Always Us

becoming official

Don't mind me clearing my drafts while I actually have the motivation to.

_____

"What's this?" Olivia asked through a mouthful of fries.

"A key?"

"To what?" She raised her eyebrows. Post NFL salary, nothing Spencer owned needed a physical key anymore.

He responded as if it were obvious. "My apartment."

"Your apartment has a keypad." She pointed out, then laid a greasy hand on his forehead. "You feeling okay?"

He swatted her away. "Woman, you're making this complicated."

"I just don't understand why you're giving me a key to a door with no actual lock... I have the code."

"What I am asking... is for you to move in with me."

Olivia's face dropped and the puppy dog eyes were in full effect. "Well, why didn't you just say that, stupid?"

"I mean you practically live there already, but I want it to be your place, too. You know, your stuff next to my stuff. Your stuff eventually getting mixed with my stuff. All of that."

Olivia set her food down next to her and swung her leg over his thighs. Nodding her head, she lowered her lips down to his.

"Is that a yes?" Spencer mumbled, guiding her hips as she rolled against his pelvis.

She pulled away, providing a quick response before attaching herself to him again. "This is most definitely a yes."

"How about we go over there now?" He suggested when her grinding intensified.

"Let me just grab a bag of stuff. You know, to start bringing stuff over." She jumped up, giddy at the way the afternoon was turning out. It had a been a few months since she graduated, and in hopes that he would make this exact request, she continued living with her parents instead of finding her own place. And now that it happened, everything felt perfect.

"Don't you think you should pack some more clothes?" He walked up behind her, eyeing the contents of her bag.

"Why is there a clothing requirement to live with you?" She paused and looked over at him with a devilish glint in her eye.

"No ma'am." He flopped onto her bed and started pulling out the few items of clothing she had managed to pack.

"Stop," she burst out laughing, "I do need some things."

"Yeah, more of these," he muttered, finding a lacy thong that couldn't possibly be functional and dangling it in front of his face.

She snatched it from his hands, but stuffed it into her bag regardless.

"Okay, I'm ready," she beamed after returning from the bathroom to get some more practical necessities. Her one bag of stuff had quickly turned into five, and as they made their way down the stairs, Spencer found himself lugging them all to the car.

_____

"Welcome home, baby," he announced as he followed her into their now shared space. When she stopped short in the doorway, he bumped straight into her. "You're not going to go in?"

She took in a loud, deep breath through her nose, then exhaled just as noisily. "I'm just... savoring the moment."

He leaned around her to give her a questioning look. "Baby, you've been here a million times."

She gave him an exasperated look. "I know, but not as your live in girlfriend."

His eyebrows came together. "I don't know if I like the sound of that."

Her nose wrinkled as she thought her statement over. "Yeah, me neither."

"How about," he started, gently pressing his hands into her lower back to move her inside, "as my fiancée?"

"What?" she shrieked, dropping her purse and turning on him. "This is too much in one day. I mean... yes! But Spencer, we haven't really even talked about it." She widened her eyes pleadingly. "We should talk about it first, right?"

He laughed as he took in her completely frazzled state. He loved when she got worked up. "Yes, we should. I meant I want to start having those conversations... seriously."

She bit her lip and nodded, a little relieved that she wasn't getting hit with a double header in one day. "Okay."

He grinned and pecked her lips. "Okay."

Feeling empowered, she turned back to the living room. "I can't wait to make a few upgrades."

"Just don't touch my shoes or my Xbox, and we're good," he chuckled.

She waved a hand at him. "That's fine."

And while she listed her top priorities for remodeling, he laced his fingers into the curls at the bottom of her scalp and rubbed gently.

"And this couch has got to g—" a gasp fell from her lips as he turned her head and took her bottom lip between his own.

"I love you," he murmured. "And I can't wait to show you how much every single day."

She pulled away, dazed. "I think," she mumbled, nodding with a lazy smile on her face, "I think I'm going to like it here."