“So, this is great and all, but why in the world did you bring me here? You know I don’t eat breakfast,” said Nicki’s father.

“I just thought it would be nice to take you out,” she replied.

She looked at Tyler nervously. What the hell was she supposed to say?

They had brought her father to IHOP to tell him that Tyler had asked her to move in with him. That way, in case he reacted badly, he couldn’t try to kill Tyler. And if he did, at least there would be witnesses. For the life of her, she couldn’t get the words out.

Tyler held her hand under the table.

“So where did you guys go for dinner last night?” he asked.

“Oh, just a place in the North End,” she said.

Tyler squeezed her hand. They had agreed that she would be the one to tell him.

“I took her to Terramia,” he said.

Her father’s eyes opened right up. Normally he needed coffee before that happened.

“Really,” he said skeptically. “Any particular reason?”

“Nope.”

“Yes.”

Damn it Tyler!

“I took her there because I wanted to ask her if she would move in with me.”

How was he so composed?

Her father nodded, understanding. “So you brought me here to ask my permission.”

“More or less,” Tyler said.

Nicki’s leg started to shake. It caused a mini earthquake on their table. Tyler grabbed her orange juice right before it tipped over.

“That’s thoughtful of you, Tyler. But you didn’t have to do that. She’s nineteen. She can make her own decisions.”

“Really?” she was astounded.

“Of course, sweetie. That being said, I would be the first person to let you know if I thought you were making a mistake. I trust Tyler to take care of you.”

“Thank you,” Tyler said.

He gave her hand another squeeze. Maybe it was going to be okay.

** * * * *

“Hey roomie,” Freddy said as he hugged Nicki. “Hope you guys had a good night. I know I did.”

Freddy had taken Evaline home and spent the night at her house. It worked out perfectly – he spent the night with her and Tyler and Nicki got the apartment to themselves.

She hugged him back. “We had a great night,” she said, grabbing her necklace.

“You’re welcome, by the way. I picked out that necklace.”

“But I bought it,” said Tyler, coming up behind Nicki. “You ready to go?”

She turned around to look at him. She decided to go with him to the Garden. She was wearing his jersey, and had made sure that her necklace was visible over it.

“Yeah, I’m all set. Glad you had fun last night, Freddy. I’ll see you Friday!” she said as she led Tyler out the door.

When they got into the hallway, he grabbed her face and kissed her.

“Are you sure you want to come with me? You’re gonna have a whole lot of nothing to do until the game starts.”

“I’m positive. I’ll keep myself entertained.”

** * * * *

“Seeexyyyyy,” called a voice from down the hallway.

“He’s never going to stop that, is he?” Nicki asked Tyler.

“Never.”

Brad strolled towards them.

“What are you doing here Foxy?”

Tyler answered for her. “She’s here to watch the game. I only got her one ticket so she just came with me.”

He made a face and nodded. He was one goofy guy.

“Woah, what’s that around your neck there?” he asked, looking at Nicki.

She reached up to grab the necklace and smiled. Some more of the team started to approach them. A few of them gave Nicki hugs.

“It’s so good to see you guys again,” she said. “It’s been a while.”

Tyler let her catch up with them. He went over to Brad.

“How much did that cost?” he asked.

“Not saying.”

“What was the occasion? Did you guys have an anniversary that I missed or something?”

“Nah. I took her out last night.”

“And…?”

Tyler almost didn’t want to tell him.

“She’s moving in.”

Brad grinned. “No fucking way.”

Tyler nodded.

“Our little Seggy is all grown up!” he said. “Did you tell the guys?”

“Tell us what Segs?” asked Milan.

“Nicki’s moving in with him,” Brad said before he could answer.

Tyler watched as Nicki turned to look at them. She smiled and walked over, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“Wow, congrats guys,” Milan said.

He got the feeling that Milan doubted he was really going to ask her.

“We should probably go get dressed,” said Dougie as he walked towards the locker room.

Tyler turned to Nicki. “You sure you don’t mind waiting all by yourself?”

She nodded. “Don’t worry about me. Good luck, Ty,” she said as she went to kiss him.

“Atta boy Seggy,” said Brad as she walked away.

** * * * * *

Nicki watched as the team struggled in their own zone. It was halfway through the second period and no one had scored yet, but the Senators were giving Tuuka a run for his money. He already had thirty saves.

