(Book 2) This Could B Us

Part 56

As soon as she's gone I turn to him, it's my turn to eye him suspiciously. "Are you going to tell me about this 'something' you have to do?"

"Nope. It's a surprise," he kisses me tenderly on the forehead.

"Okay," I scan his eyes one more time, the love in his eyes tells me it's nothing to worry about, so I press no further.

I turn and start walking toward the shed, he follows me. I open the door, make my way around the lawn tractor and to the back wall where the storage totes are stacked, nested inside one another. There are two stacks of five, I'm happy to see, because it's been a couple years since I needed them. I pull out one stack and place it outside the shed, and return for the second.

When I get back to the door, Prince has the first stack in his arms, "Where?"

"Back porch is good," I follow behind him. "Prince?"

"Yes, Sugar?" he answers over his shoulder.

"Since you're headed out, could you stop at the Walgreens and pick me up some bubble wrap on your way back?"

We set the totes down beside the back door, "Of course, Sugar. How much do you need?"

"Two rolls should do it." Then I remember that he doesn't wait for change, "Do you have anything smaller than a $100 bill on you?"

He looks at me like I've lost my ever-loving mind. "Wait!" I grab my purse and hand him two $20 bills, "Here. It won't be that much, but two rolls of bubble wrap are not worth $100."

He shakes his head at me, his expression serious. "I'm not taking your money."

I laugh and remind him, "It's actually your money, from when I took some from the desk drawer."

"Then it's our money," he corrects me.

I can't believe we're standing here discussing money, "Prince, I didn't earn this money, you did."

"Yes, you did, you put up with me," he keeps a straight face, but there's humor in his eyes.

"Okay, so it is my money, just take it, please," I roll my eyes as I extend my hand out, offering the money again.

He reluctantly takes the money from me, "I'll be back, shouldn't be much more than an hour."

He starts to turn, then stops, he reaches for me, pulling me close. He kisses me so deeply I'm left gasping for air, "What was that for?" I look at him in surprise as he releases me.

"Because I love you," he says sincerely. He hops into the Caddy, waves and disappears down the drive.

A calm feeling comes over me, today was a good day, now to get some things accomplished before Prince gets back. I head into the house with a stack of totes and set them outside the spare bedroom door since that room needs the most out of it.

I start in the kitchen, I go through each cabinet and drawer. I take nothing, but toss a couple questionable items. I clean the inside of the microwave and the fridge. I check the pantry again, to make sure nothing is expired or perishable.

Satisfied, with the kitchen I move onto the house bath. It's hardly ever used, so a quick clean and check of the cabinet and it's done.

The master bedroom and bath I know are fine, so I head to the spare room where my biggest challenge is. There are already storage totes in there, so I come armed with a few garbage bags. Sifting through old papers, photos, and miscellaneous items, I'm able to fill two trash bags and condense four totes into two. I pack anything else that I can that doesn't require the bubble wrap I'm waiting on.

I am just hauling the fifth tote out to the garage when the garage door comes to life. Prince looks surprised to see me at first, then happy. He gets out of the car carrying a Walgreens bag that has two rolls of bubble wrap hanging out the top, he eyes the totes.

"How's the progress?"

"Great, actually going better than I thought it would. I'm ready for that," I point to the bag he's holding.

"I got it," he gestures me through the door into the house, then follows. I lead him to the spare bedroom, where he soon looks amazed. The totes are gone so it looks much bigger, all that sits against one wall is my desk and the two trash bags that need to go out.

"Wow," he says as he pulls me to him, "Would you like some help wrapping?"

My face just inches from his, "Are you really going to help me, or are you trying to distract me, Mr. Nelson?"

He pretends to think then smiles, "I'll help, I know you have a lot to do and not much time to do it in."

He presses a kiss to my lips, sets the bag down, and waits for my direction. I'm overcome by the awkwardness of telling him what I need done, it seems wrong to tell Prince what to do.

I pull out an empty tote, take some bubble wrap and line the bottom, then start setting items beside the tote to be wrapped. He sits down on the floor and starts to wrap, placing things carefully into the tote as he goes.

I pause to watch him doing such a menial task, he looks up and smiles at me. Then, his typical in-charge personality surfaces and he gestures for me to keep bringing him things. I take that cue to head into the living room to start gathering more.

Once all the trinkets I want to keep are packed, I label that tote and carry it out to the garage, Prince follows behind me with the two trash bags. Heading back in, we gather things I want to donate because I simply don't want/need them anymore. That tote fills quickly, it's labeled and brought out as well.

Since I'm a tidy person, the living room and spare room requires nothing more than a quick dusting now that we're done with the pack up. I'll vacuum and maybe wash some of the window treatments and light fixtures on Sunday, time permitting.

Prince has moved into the living room and settled on the couch watching television while I was dusting. I come to stand in the middle of the room, running a mental checklist, feeling confident I've accomplished enough for tonight.

Prince pats the sofa next to him, "Come sit down with me, you've done enough," he mirrors my thoughts.

Anytime I dust, I feel grimy, "Five minutes, I need a quick shower."

"I'm timing you," he teases before turning his attention back to the television.

I shower quickly because I really do want to relax a bit, it's getting late, plus I still have no idea what he has in store for me tomorrow. I slip on my nightie and make my way back to the living room, toweling my hair as I go.

As I bypass the living room on the way to put my towel in the laundry room, I see his eyes take notice, and a smile plays on his lips. I make Prince smile, I think to myself, that alone makes me feel like a million bucks. Dropping off the towel, I return to the living room and start toward the couch. His arm raises, inviting me to cuddle, I sit close, his arm comes down over my shoulder as I lay my head on his.

"Sorry, my hair is wet," I apologize.

"I don't mind, Sugar."

"Thank you for helping me tonight."

"You're welcome, Baby."

I hear him sniff my hair, letting out an appreciative sound from deep in his throat, then he kisses the top of my head. Now that I've stopped moving, or maybe the comfort of being cuddled up to him, my eyelids start to get heavy. I decide to let them close, and just before I completely drift, I hear the television click off.

"Angel was right, no nookie for me tonight," he says in a good natured way, "Come on, Sugar, let's go to bed."

I have just enough awareness to grab a towel to protect my pillow from my wet hair as I'm led to the bed. Prince pulls my nightie over my head before stripping down himself, which makes me wonder in amusement if he failed to pack anything to sleep in.

Nestled into his arms, feeling his skin against mine, I drift off to sleep in no time.