“Is this a custom home?” Colton stopped with his suitcase by the kitchen island, which had a light granite counter.
“It is.” Dad appeared in the hallway, strolling toward us. His dark hair had grayed at the temples more than the last time I’dbeen home, and the black frames on his glasses were a stark contrast to his blue eyes. “We had it built when Travis was in elementary school.” He stretched a hand toward Colton. “It’s nice to see you in person, Colton.”
“Likewise.” Colton shook his hand. “You have a beautiful home.” His gaze panned the room.
“Thank you.” Dad’s attention drew to me. “Welcome home, son.” He wrapped me in a warm hug and released me. “You boys settle in and we’ll talk. Okay?”
“Sure, Dad.” I touched Colton’s arm. “This way.” I led him through the hallway and into my old bedroom at the end. My room overlooked the backyard, filled with oak trees and a pool.
Colton gazed through the window. “Nice, I bet you had a lot of parties out there when you were in high school.” Turning, he gave me a warm grin.
“Yeah, I had a few.” Back then, Dante was always by my side. I hefted my suitcase onto the bed and unzipped it. Mom had changed little in here after I’d left for college. It still had my black queen-sized bed from IKEA and matching dresser. “I’ll take one side of the dresser, and you can have the other.”
He went to lift his suitcase onto the bed, and I stopped him. “Wait, let me get this.” With a smirk, I threw his suitcase over the bed and watched it bounce. “Rocks.”
He chuckled softly and shook his head. “Next time, I really will put some rocks in it.”
After unpacking,we met Mom and Dad in the family room. Mom was making her infamous pulled pork sliders while Dad watched the news from the wrap-around sectional.
“Hey, I figured you both would be hungry after your flight. I know they don’t feed you on the planes anymore.” She brought a plate of sandwiches to the coffee table along with small paper plates and napkins. “What would you like to drink?”
I glanced at Colton. “Maybe a beer?”
Arching a brow, Dad said, “A beer sounds good.” He slid a sandwich onto a plate and set it in his lap.
“Okay, beer for you and wine for me.” With a soft smirk, Mom returned to the kitchen.
“Uh, let me help you, Mom.” I followed her and grabbed two beers from the refrigerator for me and Colton. She was always serving us. After handing out the beer, I dropped in next to Colton on the sectional, facing Dad, who sat along the other side.
Mom joined us with her wine, gave Dad his beer, and dropped in between us. “So, how did you fare in your classes?” She added a slider to a plate and took a bite of it.
“Great.” I patted Colton’s thigh. “Thanks to Colton, I got an A in my business analytics class.” I puffed out my chest. My boyfriend was smart while also being sexy as hell.
“Oh, good.” Mom sipped her wine.
“I’ve been evaluating combine training programs in Arizona, and I think I’ve found a couple for you to check out.” Dad snicked his beer can open.
“Yeah?” I piled a slider onto a plate and held it in my lap. Of course, Dad was ready to talk football.
“I’ll send you the information and when you return to Arizona, you can check them out and let me know which one you want to go with.” Dad sipped his beer and shifted his gaze toward Colton. “What are your plans next semester, Colton? Are you graduating in May?”
“I am.” He worried his lower lip. “I suppose I’ll be interviewing with companies and looking for a job.” He picked up his sandwich and bit into it.
Shit, we had spoken little about graduation and beyond. “Maybe you could, uh, delay that until I figure out where I land in the draft.” I snuck a peek at him.
His gaze cut to mine. “Yeah?”
Nodding, I said, “Yeah.” I shrugged. Shit, I didn’t want to do this in front of my parents, but they’d brought it up. “The draft isin April. I’d like us to live in the same city.” I’d leave it there. “We can talk more about it later.” I squeezed his thigh.
“Uh, sure.” He glanced at my parents and then his throat dipped. “I want you to know I’m open to living anywhere.” As his gaze crept to mine, the corners of his lips twitched. “And I’m open to living with you.”
Mom tilted her head, a grin teasing her lips. “Oh, look, honey, this is serious, like we thought. They’ll be married in no time.”
“Mom.” I flashed her a glare. It was premature to talk like that. Wasn’t it?
“What? It’s pretty obvious to anyone with eyes how much you love each other.” She ticked a shoulder. “And you look good together. You fit.” She bit into a slider.
“Yeah, okay.” Wrapping Colton’s hand in mine, I kissed his cheek. We’d gotten through all the hard stuff. Our future held such promise. With my gaze fixed on his, I said, “After graduation, we’ll live together. Okay?”