William's Love - 46. Chapter 46

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

 

Nothing feels as good as waking up to my husband spooned tightly against my back. I love to feel his lips anywhere on me. Like now, he’s lazily kissing my neck gently, while his hand slowly runs up and from my pecs to my groin. It’s not really the sexual part of this; it’s the feeling of warmth and intimacy of his caress that I love. I get to have this for the rest of my life.

“Morning, baby,” I said, reaching my hand back to run my fingers through his hair.

“Hmm,” Liam nuzzled into my neck, “love the taste of you.”

He pulled me over so I was on my back with him on top, biting my nipple as I moved into place. We began the day loving each other’s bodies, followed by a shower. Once we were dry, dressed, and presentable, we made our way downstairs. A fire was already raging in the fireplace, taking the edge out of the air warming our home.

“Morning all,” I said, entering the kitchen, signing when I saw Beau as I headed for the coffee machine. “You guys must have gotten up early.”

All around the kitchen were dishes in varying stages. Pie tins already lined with crusts waiting to be filled on the counter, homemade cranberry sauce cooling on the stovetop, about five cookie sheets lined with dough ready to go in the oven. And, because Karma loves me, Ollie is elbow-deep bathing the turkey a bath from the inside.

“God, this is the grossest thing I’ve ever done,” Ollie said, his face contorted in disgust.

As per usual, Seb and Beau are sharing kisses and touches over toast and cereal, utterly oblivious to the rest of the world. They both held their spoons up as a greeting along with a grunt, which is a crapload more acknowledgment than I expected. Liam opened the back door letting the dogs in, which included Rain, Pat’s dog. We were furbaby sitting since Pat went to his grandparents in New England for Thanksgiving. The dogs come rushing into the kitchen to get loving from any of their humans, but Liam sent them to the living room since Kat was cooking.

“What do you need us to do, Kat?” Liam took the mug I held out for him. “Thanks, Babe.”

Kat looked around the kitchen, taking stock of what’s around her.

“Nothing really, the turkey stuffing is ready as soon as Ollie stops pleasuring her,” Kat said with an evil chuckle.

Ollie rolled his eyes and flipped her the bird using the bird, causing it to slide further down his arm; she only laughed harder.

“Uh… I have to fill the pies and bake the cookies.” Kat shrugged her shoulder. “I got up early to do it since we did all the housework yesterday. It means we all get a fun day of whatever the hell we want today. Tomorrow should be a breeze with all the prep done. Weather permitting anyway.”

“Any ideas?” Liam asked.

“The weather’s miserable and cold outside,” Seb grumbled, “lucky we brought the wood in yesterday.”

DING! DONG!

“I’ll go,” I said through a yawn.

My stomach flipped with excitement when I opened the door to find a grinning four-year-old boy, his sixteen-year-old cousin, and the mailman. I tilted my head, confused momentarily as to why the mailman would be delivering my baby cousin and his cousin. The sound of spraying gravel made me look past the mail-truck to see a car speeding away down the road.

With quick thinking, I put my finger to my lip.

“Shh!” I quietly opened the security door.

“Sign here, and here,” the mailman said, reaching over the boys. I did so, then he handed me two envelopes. I quickly tucked them under my arm against my body the second I recognized the college logo.

Cory looked worried. “You don’t mind that we’re here? Your dads said it would be okay.”

“Hell no! I have to put these in the office anyway, so lets put your stuff in the guest room..”

When we came back downstairs, I whispered, “Go into the kitchen and surprise Liam.”

They let me go back to the kitchen. Both Benny and Cory giggled as quietly while giving me a few moments.

“Who was at the door?” Kat asked.

“Courier; he had the wrong house. So, what are we doing today? Has anyone decided?” I asked, drinking the last of my coffee.

I went over to put my mug in the dishwasher because I wanted to see Liam’s face when he saw Benny.

“What if we do nothing, nothing but relax, watch movies, play games and drink warm drinks. Let’s be lazy,” Kat said dreamily.

“I second that,” I said quickly.

“I’ll group text Lee and his posse; you see if Jason and Stephen are up for it.” Liam pointed to me.

“Done and d–”

“BENNY!”

Liam jumped from his chair with such force; he knocked it backward. Damn, I missed it. Grumpily I continued texting Jason and Stephen.

“Hey Cory,” Ollie said, holding up his hands to show them he couldn’t actually greet them properly.

