"

"I guess not. Janette and I lived here together and then we didn't. To me, its just a place where I sleep."

"So do you think you'll move? Somewhere without the Janette vibes?"

He chuckled. "I'm not sure. I guess it all depends on what happens with us. If I decide to move to Philly one day or you come here…."

"That's a good answer."

"In the meantime, do you think maybe you can help me with the decorating?"

"Absolutely. I made a Pinterest board."

"I don't know what that is, but I'll take your word on it."

"Have you been living under a rock, Lucas Bouchard? How can you not know what Pinterest is?"

Another car pulled up next to them. "Oh boy," he said, getting out of his car and walking over to the other one, hugging the woman that had gotten out of it.

"Don't freak out, Beth," she told herself. The woman could be anyone.

Lucas pulled open Beth's door and smiled. "Hon, this is my step-sister, Andrea. Andrea, my girlfriend, Beth."

"Hi!" Andrea exclaimed, hugging Beth too.

"Its nice to meet you, Andrea."

"You too. I'm glad you came for Lucas' birthday. I figured he would try to get away with not celebrating again this year."

Lucas looked between the two women and turned red.

"Warm, babe?" Elizabeth asked, bumping him with her hip.

"Uh yeah."

"Or maybe you are embarrassed that you didn't tell me this was your birthday weekend?"

"You didn't tell her?"

He shrugged. "It didn't come up. Besides, she never asked either."

"So, Andrea. What do you have planned for his birthday?" Beth asked, slipping her hand into his.

"We are having brunch at Mom and Dad's. You, of course, are invited."

"What day?"

"Tomorrow."

"We are going up to Holland. Not sure we will be back."

"Lucas, we are not missing the brunch in which you are the guest of honor," Beth told him. "We will just go early to Holland and then be back for brunch."

Lucas loved Andrea and his parents but this weekend was supposed to be about them. On the flip side, they were hanging out with Rosie and Lee tonight so….

"Can we do brunch Sunday? I have tomorrow planned and hurrying back to Ann Arbor from Holland is not in that plan."

Andrea knew her brother but she had never seen this particular side of him. The "Lucas in love" side.

"I'll talk to Mom and Dad."

"Thanks! You're the best!"

"I know." She hugged both of them again and left.

"She's awesome, Luke."

"She is."

"Should we go inside?"

"Yeah. Then we could hang out here and watch a movie or whatever or we could head west a bit to Dexter. It's a nice town, fun to walk around in."

"Or whatever?" she asked, blushing.

"I mean…" he started, ending with a sigh. "I'm just really glad you're here. This weekend I wanted to be about us."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held tight. He relaxed and held her, feeling whole again.

"But you planned the bonfire?"

"I know and now brunch. I don't want to share you with anyone. I want you all to myself."

"Sweet," she mumbled, pushing up on her toes to kiss those lips of his. "Mm, I missed kissing you."

He wrapped her arms tightly around her and deepened the kiss, exploring and enjoying her a bit. "Me too."

"Let's go inside."

He grabbed her carryon bag and they walked in the door to his house.

"No pictures on the walls, Lucas? Beige furniture. White walls."

"Told you I need help."

"Not to bring up Janette, but she liked beige?"

"No. She added things with color and then this was what's left after she moved out."

Elizabeth nodded and then walked around. "The kitchen is nice. Dark cabinets and stainless steel appliances."

"It serves its purpose."

"You like to cook, you told me."

"And this is where I do that."

"Well, I'll help decorate but I'm going to need you to tell me what you actually want."

"I don't know. I honestly don't."

"Let's see the master."

She took her bag from him and followed him down the hall. To another beige room.

"The furniture is gorgeous, Luke. I love dark wood. You just need to make it your own so it feels like home."

She sat on the bed, bouncing. "Comfy."

"I splurged on a good quality mattress."

"Lucas?" she said, standing and wrapping her arms around him.

"Hm?"

"I'd like to stay with you tonight."

"Okay. You won't hear me complain."

They laughed and he gave her a long, sweet kiss. "So we have three hours until the bonfire. What would you like to do?"

"Let's go somewhere to pick out a new comforter and some pillows and paint."

"You don't just want to stay here? Hang out?"

"We can but we might not have another chance to go."

He nodded. After the bonfire they'd have plenty of time to do whatever.

"Alright, Beth. Let's go to Target."

…..

As they wandered through the aisles, she asked the question she had really wanted to know the answer to. "What do you want for your birthday, babe?"

"For everyone not to make a fuss about my birthday."

"Why? Personally, I like celebrating the day the people I love were born."

"My dad passed away the day before my birthday so…its sad for me."

"Babe, today is the anniversary?"

"Yeah."

"How long has it been?"

"Eleven years. Two years later, Mom married Roger Connolly."

"I sense that you didn't agree with her getting married again?"

"At the time, no. Now, I see why she did. Roger is a really good guy and I love Andrea so much. I got a sibling out of the deal and a step-dad and my Mom is happy. I really can't complain. But my birthday just kinda doesn't feel like something to celebrate."

"Babe, can I say something?"

He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest right there in the bedding aisle. "You can always say something. You can tell me or ask me anything, always."

"I didn't know your dad, obviously, but I bet he wouldn't want you to feel so lost or sad this long after he passed."

"Probably not. He was the best. Truly and he would have loved you, Beth. I know it."

"Mm, I love you," she told him, reaching up to kiss him. "Let's find some bedding that makes you feel calm, cozy. Or just not beige."

"Bedding can do all that, huh?"

"Yep."

"I always thought it would be the person I share that space with that did that."

"You'll have to let me know."

She winked. "Favorite color, babe?"

"I don't know. Dark, I think."

"Suggestion?"

"Please."

"You have dark furniture so dark bedding might be too much. So maybe something like different shades of gray." She picked out dark gray sheets and a comforter that had different shades of gray, some light, some dark.

He would need to take her word for it because he really had no idea how to make colors and shades work.

She found him some art for his walls and some throw pillows and a throw blanket for his couch to add some color.

"What else do you need?" she asked.

"I'm good."

"Should we take a bottle of wine to Lee and Rosemary's house?"

"We could, sure."

She took his hand and they pushed the cart together. "Did I depress you by asking you about your dad?"

"No, its okay. Like you said, it has been a long time. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Just life in general. There's a position at our Headquarters for work…that I was thinking about."

"Oh yeah? What position?"

"Its VP of finance. I would need a bit of training but that's what I have always wanted to go into."

"Wow, Lucas. Is something holding you back?"

"Not holding me back really…just not sure if its the right time to do that."

"Not to assume but because of us?"

"Yeah. I don't want to make that move of position if you and I ultimately decide that we should live in Philadelphia."

"I see."

"On the other hand, I don't want to pass up the opportunity if we decide we would live here."

"Is it maybe too early to be basing life choices on each other and our relationship?"

"I don't know. Is it? Its been six months since we met. I feel like if we lived in the same city and were dating for that long, it wouldn't be too soon."

"Good point."

"I love you, Beth."

"And I love you."

"So, I think we need to have these types of conversations about our future."

"Me too," she agreed. "Why don't we grab the wine and head back to your place and talk some more while your sheets and everything are in the washer."

"Sounds good, hon."