“Come on guys!” she screamed, knowing that they could hear her.

Tyler had gotten her a seat right behind the bench. She tried not to be distracting, but she was becoming anxious. At least nothing was going wrong with Tyler. He hadn’t even really been hit.

Claude called a time out and Tyler’s line skated over to the bench. She caught his gaze.

“I love you,” she mouthed.

She watched his lips as he said it back. She couldn’t help but smile. That was when she noticed someone looking at her through the glass. It was Milan.

Nicki read his lips. “I saw that.” Then he pointed up.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who saw. The camera man near the bench picked up on it, too, along with the other seventeen thousand people in the Garden.

She was horrified.

** * * * *

“I can’t believe that actually happened,” Nicki said as Tyler pulled up to her house.

He laughed. He had missed it on the Jumbotron, but heard it from all of the players the second they went back on the ice. Normally, the taunting would have bothered him. In a way, he was glad the entire Garden got to see it.

“Your cheeks are still red,” he said.

“I don’t like being on the spot. I would call saying I love you in front of nearly twenty thousand people being on the spot.”

Tyler reached an arm around her. “Don’t worry about it. It could have been worse.”

“How?”

“They could have put it on TV,” he said, chuckling.

He finally got her to smile.

“I should probably go in. I have a nine A.M. tomorrow,” she said, frowning.

Tyler nodded. He knew that she had to go.

“I’ll see you Friday.”

Instead of responding, Nicki climbed across the car and sat on top of him. She held his face in her hands.

“I am going to miss you so much.”

She leaned forward and kissed him, softly. A moan escaped from deep within his throat. When she leaned back, he knew that he would be up all night thinking about that kiss.

“I’ll miss you too. This is the longest I’ve had to go without seeing you since before you went to California. It’s gonna be such a long week.”

“I know. Good luck in your games,” she said, about to move off of him.

He pulled her back and kissed her once more. She rested her forehead against his.

“I love you, Ty.”

“I love you too.”

** * * * *

Friday 5:00 A.M.

Nicki flung the covers off of herself. She hadn’t slept the entire week, and today was no different. But it was finally Friday. She sat up and glanced around her room. It was nearly empty; the only things that remained were packed up in cardboard boxes. She would have to make at least two trips to Tyler’s.

And then it hit her. She was moving in today. All of the sudden she had a burst of energy. It felt like she had slept twelve hours. Was five in the morning an acceptable time to start bringing her stuff over? She didn’t care. Plus, she had her key.

Nicki grabbed the key off of her bedside table and looked it over. It was silver. Tyler had brought it to a jewelry store and had them set it so that the top of it was covered in little diamonds. It was the most valuable key she had ever seen.

She thought back to the night he asked her and the millions of things that ran through her mind when she saw the box on the table. She knew that he wasn’t proposing. He wasn’t the type to do something so rash. As soon as she opened it, she knew that he was going to ask her.

And that night. Until the night of her wedding, it would reign superior to every other. Nicki felt herself tear up. She missed Tyler. Thinking of him snapped her back to reality. She hopped out of bed and dressed herself in the outfit that she had laid out the night before. The rest of her clothes were packed away. She wore her favorite pair of ripped jeans, Sperrys, and a white tee shirt. It seemed like a moving appropriate outfit.

She washed her face and put on makeup. When she looked in the mirror, she noticed that her hair looked more like a mane. Instead of spending an hour trying to fix it, she tied it in a low ponytail and put on the Bruins baseball cap that she had stolen from Tyler. Nicki never wore hats, but she liked his. She pulled her hair through the gap in the back. She was ready to go.

Her father was already up and getting ready for work. He helped her load up her car with as much as she could fit. Nicki couldn’t help but notice how sad he looked.

“I’m sorry I’m leaving you,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. She felt horrible about it.

He grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Don’t apologize to me young lady. You’re finally starting a life for yourself. I’m happy for you. I guess I just really wish your brother was here.”

Nicki had been thinking of Jason a lot lately. He never replied to her letter. She was worried about him, and she knew that her father was, too. Just a year ago, they had a full house. Now it was going to be just him.

“Yeah, I wish he was here, too. Come by and visit whenever you want. I want to cook dinner for you sometime.”

