Still Loving You

Part 39

 "You got it! Baby, that's amazing!" Eddie exclaimed, pulling her into a hug.

It was April and Elizabeth had applied for a job with a small publishing house that was only thirty minutes away in Columbus. She had been hoping to get this one because they wouldn't have to upheave their lives so quickly. Eddie would be able to keep his current job and they could stay in their apartment and take their time figuring out next steps.

"I did," she replied. "They just called and said they would love to add me to their team. It's not a ton of money to start, but it's more than I am making at Family Video right now. I will just be an editorial assistant at first and probably doing a lot of the grunt work, but it's a start!"

"Yes, it is!"

He was so proud of her. She was just a few weeks away from finishing her degree and she already had a job lined up. They were living comfortably with what they brought home right now, and she would be making a bit more. They would be fine in this apartment for a while longer and she was taking the first step toward her dream.

"Well, we have to celebrate," he announced, kissing her cheek. "Call your friends. Let's go out tonight."

"Really?" she asked. "Okay, I am going to call Steve and Robin right now!"

She darted off to the kitchen to call and Eddie sat back on the couch, watching her. Her smile lit up her whole face, and he couldn't think of a more beautiful sight. She was his everything. She was his happiness, the calm to his crazy, the organization to his chaos, the positivity to his glass half empty. She brought out the best in him because she was the best of him.

Eddie was both nervous and excited because in a few weeks, when she graduated, he had planned a special surprise evening for her and he was going to do something he'd been thinking about for a long time. Her getting this job, making a move toward her future, only cemented his desire to go through with it. He only hoped she was as certain of him as he was of her.

He believed she was. She had told him and shown him how much she loved him every single day. Besides that one stupid night when he lost all sense of reason seeing her and Brian, they hadn't had a big fight since they moved in together. Sure, she got annoyed at him for leaving his shoes out where she tripped over them. He got annoyed with her need to declutter, so she put everything away immediately, and then he couldn't find stuff. But besides those little things, they were deliriously happy. Moving in with her was the best thing he'd ever done.

"So, they're in," she exclaimed, clapping and coming to join him on the couch. She leapt next to him. "We're meeting at Eclectic at eight, and you can actually dance with me since you're not playing."

"I look forward to it," he said. "Just Steve and Robin?"

"Nope. Steve is bringing Nancy and Robin is bringing Vickie."

Steve and Nancy had been going strong since the Halloween party. Robin had finally gotten brave and told Vickie how she felt to find out she felt the exact same way about a month ago. They had been damn near inseparable ever since and both him and Elizabeth were overjoyed for her. As far as Eddie was concerned, both of her friends deserved all the happiness in the world. He might not be sitting here with Elizabeth, in their own place, the happiest he had ever been, if it weren't for the two of them.

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"To Elizabeth!" Robin yelled, holding up her drink and they all joined in, clinking their glasses together.

"Thank you!" she beamed, leaning into Eddie. "And to the best friends, and boyfriend, a girl could ever ask for. I may not have made it this far without all of you."

"Well, I don't know about me," Vickie laughed. "I just joined this happy little group."

"You too," Elizabeth said. "You have made Robin happy, which makes us all very happy."

Eddie noticed Robin's hand found Vickie's and squeezed it. He knew they were careful with public displays of affection still. Their relationship was new and they weren't sure how others would react. He wished they didn't have to worry about it, but he understood why. People were so ignorant. He'd been on the receiving end of that ignorance more than he'd like.

"Also, to being almost done with college!" Steve yelled. "Jesus, that's going to feel great."

"So, what's everyone else's plans?" Eddie asked, draping his arm around Elizabeth's shoulder.

"Well, I have a job lined up at a local paper," Nancy said. "It's nothing big, but it's something. I will work my way up to the big leagues."

"I have no doubt. You are definitely a force to be reckoned with," Robin stated. "Me? I am planning on writing the next best seller, but in the meantime, I have to pay the bills. So, I haven't shared yet but when Elizabeth told me about the publishing house she was applying to, I decided to try too. I got a job as an executive assistant so we're working together!"

"No shit!" Elizabeth screamed and grabbed her hands, jumping up and down. "Oh my god! I am so excited. This is going to be amazing!"

"I know!" Robin agreed.

Eddie laughed as the two of them hugged and jumped. It was great they would be starting their careers together. He knew Elizabeth had relied on Robin a lot in college and he was glad they would have each other to lean on as they navigated this next phase of their lives.

"Well, damn," Steve said, shrugging. "I have no idea yet. I am going to keep working at Family Video for a bit still. I mean, my parents expected me to go to college so I did. But I never really had a plan."

"Well, your degree is in business, right?" Elizabeth asked. "You could do something with that. Even with Family Video, like in managerial."

"Maybe," he nodded, shrugging. "I mean, I'm not in a rush. I will figure it out. In the meantime, I just have to find a place I can afford."

"Vickie, what about you?" Nancy asked, squeezing Steve's hand.

"Oh, I am going to be an event coordinator at a local art gallery. I want to continue to paint, but it gets my foot in the door. I will help coordinate and plan any big events, figure out logistics for new galleries, and speak to the artists."

"That sounds amazing," Elizabeth commented.

"I mean, it sounds like you all have it figured out," added Eddie, smiling at them all. It was infectious, being around all of this excitement about new beginnings. It made him feel more confident about taking the next step.

Steve snorted. "Not me."

Nancy looped her arm through his. "I have no doubt you are going to figure it out. Come on. Dance with me."

The two of them headed off and Eddie knew what was coming before Elizabeth even had a chance to ask it. He took her hand, heading out to the dance floor with her and pulling her close. She rested her head against his chest, her hand holding his in between them, her other resting on his back. He reached down, gripping her hip with his opposite hand.

"I am so proud of you, baby," he whispered in her ear. "My super successful girl."

"I'm proud of you too," she said. "You are basically running that garage now babe. We are going to have the most amazing future together."

"That's what I'm counting on." Eddie captured her lips with his. "Just out of curiosity, when you think about our future together, what do you see?"

She tilted her head, smiling. "Honestly, all I see is you. That's the only thing that matters to me. Everything else is just the supporting acts to the headliner in front of me."

"Ohh...nice one, coming out with a music metaphor. I appreciate that," he laughed. "But do you ever think about what comes next? What else you want?"

"I mean, what comes next is us being ridiculously happy, just like we already are. I mean, I will start my new job and I am excited about that. I am over the moon that Robin and I are going to be working together. I have to be honest, that helps ease a lot of my nerves about heading into the unknown" She shrugged. "Honestly, what more could I want than what I have right now with you?"

Eddie pulled her close again, swaying to the music, and thinking that he had never been more sure of what he was about to do in a few weeks than he was at this moment.