“Ew!” Benny exclaimed, laughing. Liam had a hold of Benny, so the only hugs the youngster got were from Liam, and he wasn’t sharing.

“You… dirty filthy liar.” Liam narrowed his eyes at me. “Courier, my butt, did you know they were coming?”

I laughed. “No, it was a dump and run by Callen, I think. I’m not sure if he even slowed down to let the boys out of the car.”

“How come you guys are here?” Liam asked, giving Cory a side hug with Benny still clinging to him.

“I’m not sure, Daddy came home last night from work, he told us to pack a bag for a couple of days, and that we were going to Kentucky. Benny was staying with us over the holiday weekend because Uncle Alex and Uncle Tracy went to Alabama to see a man about a horse. Now we’re here.” Cory smiled.

“That’s so awesome; I’m so glad you guys are here for Thanksgiving,” said Liam grinning from ear-to-ear. God, he’s gorgeous.

“Liam, can we play with the dogs?” Benny asked.

“Yeah, buddy,” Liam slowly put him down.

I’m almost certain the kid was running before his feet touched the floor. A few moments later, we heard a squeal of joy. Then Benny returned to the kitchen with eyes as big as saucers pointing excitedly into the living room.

“Cash and C.C. had… had… a… a puppy, quick come see.” He babbled with such excitement his words all muffled together.

Kat watched Benny fondly. “My God, that kid is adorable.”

“I know, right!” I answered, chuckling.

Liam followed Benny into where the dogs all laid; we could hear him explaining that Rain was Paddy’s puppy and that we were watching her while he was away. They returned to the kitchen; Liam had Benny sit at the table with Seb and Beau, then he sat Rain down in the young boy's lap. Benny wasn’t letting go for anything; he was in love.

“Okay, so what are we doing today?” I asked for what felt like the millionth time.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, with a message from Jason.

Jason: We’re in!

Me: Pick you guys up shortly.

“Hey Liam, where did we put the kid's seat for the truck?”

“Uh… it’s in the office for some reason. Do you want me to put it in the truck for you?”

“Yes, please, I hate that stupid thing.” I scowled.

Liam laughed, then kissed my temple before leaving for the car seat.

“Is we going somewhere? Can Rain come, please!” Benny pleaded.

“I wish she could, little man, but we don’t have a harness for her to be in the car safely. We could take Cash if you wanted.”

“Okay, he can come,” Benny said just as excited.

Benny spent the entire drive petting Cash, rambling about how his fur felt different to Promise, his horse, but the same as Ace, his dog. When I pulled up at the shelter, Jason and Stephen came out the doors running through the rain with their bags. Jason got into my truck, swiveling to greet Cash.

“Oh my god, Benny!”

“Hi Jase,” Benny beamed with his big eyes. “You can hug me when we get home.”

“Okay, will do.” Jason snickered as he turned back around to the front.

“Seatbelt,” Benny sang out.

“I am, I am. So bossy for a little kid,” Jason grumbled, putting his seatbelt on.

“Hello Stevie, you can hug me now; you’s not in the front,” Benny demanded with his arms already out and ready to receive his hug.

“Hey, Benny,” Stephen hugged the tyke. “You hanging with us today?”

“Yes, we get to play all day.”

“Oh good, you can be my partner for ‘Twister.’”

“Yay!” Benny pumped his fists in the air. “We’s gonna win, Stevie.”

Benny spent the entire drive back home, rambling again about fur to his new audience. The kid is all sorts of awesome; he’s laid back, not much seems to faze him. Still, at the same time, he’s excitable and enthusiastic about anything and everything. I hope Liam and my kids are just like him. My thoughts turned to the mail, hoping it was our letters saying we got early acceptance for college. We haven’t told anyone yet, but I’m hoping they’d be happy for us.

<>-<>-<>

Ollie and Jason came into the room carrying snacks, resting them on the coffee table for anyone to take.

“Benny left-hand red.”

“Woah, that’s so far.” He stretched as much as his body would allow, barely touching a red circle with his fingers.

C.C. chose that moment to play twister, knocking everyone into a heap while they laughed, complaining at the same time. Then there was a debate as to who won. I vote the dog.

“Benny and I won, it was our turn last, and he managed to touch the red. Plus, he fell over after all of you big fat losers.” Stephen poked out his tongue at everyone.

“That’s fair,” Kat called out, “Stephen and Benny are the winners. Okay, what game does everyone want to play next?”