He laughed. “I hope I taught you well. You know you’re going to be doing a lot of cooking for those two boys.”

“I know, dad. I already packed the book of recipes you gave me.”

Her father was a food fanatic. He loved to cook. He came from a line of chefs, and they passed down plenty of recipes. Since her mother died, every night that Nicki was home they would cook dinner together. He taught her everything that watching the Food Network couldn’t.

“Good. I’m gonna miss you sweetie.”

She wrapped her arms around him.

“I’m gonna miss you, too.”

She sighed. Why did this have to be so hard? She watched as her father walked back inside. By the time she came back for more boxes he would be at work. She wondered when she would see him next.

Nicki got into her car. She would have to drive carefully; some of the boxes had created a massive blind spot. On her way she stopped at Dunkin Donuts and ordered three large iced coffees and a half a dozen doughnuts. That ought to make them happy.

By the time she got to the apartment, the sun was starting to peek up over the trees. The only thing she loved more than watching the sun set was watching it rise. She stood in the parking lot for a moment and took everything in as she watched the colors change in the sky.

She grabbed the tray of iced coffees and the box of doughnuts and made her way inside. It took her a little longer than usual to get up the stairs. It was probably from the lack of sleep. When she got to the door, she pulled out her key and smiled as she unlocked it.

Tyler was sitting in the kitchen. When he saw her, his face lit up. She walked over to him and put the coffee and doughnuts on the island. She looked at him.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Neither of them could stop smiling. Nicki wrapped her arms around him and squeezed as hard as she could. She had so much to say, she didn’t know where to begin.

“What are you doing up right now?” she asked him.

“I haven’t slept all week,” he said.

She shook her head. “Me either! Here,” she said as she picked up the coffee she ordered for him, “I got this for you. And I got you a strawberry frosted doughnut, too.”

Tyler pulled her onto his lap. “You’re the greatest. But you know that I get this for free, right?”

She giggled. She forgot Dunkin Donuts was his sponsor. In return for being a walking billboard, he got whatever he wanted for free. She was too damn excited to think rationally.

“So when can we start?” she asked.

“We can start right now if you want to.”

She nodded her head quickly and bounced off of him. He looked at her.

“You look adorable,” he said. “And I like that hat on you.”

Nicki bit her lip and grabbed his hand as she ran out of the apartment. She couldn’t wait any longer. They got out to her car and each took a box. Tyler took the heaviest one first. She hadn’t packed in any specific order – things were just thrown in with other things. It would take her a while to sort through all of it. Normally, she would have organized everything. But she was having a hard time thinking straight.

“Jesus, what’s in here?” he asked her as they walked up the stairs.

“Probably my TV.”

“You brought your TV?!”

She frowned. “I love my TV. It was my sixteenth birthday present from my parents. And I noticed that you have a cable wire running through your room and an extra cable box. It’s perfect!”

Tyler laughed and shook his head. “Well, I guess it would be nice to watch TV in bed for a change.”

They walked through the open door and put the boxes down. They must have woken up Freddy when they left because he was sitting at the island gnawing on a doughnut. Nicki ran up to him and hugged him.

“Hi Freddy!”

“Ow, my ear,” he complained. “May I remind you that it’s not even six in the morning?”

“Love you too, Freddy.”

She skipped away to look through the box she had brought in. It was clothes and beauty products. She dragged it into Tyler’s room for later. He was in there trying to set up her TV.

“This is a nice TV,” he said. “You’re too funny. I can’t believe you brought it.”

He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up to kiss her. Every minute that passed just made her more and more excited. She wondered if it was the caffeine. Or adrenaline. Or both. She noticed that there was something different about his room.

“You got a new dresser?”

He nodded. “One big enough for both us.”

Nicki wrapped her arms around his neck and squealed.

“I have never seen you this excited,” he said, chuckling.

She was acting like an idiot. She didn’t care.

“Because I’ve never been this excited!”

They went back to her car for the next round of boxes. Freddy joined. When they made it back up the stairs, Tyler froze.

“Oh no. I haven’t been taking pictures.” He glanced over to Nicki, who was surrounded by three boxes overflowing with clothes and other miscellaneous objects. “Perfect. Smile!”

