AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We’re surrounded by Knox’s closest friends and family for his housewarming party. When Maisie found out there was going to be free alcohol, she totally invited herself. Since I have at least two and half years left at CCU, Knox decided it would be best to buy a house in Coral Cove instead of renting. I still live in an on-campus apartment, but I spend most of my nights at Knox’s place.
“Damn, you kids look great together,” Dan says, giving Knox a firm pat on the back.
“You’re not looking so bad yourself, old man,” Knox replies with a deep chuckle.
Dan has been in remission for close to three months now, looking more and more like himself each day. I’ll never forget the relief that washed over Knox’s face when we found out that Dan beat his cancer. He told Knox he was going to fight like hell, and that’s exactly what he did. We tried to throw Dan a milestone party to celebrate his remission, but he refused. He said that chapter of his life was closed, and he was ready to move on. Honestly, I don’t blame him. There were a few times we were worried he wouldn't make it.
We spend the next few minutes chatting with Dan before he grabs his coat to leave.
“Well, I better get going. I’ve got a long drive ahead of me,” Dan exhales. “The place looks great. I’m proud of you, son,” Dan beams.
“Thanks, Coach,” Knox replies with a wink, patting Dan on the back in farewell. After we see Dan out, we walk back into the living room, where almost everyone is sipping on cocktails and mingling.
“Hey Knox, serious question,” Slater says, coming out of nowhere and standing between us.
Slater is an interesting guy, to say the least. He’s fun to be around, but he’s wild as hell. Now that I really know him, I find it ironic he got after me at the beach that day. When I found out he was Knox’s friend, I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed about that morning on the beach.
“What’s up?” Knox asks, nodding his head.
“Who thehellis that?” he asks, darting his eyes towards Willow. She always looks stunning, but tonight, she looks like a high fashion model. Her black hair falls in luscious waves down her back, red lipstick on her lips, and she’s wearing a black dress that hugs every inch of her body.
“Thatis my baby sister,” Knox warns. “She’s off limits. Don't even think about it, Slate.”
“I had a feeling she might be, but hear me out...” Slater pushes.
“The answer is no, Slater. Never. Not gonna happen,” Knox growls, ending the conversation on the spot.
“Damn, it was worth a try,” Slater exhales. “On the upside, I don’t work tomorrow, which means I plan on getting absolutely shit faced tonight.” He raises his empty glass in the air and heads back towards the mini bar.
“Remind me why I’m friends with him again?” Knox jokes, shaking his head and laughing as he grabs my waist and pulls my back into his chest. “Can I steal you away for a minute?” Knox whispers in my ear.
“I mean, it's your house. You can do whatever you want,” I say, arching a brow.
“C’mon,” he replies, linking his fingers with mine and leading the way to his bedroom.
Once he closes the door, my eyes dart towards the bed.
“Did our sex marathon this morning not hold you over until tonight?” I laugh.
“I could never get enough of you,” he hums, wrapping his strong arms around my waist and pulling me to him. “But that’s not why I brought you in here. I wanted to wait until we were alone tonight, but… I thought it would be fun to celebrate the new house together while everyone is here.”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing?” I ask,veryconfused.
“Well, technically we’re here to celebratemyhousewarming, but I want it to be for us,” he adds, his eyes flickering between mine.
“Are you asking me to…” I trail off with a wide-eyed expression.
“Move in with me, baby,” he says with a smile, pulling me closer to him. “You’re already here almost every night, and I know it’s taxing for you to constantly go back and forth between two places. I don’t want to just have lazy mornings in bed with you on the weekends, I want it every day. I want to go to sleep and wake up with you next to me in our bed, every day.Every. Single. Day,” he says slowly, placing lingering kisses to my lips between each word.
My first instinct is to say yes, but my only hesitation is Maisie. I love being her roommate, but if I'm being honest with myself, I never see her at our apartment anyways. Our schedules are completely different now that I'm not on the team. Even though we’re roommates, we have to plan time to hang out with each other.
“Just move him in with him, already.”Maisie’s words echo through my head, ones she utters daily. I’d miss being her roomie, but we’d still be living in the same town and would make it a priority to see each other.
“Plus, we’ll have a couple spare rooms for when guests come to visit,” Knox adds in a convincing tone. “Didn’t Corbin say he was planning on making the trip soon?”
Thankfully, everything that happened with Corbin resolved with time. It didn’t happen overnight, but he’s slowly coming around to the idea of Knox and me together. I don’t know if he’ll ever fully be comfortable with our relationship, but at least he’s trying. He’s visited Coral Cove a few times, always taking enough time to spend the day with Knox and me before heading home. We visited Corbin over the summer in my hometown, which I think was a huge turning point for all of us.
Corbin hosted dinner at his house - he and Knox spent hours watching baseball and shooting the shit. He invited my parents to join us for dinner, but shocker, they didn’t show. After I told them about Knox and quitting the team, they kind of disappeared. They check in from time to time, but other than that, I don’t really hear from them. I’m oddly okay with that, though. I’ve stopped allowing people to have power over my emotions who have zero interest in having a real relationship.