“Charades!” Benny screamed, jumping up and down. “I’m with Cory, I’m with Cory.”

“PJ’s first,” Liam said, throwing Benny over his shoulder, marching up the stairs with a giggling young boy.

“I’m going to bath and feed Noah,” Kat said, picking her little man up off the couch next to her. Ollie followed along. They are a good family unit. When Kat first got pregnant, she had been worried about how everything would turn out for them. She shouldn’t have been; Ollie loves his family and never shirks his responsibilities to her or to Noah.

We all went to our rooms to get changed. I found Liam in our room, putting on his Superman onesie.

“Where’s your cape, baby?”

“Hanging up,” he sat on the bed, tucking his feet into his slippers. Laughing, I changed into PJ bottoms and a t-shirt and an Australian pair of Uggs that Uncle Luke sent me.

“Um… Liam,” I said nervously, remembering our letters I’d put in the office.

He looked up at me, smiling. “Yeah, Babe?” he frowned when he saw my anxious face. “Hey, what’s up?” Liam stood, gathering me in a hug.

“Our, uh… letters came from one of the universities today?”

“Duke or Kentucky?”

“Duke.”

“Hmm, okay. What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know, I’m kind of afraid to open them. If we get in, we have to tell everyone, we’ll be moving away from home – soon. If we don’t get in, I’m worried it’ll put a damper on the rest of the evening. What do you think we should do? What if only one of us got accepted? Are we idiots for trying to get into college early?”

Liam shook his head, his hands sliding down the side of my body resting on my hips.

“No. We’re both eager to get the next part of our lives over so we can get back and make the foundation everything it can be. That’s what we both want, right?” Liam asked, leaning in to kiss me chastely.

“Yes.”

“Okay then, we are going to march your sexy ass into that office and find out. Ready?”

“No.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Okay.”

“God, you’re easy.”

“You have no idea.” I laughed, preceding him out of the room. “Stop checking out my ass, perv.”

“But it’s right there, all beautiful and perky. So hot! I just want to sink my teeth into it.”

“Later.”

I could hear Liam’s disgruntled mumbling behind me when we reached the office. I sat down in one of the office chairs. He closed the door and joined me sitting in the other. My impatient husband rolled his chair so our knees were touching holding his hands out for his envelope. I laid it across his palms, he brought it to his body as if it were as precious as a new born baby.

“On the count of three, one…” his eyes raised to mine. “Two… three!” Liam tore his envelope open as did I ripping the letters out to read them.

Liam was very quiet, his head tilted to the side as his lips moved while he read. A little panicked, I read mine.

Dear William,

Congratulations! It is with delight to offer you early admission into the…

“Oh.My.God. I got accepted,” I whispered reverently.

“Baby?” I looked up at Liam to see he had tears in his eyes, bile rose up my throat. “Oh, no, honey.”

“I got in,” he said, wiping the tears away.

“Why the tears? You scared me.”

“I don’t know, they just came. It’s overwhelming.”

“Holy crap, there’s so much that has to be done.” I didn’t realize I was pacing the floor until Liam stopped my rambling before it began. He took the letter from my hand, placing it on the chair behind him. He managed to cup my face squishing my cheeks until I had fish lips, his eyes willing me to stop.

“Babe, calm down, okay. There is nothing we can do right now. We are going to enjoy the rest of the holiday with our family. When it’s over, you can go all crazy Will on me; but for now, we are going back downstairs, we are going to play games, watch movies, and eat way too much food that is bad for us.” He kissed me to stop me from protesting. “Yes, even you are going to eat bad food: chicken wings, cheesy potato skins with lots of ranch dressing. There’s also cheese sticks and jalapeno poppers. And don’t forget a crapload of popcorn, chips, and dip. Now march.”

Liam smacked my ass as we walked out of the office taking another look at my butt, so I put a little swing in it.

“Tease!” he grumbled from behind me on the stairs.

I looked over my shoulder at him through my eyelashes.

“Stop it. We have guests.”

“What? I’m not doing anything.” I smirked.

<>-<>-<>

The kitchen was a flurry of activity; Liam was feeding Noah while Kat was coordinating everyone else. The turkey was already in the oven, the pies ready to go in later. Vegetables were prepped, but the presentation of everything was what had Kat flapping around. Jason and I were scared after she’d yelled at us for the third time that we weren’t folding the napkins the right way. The last time she was this scary, she was pregnant.