He took a few pictures of her posing with the boxes. She couldn’t stop laughing.

“Mind if I put it on Twitter?” he asked her.

“Just pick the least embarrassing one,” she said, knowing she would probably regret it later.

Freddy came back with one more box. “This is the last one. How many more do you have at home?”

“Only like two or three. I’ll go get them now.”

Tyler looked up from his phone. “I’m coming. I’ve never been in your car before.”

Nicki had never thought of that. He drove everywhere. And the two weeks he couldn’t drive because of his neck, she drove him around in his car.

“Okay come on! Let’s go!”

** * * * * *

Nicki led Tyler into her room where the last of the boxes were.

“It looks so different in here without all of your things,” he said.

She nodded. “I know. Ugh, you should have seen my dad’s face when I left this morning. It was heartbreaking.”

He held his hand up to her face. “I can imagine. We’ll have him over for dinner soon, okay?”

“That would be great,” she said.

Tyler went to pick up one of the boxes that were on her floor. Before he could, Nicki grabbed his hips and spun him around, trying to push him onto her bed. He landed hard – she had taken him by surprise. She ripped off his clothes and stripped out of hers as fast as she could. She jumped on top of him.

“Oh my God,” he said after she had rolled off of him. “You seriously are an animal.”

She pushed her hair out of her face and grinned. “I just can’t help myself. It’s your fault. You’re too good looking.”

He laughed. “You’re awesome.”

Nicki bent forward and rubbed her nose against his. “You’re awesome.”

She started to put her clothes back on. Tyler’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey mom.”

“What? No I really don’t think you should face time me right now…”

Nicki started to giggle. This was going to get awkward. She heard Jackie’s voice.

“Honey where are you?”

Tyler sat up on her bed.

“I’m at Nicki’s.”

“Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?”

He didn’t say anything. Nicki had to cover her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud.

“Oh, damn it Tyler! Why did you answer?”

“I told you not to face time me. But no. You didn’t listen.”

Jackie went silent. “Hi Nicki,” she called.

“Hii… How ya doin?”

She couldn’t have sounded any more awkward.

“Not very good, thanks for asking. My son couldn’t even tell me that you were moving in! Ty how could you not tell me that?!”

“I dunno. I’ve been busy.”

“Not too busy to put a picture on Twitter! How do you think it feels to find out that your son’s living with a girl for the first time through the internet? Huh?”

Tyler scratched the back of his head. “Sorry.”

“I guess I forgive you. Oh, Tyler I’m so happy!” Nicki could hear her starting to cry. “I can’t believe you’re finally growing up.”

He rolled his eyes. “I kinda have to go mom. We’re getting the last of her stuff now. Can I call you later?”

“You better. If you don’t I’m going to keep calling until you pick up. Bye honey. Bye Nicki.”

Tyler hung up the phone and shook his head. Nicki raked her eyes over his body.

“Why are you only half dressed?”

** * * * * *

“I can’t believe you,” Tyler said when they were on their way back.

Nicki smiled. “I’m sorry! You should know by now that if you’re just hanging out with no clothes on, mine are bound to find their way off.”

She looked over at him. He leaned his head back into the chair and sighed.

“Freddy’s going to wonder what took so long,” he said.

“Freddy’s going to know exactly what took so long.”

They got the last of the boxes into the apartment. It was only nine o’clock.

“Ready to start unpacking?”

“I am so ready. We need music,” Nicki said as she opened one of the boxes looking for her iHome.

She found it and plugged in her phone. They got to work taking out her things. It was mostly clothes. Besides that, she didn’t own much else. Once they were about halfway through her stuff, Smile by Uncle Kracker started playing from her phone. She ran across the room and turned it up.

“Aww I love this song! It reminds me of you,” she said to Tyler.

She sang while she unpacked. When she looked up at Tyler, he was standing in the middle of the room listening to the song. Nicki went up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, making him dance with her. She sang her favorite part to him.

“You make me smile like the sun, fall outta bed, sing like a bird, dizzy in my head, spin like a record crazy on a Sunday night. You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe, shine like gold, buzz like a bee, just the thought of you can drive me wild, oh you make me smile.”

Nicki laughed as she pulled away. She was having so much fun. When she started to walk away, Tyler grabbed her and picked her up.

