“Cheers,” he yells, waving at the crowd. “This is the best possible welcome. We’re truly excited tae finally be in Manchester.” The crowd erupts around us as he pulls me tightly against him, laying his hand on my waist.
We’re shown to a large suite of rooms on the top floor where we are greeted by a delegation from the club. I’m introduced to the woman who will help us find housing. It’s explained again that the sooner we have secure permanent housing, the better we will be.
Alex is given an extensive schedule of our activities starting in two weeks. That’s when he officially begins his contract. We both have a personal shopper assigned to us who takes our measurements then discusses what clothes we will need for the upcoming events.
After several hours of being overwhelmed, they leave with promises of returning at nine tomorrow morning. Falling onto the couch with a sigh, I look at Alex who is grabbing us both a drink out of the mini-fridge.
“What the hell just happened?” I ask as he hands me a Coke.
“A wee bit like being shot oot of a cannon, yeah?” He sits down on the couch next to me, pulling my feet into his lap. “We shouldnae have tae deal with anything else today.”
He pulls my shoes off, rubbing my swollen feet. I settle on the couch, picking up my phone. After sending out a couple of group texts letting everyone know we made it safe, I toss it back onto the coffee table.
“How aboot we order room service, find something on the telly and eat in our pajamas? Sound good?” he ask.
“Sounds perfect,” I moan, closing my eyes as he rubs my arches.
We settled on a townhome for lease three days later. Neither one of us could continue the intense search our housing liaison was pushing us through.
Alex informed me that his preseason workout schedule promised to be less grueling. He bails on me, claiming he has an interview when I’m drug off to rent furniture. Until we buy our own place, we both agreed to rent what we need.
The townhome seems bigger than we need with three bedrooms and two living areas, but it’s in a gated area with security. Our personal boxes show up a week later, Lily having shipped them to our new address.
* * *
“Mo ghaol? I’m home,” Alex calls out to me, walking into our new home. We’ve been here for almost three weeks now and have finally finished decorating our home.
“Baby?” he calls out again, finding me curled up on the back deck with my laptop. “Whit are ye daeing?” He flops down on one of the new deck chairs, taking a swig from his water bottle. “Can ye be ready tae go aboot seven thirty?”
“Where are we going tonight?” I ask. Every night it seems like we have a different party to attend. I crave a quiet night in with Alex, but this is a different life than the one we had.
“Cocktail party for the box holders, or something like that.” He rubs his fingertips over the back of my hand. “I can say ye dinnae feel well if ye’re tired. I still have tae go, but ye can have a quiet evening here.”
He sets my laptop down on the small table between us, pulling me up. When I’m resettled in his lap, he sighs. “It should settle down soon. We can have a night with pizza in our pajamas.” I snuggle into his chest, my head resting on his shoulder.
“That sounds amazing. I need to find a job so I have something to do when you're gone all day. I’ve put in resumes but so far I haven’t gotten any bites.”
“They’ll come. Ye’re too brilliant tae naw have someone snatch ye up.” I kiss him before settling back into his chest.
A week later, I was asked to interview, accepting a position on the spot. I’m on the team that helps determine where the funding raised by a local nonprofit group similar to the United Way spends the money. They sponsor programs all over the city of Manchester from after-school care to camps for disadvantaged youth.
Every morning I wake up energized to get to work. Alex spends most of the evening smiling at me while I tell him everything about my day. By the beginning of July, I feel like we have really found a life here, together.
The days settle into a routine with Alex kissing me goodbye as he leaves for practice. He makes it home right after I do to help make dinner together. He was right, our formal engagements settle down to an occasional weekend night leaving us to enjoy our evenings alone together.
Before we moved here, Alex gave me a verbal list of the reasons I should move here with him. So far, he has worked hard to prove every one is accomplished. Even exhausted at the end of the day, he still finds time to show me how much he loves me.
This morning I wake up to the most amazing dream. Opening my eyes, I find Alex between my thighs, driving me with his mouth toward an orgasm. After he sends me over the edge crying out his name, he slides up so he can rest his head on his hands over my stomach.
“Do you not have practice today?” I ask as he watches me.
“Publicity day. I guess they dinnae want us all sweaty. I dinnae have tae be there until nine so I thought I would find a better way tae use my extra time.”
“I like how you manage time,” I say, smiling at him.
“We have practice later, though. I dunno when I’ll be home, so eat when ye get hungry. I’ll find something later.”
“I’ll just plan on seeing you tonight then. Let me know if you will be home earlier. I think I’ll take this chance to join my friends from work at the pub this time. They’ve been asking me for a while, so this sounds like the perfect excuse.”