“OLLIE!” I screamed out to the kitchen from the dining room.

He came running in, glancing between Jason and me.

“What? What’s wrong?” he asked, almost panicked.

“Why is Kat freaking out on us?”

He waved his hand dismissively, his body relaxing somewhat. “Because she’s doing it by herself this year without your mom’s help. Your cousins are coming to thanksgiving, and Kat doesn’t want to let anyone down.”

“Aww.” Now I feel bad. “I love that girl.”

I got up from my seat and went to her side in the kitchen; she blew some hair out of her eyes while moving some of the pumpkin biscuits she’d made.

“Are you finished with the nap–”

I took her in my arms, squeezing the ever-loving crap out of her before kissing her temple.

“Baby girl, you need to relax. The dinner is going to be great, just like everything you make. You already did the preparations; it’s all going to come together nicely. Calm down and let your happy helpers follow your instructions. Nobody’s going to be judging your cooking; they’re just going to be glad they have a nice Thanksgiving meal. We all love you and appreciate what you’ve done.”

I held her in my arms longer, gently swaying side to side as Kat’s body slowly relaxed into mine. When her arms wrapped around my waist, I loosened my grip and pulled back enough so I could see her face planting a warm smile on my own.

“Feel better?”

“Just one more hug, and that should do it.”

I laughed, hugging her to me once again.

“I better get back to the napkins, the warden’s a witch!”

Kat smacked my arm when I pulled away. “Thanks, Will. Love ya.”

“Pleasure girly, take a break, and a breath. Ollie has it all under control. You’ve trained him well.”

She winked at me while pulling Noah from Liam, much to his consternation, and headed for a quiet moment with her baby boy.

Liam glanced at me with sad eyes. “She stole my baby.”

“You still have Benny, he’s around here somewhere getting into trouble with the dogs.” I reminded him. His face lit up before he ran out of the room, searching for his best friend.

While Liam kept Benny and Cory entertained in the living room with a video game marathon, the rest of us chipped in. We helped Ollie to leave Kat to a well-earned break. After last night’s effort of games and movies, none of us made it to bed until about two in the morning except for Benny, who’d crashed out halfway through the first movie. God love him; the youngster tried so hard to stay up late.

Seb and Beau were at the coaches' place for the morning and were all coming back for dinner in a few hours. Dad and Papi showed up early with mom. Surprisingly, Mitch was in tow as he had nowhere to go for thanksgiving. We all liked him a lot, so it isn’t much of a hardship. They brought Callen and Jase with them, who gave us sheepish grins when they arrived and hugs for Benny and Cory. They were immersed in conversation with Benny while he regaled all the fun he’d had with us in the last twenty-four hours. Man, I can’t wait until we have kids. I love watching their little faces light up with excitement or that giggly laugh they get when they’re amused by something they find naughty.

A pair of powerful arms wrapped around my waist, lips kissing my neck. “I can’t wait for our own kids, babe.”

“Me either,” I whispered, hoping he didn’t hear me because Liam had caught me off guard. He spun me around to face him so quickly my head spun.

“Really?” he asked incredulously, “that’s the first time you’ve ever said anything. What changed your mind?”

“Nothing has changed my mind, I’ve always wanted kids just like you. I just don’t want to have to choose between our firstborn and our education. That’s what will happen if we have a kid before we finish school. We’ll constantly feel guilty for spending time with our them instead of studying or because we are studying and not spending time with our kid. I don’t want a full-time nanny Liam. I want us to raise our kid together, daycare is one thing but a nanny… I want our kids to know we love them, and we choose them over all else.”

“Wow,” Liam exclaimed before kissing me hard. “I never put that much thought into it, I just want kids and a bunch of them. They’re fun and exciting, I want ours to be just like you.”

Chuckling through my reply, “I’d like ours to be exactly like you. Warm, kind, funny, playful, childish, immature, bratty… Owww!”

He bit me!

“You know you have a bedroom for that type of thing,” Papi called out.

“He called me bratty!” Liam growled back playfully.

“Pot; Kettle,” Dad retorted.

<>-<>-<>

We all groaned as Kat put the dessert pies on the table. I think we’ve all had our fill, and by the look of everyone, they were busting at the seams like me. Benny already looked like he was in a turkey coma, asleep at the table with his fork still in hand.