“Hi Ty!” she said as she kissed him on the cheek.

“That song really reminds you of me?” he asked.

“Every word of it.”

He stared at her. “I love you so much. You know that?”

She smiled wide as she kissed him. She had never felt so happy in her entire life. She rested her head on his shoulder.

“You make me so happy, Ty.”

“Gross,” Freddy said as he walked into the room.

Tyler put Nicki down and she ran over to Freddy. She started dancing with him, too.

“You must be the happiest girl in America today,” he said, laughing.

She was. For the rest of the afternoon, she sang to every song that came on. She was starting to lose her voice. It had been years since she sang like that.

By four, all of her things were neatly organized throughout the apartment. Nicki clapped her hands together.

“It’s official boys, I’m all moved in!”

“Actually,” Tyler said, “There’s one thing you’re forgetting.”

He and Freddy exchanged laughs.

“What are you guys laughing about?”

“Close your eyes,” said Freddy.

She closed them and tried to listen to what was going on around her. What the hell were they talking about? She would know if she forgot something. She felt someone put something over her neck.

“Okay, you can look.”

Nicki looked down at herself. They had bought her a cooking apron that said “Kiss the Cook”. She burst out laughing.

“Aw, guys! I love it!” she exclaimed as she tied the strings around her back.

They gave each other a high five.

“So what am I making for dinner tonight? I’m so hungry.”

“I don’t know. We don’t really have much. I think there’s some chicken in the fridge, but that might be it.”

Nicki walked into the kitchen to see what she could find.

“How about stir fry?” she called to them.

“Yes, please!” said Freddy. Tyler agreed.

She heard them turn on the TV. Marshall came trotting in to see her.

“Hi buddy!”

Nicki gave him a treat and scratched his head. She got out a pan to cook the stir fry in. When she took out everything she needed and placed it on the counter, she thought of Cassidy. Nicki really liked her. Maybe she would get her number from Tyler and text her later.

As she cooked, she couldn’t help but smile. If this was what life was going to be like from now on, she could certainly get used to it. She heard the boys laughing in the living room.

“What’s going on in there?” she yelled.

“Nootthinngg,” said Freddy.

She shook her head and set out plates and silverware on the island. When the food had finished, she neatly placed it on the plates, trying to make it look professional. After all, you eat with your eyes.

“Come and get it,” she called into the living room.

They walked into the room and saw the plates, exchanging another high five.

“Hold on,” Tyler said. “One more picture.”

Nicki held up one of the plates and smiled, making sure he could get the “Kiss the Cook” part of her apron. When he snapped the picture, she put the plate back down. Freddy came up to her and kissed her on the cheek. She held her hand up to where he had kissed her.

“Aww, what was that for?”

Freddy laughed. “The apron, dumbass.”

She smiled. “So I get a kiss every time I cook?”

They nodded.

“I’ll take that,” she said.

Tyler put his hands on her neck and pressed his lips against hers.

“Mmm,” she moaned. It felt better and better every single time that he kissed her.

He pulled away and sat down to eat.

“I’m warning you guys now, you didn’t have the sauce I needed so I had to improvise.”

She watched as they ate. Freddy leaned back on the stool.

“How did we go all of this time without you?” he asked.

Nicki smiled as she picked up her fork. She liked cooking for them. It was the least she could do. When they had finished, she cleaned up and started the dishwasher. She was about to join Tyler and Freddy in the living room when she heard her phone ring.

“Hello?”

“Nicki? This is Jackie, Tyler’s mom.”

Nicki blushed, remembering the all too awkward face time call at her house.

“Hi. How are you?”

She didn’t bother asking how she got her number.

“A little better now,” she said. “I have you on speaker phone by the way.”

Candace and Cassidy said hello. Nicki laughed.

“Hi guys.”

“So will you please tell us what happened?” Candace asked.

“Um, yeah. Give me one minute, okay? I’m going to call you back.”

She hung up the phone. She didn’t want to talk about Tyler right in front of him, and there was nowhere in the apartment that she could go that he wouldn’t hear. Nicki looked around and saw Marshall lying on the floor. Perfect. She called his name and attached his leash to his collar.

“Ty, I’m taking Marshall out,” she called over the TV.

“K,” he said, “Please be careful.”

