Page 92 of Memories By the Shore
“Fuck you guys.” I laugh. “I’m the bride. Find me a burger.”
“I’m nervous about Bodhi with my car,” I admit. Jasper is a couple of steps behind me as we approach the wooden beach house door.
With a couple water bottles and a bag of snacks clutched in his hands, he shrugs. “It’ll be fine.” Then he unlocks the door with his free hand. “He likes to fuck around, but he’s trustworthy.”
“I know.” I sigh, breathing in the musty, humid air. I can’t explain why the unpleasant scent of sea air breaking down old wood bathes me in comfort, but it does. I watch Jasper use his cell phone as a flashlight in this dark, abandoned house on the surf’s edge. I’ve only been here twice, and both times now have been an adventure.
“And you can just buy a new one anyway, can’t you?” Heflashes me a quick smirk over his shoulder, followed by a cheeky wink.
I roll my eyes while kicking off my sandals. “That’s not the point. I like that car.”“I get it. I’ve had my truck since I was sixteen.” Jasper unwraps the floor bed and lays it flat in the middle of the living room—the same spot where I gave him my virginity, only a couple weeks prior.
“It’s the first thing I’ve bought myself,” I tell him.
Jasper’s eyebrows furrow, and his face softens. “Really?”
I nod.
“Well, it won’t be the last.” He smiles.
A quick vision of our future together dances across my mind, and an unintentional smile breaks. Jasper catches it and slowly walks over to me. His palms cup my elbows while he brings me close to him. A whiff of sunblock and a hint of cologne hit my nostrils when my face meets his chest.
“We have our entire lives for you to do whatever you want with your money, future, and time. I’m happy with what I’m doing and where I’m at,” he says, sliding his hands over to my abdomen. “Your job is to focus on your happiness and our baby’s.”
“Thank you, husband.” I tilt my head, my eyes meeting his.
Jasper smiles. “My wife.”
We stand silently together for a few emotional moments, listening to the faint sound of waves outside.
I’m the first to speak when a question lingers in my thoughts. One that I answered the morning we told Helen and Duke I was pregnant, but now, with us suddenly getting married, it makes more sense to rethink our living arrangements.
“So …” I begin, unsure how to invite myself to live with him or if he even wants to take that step yet. “Will we live here together?”
Jasper’s two fingers lift my bashful expression. “I would love that.”
My heart flutters. “Really?”
“We’re married, Arizona.” He smiles. “We chose each other. Why wouldn’t we live here as a family?”
Swallowing hard, I try to rid my throat of the dryness that’s cloaked it. “Yes, I guess—”
“You’ll have to stay with Helen until I can make this house livable,” he jokes, glancing around the run-down space. “It’ll be easier for your pregnancy as well. Then, when it’s time for the baby to come, the place will be done and ready to bring him orherhome.”
My mind races with all that’s happened in the last few months—well, the week. Jet propulsion at full speed, I thrust into a brand-new existence, leaning into an entirely different life.
“That sounds perfect,” I whisper, staring deeply into his eyes.
“Good.”
Another beat passes with the distant sound of the surf. “Can I have input on the designs?”
“Of course,” he says, slipping behind me. Jasper wraps his arm around me and stacks them on my chest. With his chin resting on my shoulder, he gently rotates me to face the living room and kitchen. “What are my wife’s thoughts on our new home?”
A giggle bubbles beneath my lungs, and a quick zip of excitement shoots up my back. “Well, I do love pineapples,” Ibegin.
“Ah, yes. Pineapples.”
“I’m not suggesting we make the entire place pineapples themed—”