“Ugh, Kat, sweetie, I think you might have ruined all other Thanksgivings for us,” mom said, tossing her napkin down next to her plate, “this was delicious. You did a great job; you should be proud of yourself.”

“Hear, hear,” papi said in agreement, smiling. “You might have to let us all take a piece of pie home, though. I don’t think any of us could fit another bite in.”

“Thank you,” Kat answered, shyly.

“It was definitely the best meal I’ve ever eaten.” Ollie wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her onto his lap. He pecked a kiss to her lips, then smiled as he gazed into her eyes. Aw, swoon. “Holy… we didn’t say what we were all thankful for this year.”

A few chuckles and murmurs followed Ollie’s statement.

“How about a blanket, thanks? We’re all thankful for this meal Kat made and be done with it,” I said, hoping everyone agreed with me.

There were a few nods, a tsk from mom, and a mischievous smile from dad. He leaned forward, resting crossed arms on the table. “I like it. But since we didn’t do thanks, what if we all went around the table and caught up. Everyone gives one piece of news about themselves that nobody knows yet.”

“Ooh, I like that.” Mom nodded in agreement. “I’ll go first. Hmm, okay; I’m going back to school to get a degree in social work at the University of Kentucky.”

“Really?” Liam asked excitedly. “That’s fantastic, Mom.”

She shrugged her shoulder, lazily. “It’s only part-time, so I can keep working at the foundation at the same time.”

“What made you want to do that?” I questioned interestingly.

“I want to be able to understand how to help the kids better. I don’t feel like I’m contributing enough, and really want to help the kids who utilize the services through the foundation.”

“Wow, that’s fantastic, congratulations,” I smiled.

“Thank you, sweet boy.” She mirrored my smile, then looked around the table. “Who’s next?”

Callen gently picked up Benny to take him upstairs. “Carry on, I’ll be down in a minute. I’m just going to put the munchkin to bed.”

“Seb,” dad said, pointing to him. “What do you have going on?”

Seb ducked his head, trying to avoid everyone, but Beau nudged him flicking his chin toward the middle of the table then signed. “Tell.”

His gaze flicked around the table quickly, then his shoulders slumped defeatedly. “I’ve applied to design school. If I get in, I’ll be quitting my job and become an architect. I’ll be going back to school with Beau.” He leaned in and kissed Beau quickly, who I’m almost sure blushed all the way to his toes.

“Dude,” Jason bellowed, “that’s awesome. I can’t believe you’re going to finally do it. Congrats, man.” He stood turning to Seb, giving him a bro hug. “You’re gonna kill it, man. This is awesome.” It’s amazing how different Jason and Beau are now from when I first met them at the shelter. They’re both so confident and charming, a far cry from the scared, shutdown, and miserable guys I met initially.

“What about you, Jason? Any news? Future plans?” Dad asked.

“Actually,” he said as he sat down, “I’ve just got my EMT certification. I’ll be going to community college to do Fire Science so I can become a firefighter and join the department.”

“Oh, wow. That’s great. Good for you, buddy,” Oliver said with a tiny bit of awe.

“Congrats, man,” Seb said, slapping Jason’s shoulder with a smile.

Unfortunately, for Ollie, all eyes turned to him. His brow furrowed, and he gave Liam an apologetic glance before clearing his throat. “I found out a couple of days ago, I got a full athletic scholarship to Louisville to play baseball.”

“Holy shit,” Liam gasped. “Why didn’t you tell us?” he questioned sounding a little hurt.

“I… I didn’t want to upset you, I guess.” The pain in Ollie’s eyes just about killed me.

“Why would I be upset, Ollie?” Liam asked.

“Because it was your dream,” he said, shrugging a shoulder, adjusting Kat on his lap. “I know you wanted this, but now…”

“Oh my god, you’re an idiot.” Liam smiled. “Holy shit!” he stood moving toward Ollie with his arms out. Oliver lifted Katherine off his lap gently then walked into Liam’s arms. They hugged each other so tightly. Liam whispered something to Ollie that made him smile even though he had tears in his eyes. As they pulled apart, Liam wrapped a hand around the side of Ollie’s neck. “I’m so proud of you, you dufus.” My husband turned his attention to the table, pointing at our friend Ollie. “Our Oliver’s going to play in the major leagues someday. How freakin’ cool is that.” Oliver threw his head back, laughing as he wrapped an arm around Kat, bringing her to him for a hug. Something Liam does to me when he needs my comfort or to center himself.