Of course she would be careful. It was dark out, but luckily they lived in a good neighborhood. And she had Marshall. He might not have been an attack dog, but he was getting pretty damn big. She opened the door and walked him down the stairs and out of the building. Nicki wasn’t very familiar with the area yet, so she took a left out of the apartment complex and walked straight.

Nicki took a moment to breathe in the fresh air. For late March, it was a beautiful night. She took out her phone and called Jackie back.

“Hi Jackie. Sorry, I had to get out of the apartment.”

“I’m still in shock that he didn’t tell me,” she said, hurt.

“I know. I’m sorry. If I had known that he didn’t, I would have told you. I just assumed that he did. It’s been a long week for both of us.”

“So how did today go?” she asked. Nicki hoped she wouldn’t bring up what happened earlier in front of the girls. They didn’t need to hear about that.

“It was so great,” she started, “I couldn’t be any happier.”

She heard Candace and Cassidy squeal.

“Is he good to you?” Jackie asked.

“He’s amazing,” she replied, thinking of him. It was the perfect word to describe him.

“Awww,” his sisters said in harmony.

“So how did he ask you?” asked Candace.

“Well, he took me to a really romantic restaurant,” she got cut off by Candace.

“Which one?”

“Terremia Ristorante.”

“He took you there?!”

“Why, what’s so special about that?” asked Jackie.

“Mom, that’s where people go to propose. Everyone knows that.”

Nicki had no idea how Candace would know that.

“That doesn’t sound like Tyler,” said Cassidy.

“No, it doesn’t,” Jackie said. “Finish telling your story. Girls, stop interrupting her.”

“Actually, first of all he slipped six hundred dollars into my pocket when I wasn’t looking. He wrote me a note saying to buy something nice,”

“What’d you get?” asked Candace.

“Candace! For Christ’s sake let the girl talk!”

“Sorry,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it. Tyler took a picture, you can text him and ask for it. Anyways, we get there and the host gets us this table in a really exclusive part of the restaurant. And I’m all excited, because no one’s ever taken me out on a date like that before. So I don’t even notice how weird Tyler’s acting until I grabbed his hand… It was all sweaty,” she heard someone say ‘eww’. “I asked him if he was okay and he could barely even figure out what to say. I think to myself, he doesn’t ever get nervous. Why is he nervous? Then I start to get nervous. So we manage to order and I pick up my napkin to put it on my lap, and there’s a ring box underneath it. I look up at him and he doesn’t say a word. At this point I felt like I was going to throw up. I had no idea what to think. I muster up the courage to open it and there was a key inside. Then I realized what it was about. And he asked me,” she finished, out of breath from talking so much while walking.

“Are you sure we’re talking about my son?” Jackie asked.

Nicki laughed. “He was so romantic. The whole night was. Oh, and then he asked me what I thought was in the box. And I said jewelry. So he pulls out another box and says ‘I got you that, too’.”

“Oh my God what did he get you?” Candace asked.

“A necklace. It’s so beautiful. I’m afraid to ask him how much it was.”

“OH! He just sent me the picture! Is that the necklace?”

“Yeah, that’s it,” Nicki said. That night still felt like a dream to her. She turned around to walk Marshall back.

“Wow, you looked gorgeous,” said Candace.

“Seriously,” added Cassidy

“Wow, thank you girls. That means a lot coming from you.”

“Mom, Jesus, stop crying! It’s ridiculous!”

“I just can’t believe he did all of that,” she said, sniffling.

“I know. You raised a real gentleman.”

“So what happened after that?” Cassidy asked.

“That should probably stay between Tyler and I.”

“Oh… So did he say it yet?”

“Yeah, Cass, he did.” She smiled. It was nice to be able to talk to someone about it. She sure couldn’t bring it up with her father.

“No way! When?”

“Say what?” Jackie always seemed to be one step behind her girls.

“That he loved her mom!”

“He didn’t,” Jackie said.

“Well, I had to say it first. But yeah. He did.”

“I’m calling him,” she said. “I’ll talk to you later, Nicki.”

“Bye guys,” she said as she hung up the phone.

She took a deep breath. She hoped Tyler wouldn’t be mad at her for telling them all of that. They were his family; they had a right to know. Nicki enjoyed the rest of her walk. She loved being outside. When she got back to the apartment, Tyler was on the phone. Freddy’s face suggested that he was enjoying whatever Tyler’s mom was saying to him.

