Page 11 of Here You Are

Luke tore into his present and yelped when he saw the picture. “Cassie, you did not buy these! That is way too much money; I didn’t spend nearly that much. Oh, God, please don’t be mad at what I bought you.”

“I’m not going to be mad. You rarely treat yourself, and I saved up because I really wanted to surprise you with something nice. You deserve it,” I told him, leaning over to give him a quick kiss.

“Open yours. I’m scared, so let’s just get it over with.”

“Stop, you know I'll like anything that you get me.” I grabbed a small gift bag and started to open it.

“Wait, stop. I have to explain something. I saw something. I saw an idea to get a person something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read, so I decided to try that.”

I smiled at him. He had been a really thoughtful gift-giver, so this wasn’t a surprise. We both liked giving gifts more than receiving them, so I knew this was special to him.

I started pulling pieces out, and the first gift was a book that had just been released by one of my favorite authors. Fifty gold stars for a boyfriend who pays attention to these things.

“That’s your something to read,” he pointed out.

“I did gather that when I figured out it was a book. I wonder if my something to wear will be clothes?!” I said back teasingly.

I pulled out the skimpiest red lingerie, no crotch material included.

“Your something to wear!”

It is clothes, but barely. “I’m going to have to save this for a special occasion, like Christmas.” I winked at him and kept going.

The next item was a gift card to a home decor store, and I wasn’t sure if that was my want or a need. Luke wasn’t providing any feedback as he had previously. The next item was in a tiny box, jewelry size, but not that kind of jewelry. I opened it to find a single key. My heart started to race, as I was pretty sure of why he gave me a key.

“Your want gift is actually something I want, and I hope you do, too,” Luke started to explain. I want you to move in with me, so that is the key to the apartment. Tim’s old key that I forced him to give to me, so we will have no more unexpected guests when we are getting frisky on the couch. So, the gift card is the need gift because you're going to need to spruce this place up if you move in with me. I want you to feel comfortable here and make it ours. Cassie, will you move in with me?”

I was surprised, in a good way. This isn’t something we had even talked about before. When Tim moved out, I had asked Luke if he was going to get another roommate, and he said no, that he could afford the place by himself. I had told him that my lease was coming up, and I wasn’t sure what the plan would be yet. He didn’t mention anything about us moving in together. Maybe that was his plan. Did I want to move in with him? It felt like a big, scary step, yet I couldn’t imagine anyone I want to live with more than Luke.

“Yes, I want to move in!” I jumped into his lap and pulled him in for a hug.

Luke breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God. I could see the wheels spinning in your head, and I started to second-guess myself. I was sure you would want to, but we had never talked about it, so there was still some uncertainty.”

“Luke,” I started, leaning to whisper in his ear. “I'm going to buy so many throw pillows.”

He groaned, “Noooo. I take it back!” He pulled me down on top of him and grabbed my face, bringing me in for a kiss. He looked deeply into my eyes, and I felt so much love from him.

“I can’t wait to have you here to kiss whenever I want. This is going to be awesome.”

At the beginning of the new year, I moved all my things over to my new apartment. His parents and my sister came to help us move. I was a little worried about moving in with him without being married or engaged. Shockingly, no one seemed to mind. My roommate had decided to relocate, so the timing worked out perfectly. Everything seemed to be falling into place.

My sister, Cora, was helping me unpack some of my kitchen supplies, figure out what was missing, and check if there were duplicate items.

“Eww,” Cora said, seemingly out of nowhere, her voice calm.

“What? Spider?”

“No. I can’t believe you're going to live with a boy. It’s not too late to turn back.”

I laughed, “You're not the only one who is shocked by this turn of events, although I think it is going to be okay. He’s a really nice boy.”

“Every cup he owns has a logo on it, Cass. There are more shot glasses than plates.”

“Need I remind you he got me a gift card to refurbish household supplies. And I have full permission to throw away anything that is gross or bachelor pad-ish. He loves me and respects that I can’t live in a gross boy apartment.

She sighed, “It’s the end of an era. Two single sisters, cruising the city for eligible men to take home as sex partners.”

“Cora, we have never cruised for sex partners,” I replied.