“What about you, Liam? Spill!” Kat said with a grin.

“What about me?” he asked back, “what about you?”

Kat sighed. “I don’t know yet. I was waiting to see what was happening with Oliver to make a decision but now I know, so…”

“So?” Liam crossed his arms, like it was a demand for an answer.

“Obviously, I’ll be going wherever Ollie goes.”

Liam’s arms fell to his side. “What about you, though? Aren’t you going to go to college?”

“I will,” she nodded, “wherever I end up I’ll be studying culinary arts, specifically baking. I want to be a pastry chef.”

“Good girl.” Liam nodded, then sat back down beside me still grinning. “How cool is that?”

“Very.” I chuckled. “Congrats, guys.”

“Your turn,” mom said with two fingers aimed at Liam and me.

I blew out a breath, sneaking my hand under the table to grab Liam’s hand. I needed his strength for this because we kind of went behind everyone's back to do it. We both looked at each other with the silent question as to what to do. I gave Liam a slight nod and winked at me.

“So, Will and I have both been accepted for early admission to Duke—” Liam stopped talking the second dad’s hand went in front of him with a stop gesture.

“Early decision? Or early admission?” he asked tersely.

“Huh?” Liam asked confoundedly.

“When are you going to college?” Dad asked.

“Uh, when we’re supposed to. Fall usually.” Liam looked at me for help.

“After we graduate, dad,” I said with a sigh.

“Oh, okay, continue.” Jackass.

“Oookay, Will, and I have been accepted by Duke. We’ll be looking for a house in the upcoming months. Because we’re married, we don’t have to live in the dorms, which means we can find a permanent place for the four years we’ll be at school.”

Callen came back into the room at the end of our conversation; he dropped into his chair tiredly, resting his arm on the back of Jase’s seat. “Actually, I can help you with that. I’m originally from North Carolina, right near Duke. We sold up when we moved to Florida. Tracy went to Duke; you should give him a call.”

“Really, that’d be great. Thanks, Callen.”

“You going to sell this place,” Oliver asked.

“Nah, this is our home—your’s too, as a matter of fact. We could never sell this place. We’ll be coming back to live here after college.” I smiled.

“Cool,” he nodded as his head bobbed up and down.

“So, Stephen, you still want to be a vet?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from us.

“Yup, and after all my schooling, I want to get a job back here,” he told us all. “Despite all the shit that’s gone down. I like it here, I feel like I have a family.” He chuckled. “I can’t believe how much has changed. If you’d asked me a year ago if I wanted to stay around here, I would have said ‘hell, no,’ but now…”

“You’ve got a long road ahead of you, young man. Are you prepared?” Papi asked.

“No, not in the least. I’ll manage it. I can get student loans and the like.” He rolled his eyes, self-deprecatingly. “I should probably start getting on that.”

“Be sure to come and see us at the foundation before you apply for any student loans. It’s part of what we do.” Dad winked at Stephen. “We’ll look after you, don’t worry. It doesn’t even matter if you’re studying out of state.”

“Thanks, Mr. Blundell. I’ll be sure to do that.”

<>-<>-<>

“Hey, baby,” Liam said softly, sliding his head along the pillow to be a few inches from my face.

“Hey.” I smiled at him as he softened the edge of the pillow down with his hand so he could see me. We were on our sides staring at each other, enjoying the moment after a lazy, yet hectic day.

“Are you happy? Tomorrow you get to wake up and finally have your freak out over everything we need to do to get ready for college?”

“Yes. I still can’t believe we both got accepted.” I took a deep breath; it feels like I’m suffocating with all the excitement and, at the same time, pressure. “Are you scared?”

His face looked pensive for a few seconds. “Hmm, excited? Absolutely. Anxious? A little. But scared? No, I don’t think so.”

“I’m terrified,” I told him truthfully.

“Don’t be,” he whispered, “we’ve got each other. We can do anything together.”

“I know. I know.”

“What is it then, why are you scared? Talk to me, babe.”

“What if it’s too much? What if I fail?”

Liam snorted quietly, “Baby, you’ve never failed a thing in your life. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but we will get through school and anything else life throws at us.”

“I love how you’re always confident. I envy that.” I leaned the few inches to his mouth, kissing him.

“Hmm, I get my strength from you.” He smiled.

I shook my head. “So, cheesy.”

“Not cheesy when it’s true, babe.” Liam slid over the top of me and loved the hell out of me.