Nicki stood by the couch while she waited for him to hang up.

“Okay mom. Alright. I get it. I love you too,” he said.

When the call ended, he looked over at Nicki. She braced herself for whatever he was about to say.

“So my mom called you, huh?”

She nodded, afraid to say anything. He looked mad.

He sighed. “Good, now when she wants to talk she’ll call you instead of me.”

“You’re not mad at me for telling them what happened?”

Nicki moved closer to the couch.

“Of course not. I’m just glad that I didn’t have to do it.”

Thank God, she thought. She sat down next to him and he put his arm around her. He kissed the side of her head. Freddy changed the channel, trying to find something to watch.

“Freddy, I’m surprised you’re not going out tonight,” Nicki said.

“No one’s around. To be honest, I was about to go in my room and see if Evy wants to have face time sex.”

Nicki giggled and tossed a throw pillow at him. “Ew, Freddy! I didn’t need that mental picture.”

“Face time sex?” asked Tyler.

“Yeah. Waaayy better than phone sex.”

“Nice.”

“I’m beginning to regret moving in with you guys,” said Nicki.

That was the lie of the century.

** * * * *

The sun woke Tyler up. It was streaming in through the curtains that Nicki had hung up in their room yesterday. She said that she liked them too much to leave them at home. So of course he let her hang them up. He would let her do whatever she wanted.

He yawned and wrapped his arm tighter around her. It was the first of many mornings that he would get to wake up with her. He brushed his lips against the back of her neck. It seemed too good to be true. Yesterday had been perfect. Tyler thought of the way she sang to him while she was unpacking. It made him feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

Tyler felt Nicki stir underneath his arm. She rolled around so she was facing him.

“Morning, love.”

He brushed her hair out of her face. She never ceased to wake up with messy hair.

“Hi.” He smiled. “How’d you sleep?”

She inched towards him, closing the space between them. She spoke into his neck.

“Soo good.”

He had slept well, too. After a week of staying up all night, he had been exhausted when they finally went to bed. He couldn’t sleep without her anymore.

“I never want to get up,” she said.

“Well, it is Saturday. I don’t have to be at the Garden until two thirty.”

He wouldn’t argue if she wanted to stay in bed until then.

She groaned. “No, I can’t get lazy. I have to go for a run. Then cook you guys breakfast.”

She rolled away from him and sat up.

“We can have cereal,” he said. “Why do you have to go for a run?”

“I run every morning.”

“I’ve never once seen you do that,” he said.

“Because I never brought my running clothes over here before. But I live here now, so…”

She smiled at him. He leaned across the bed to kiss her. She pulled away.

“That’s very counterproductive. You know I can’t resist you.”

Tyler grinned. “Fine.”

He watched her as she got out of bed. She had slept in his shirt again. She opened one of the drawers in their new dresser and pulled out leggings and an Under Armour zip-up jacket. Tyler had never seen her in gym clothes before. They looked good on her.

She put her hair in a ponytail and put on sneakers.

“Can I bring Marshall?” she asked as pulled at her top.

“Yeah, go ahead. He’s gonna be thrilled.”

“Thanks. I like to have a companion. Usually I bring Lucy. For a dog with little legs, she can keep up pretty well.”

She sounded like she missed her dog. Tyler knew what it was like. He had been on his own for a long time now. It would take some time for Nicki to get used to it. He watched her as she stretched. She really was flexible…

“I’m coming with you,” he said as he got out of bed.

Her face perked up. “Really?”

“Yeah, as long as we go light. I can’t be tired for tonight.”

He got dressed and put on his running shoes. Nicki made the bed before she left the room. When Tyler was ready, he went to find her. She was bent over Marshall, putting on his leash.

“You wanna go for a run boy? Huh?!”

Marshall wagged his tail and barked at her. She roughed him up a little bit, trying to get him excited. It made Tyler smile. If this was what living with her was like, it was even better than he thought it would be.

He followed her and Marshall out of the apartment.

“You’re going to have to show me around the neighborhood,” she said.

“Yeah, I’ll take you on my route. I haven’t run in a while.”

Nicki let him set the pace so she could follow. It took her a moment to get Marshall to fall in step with her, but he eventually figured it out. He heard Nicki take a deep breath in.

“It’s such a beautiful morning,” she said. “I love this time of year. Everything is so fresh and new.”

Tyler had to agree with her. The trees and flowers were just starting to get their first blossoms. It was the time of year when the air smelled like spring.

“The only thing I like better is the last few nice weeks of autumn,” she said. “That’s my favorite time of year.”

It was his favorite, too. He didn’t say anything; he concentrated on his breathing. For a while they ran in silence. He was keeping a fast pace, but Nicki was right beside him the entire time. She was in better shape than he thought.

Tyler was the one to break the silence.

“So, yesterday, when my mom called,” he started.

She looked over at him. “I’m sorry.”

“No, no it’s fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just that she really wants me to come home. And it looks like we’re going to make the playoffs, so I don’t have much time to go,” he said between breaths.

Nicki didn’t say anything. She waited for him to continue.

“We get a week off before we start preparing for playoffs. It’s also the week of your birthday…”

“Oh,” was all she said.

“Yeah. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me? I totally get if you want to spend it here, with your –“ she didn’t let him finish.

“Tyler, I would love to!”

He let out a long breath. “My mom is going to be so happy.”

Tyler didn’t think she would want to come. He had been dreading the trip. Now, he was looking forward to it. He wanted to show her where he grew up.

They didn’t say anything for the rest of their run. Tyler was lost in his thoughts, as often happened when he ran. He missed running. Maybe he would go with Nicki more often.

When they got back, Nicki opened the fridge and poured them each a glass of water. She was panting.

“Jeez, Ty, that’s what you call going light?”

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her.

“I went a little harder than I planned. I guess I was just excited to be running again. It’s been way too long. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d be able to keep up with me. You surprised me.”

She smiled. “I like to keep in shape. I’ve always loved running. Clears the mind,” she said as she took a sip of her water. “Whaddya want for breakfast?”

“I don’t care,” he said. He liked everything she cooked.

She thought about it for a minute. “I think I’m just going to have eggs and some fruit. That okay with you?”

He nodded and watched her as she cooked.

“You aren’t wearing your apron,” he pointed out.

She giggled. “That’s only for dinner. That was so cute of you guys.”

Tyler knew that she would like it. And it gave him another excuse to kiss her. He liked it, too. Nicki split the eggs onto three plates, setting one aside for Freddy. She put a serving spoon in the bowl of fruit and placed a plate in front of him.

“How come your eggs taste better than mine?” he asked. She managed to make everything taste good.

“Because I’ve been cooking them since I was seven,” she said as she ate. “Why don’t I teach you how to cook?”

“I’d like that,” he said. He would love that.

“Okay. We can start the tomorrow.”

Tyler finished eating and looked at her. What would he do without her?

“K, love,” she said as she cleaned up, “I’m going to take a shower.”

She ran her hand across his shoulders as she walked out of the room. He followed her into the bathroom.

“Whatcha doing?” she asked as she undressed.

“I need to shower, too.”

She looked like she was about to tell him to wait his turn. He took off his shirt. Nicki smiled. He knew it would work.

Tyler watched her as she stepped under the water and washed her hair. She closed her eyes. She was so beautiful. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. Nicki rested her head on his shoulder and hugged him back. He kissed the top of her head.

Nicki lifted her head and ran her lips along his collarbone. She kissed his neck softly. She shook her head as she moved away from him.

“This is incredible.”

He knew she wasn’t talking about the shower. He knew exactly what she was feeling. She put conditioner in her hair and picked up her bath pouf to drizzle body wash onto it. Tyler took it from her hand and ran it across her back. He turned her around, holding her gaze as he moved it along her body. She took it back from him and did the same. There was something intensely intimate about it.

They stepped under the water together, letting it carry the suds off of them. Tyler watched as they spiraled down the drain. He put his hand on her neck. She looked up at him. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but if he spoke he would ruin the moment. It was a moment too good to ruin.

Tyler brought his forehead down to hers and closed his eyes. He felt her hands on his hips. Neither of them wanted to move. When Nicki finally did, she tilted her head up to nudge her lips between his. He didn’t have to tell her he loved her; she already knew. Without words, she was saying it, too.