Shanora Williams

If only I could stay in this dream forever. I’d make you mine in every way.

I met Kyle in a café I used to work at, Nuni’s. I was a waitress there, sporting a red apron with a smiley-faced toast logo on it, and he was a handsome businessman who visited every week, sitting at the same table to order the same meal: pulled rotisserie chicken sandwich, sliced bananas, a pickle, and a green smoothie. I always thought it was a strange meal and had even teased him a little about it during his visits. He told me not to judge it until I tried it. We joked about it so much that he finally asked me to join him after my shift to try the meal for myself. He said he had meetings, but was willing to postpone them and wait for me. I did, and I admit, it wasn’t bad, even if I wasn’t a fan of pickles.

We laughed, he flirted, and I blushed. We exchanged numbers that very night, and he sent me a text every single morning and visited the restaurant for lunch several times a week. From that moment on, Kyle and I became inseparable.

Now, it’s move-in day. Kyle had his own loft apartment in New York, where I had

“Here we go. The last box for this room.” Kyle walks in, placing the box that’s in his hands on the middle of the floor with a soft grunt. He then walks my way, dropping both hands on his hips and letting out a deep sigh. “You sure you like it in here?”

“Babe, are you kidding?” I turn to face him, grinning like a goof. “I love it! Seriously. I love it so much.”

“Good.” He smiles, facing me, too. His hands go to my waist, and he brings me closer. “I just want you to be happy here.”

“I will be.”

His smile grows wider. “A few of the neighbors are already asking about us. One of them stopped by to greet me when you walked inside.”

“Oh, Lord. Don’t tell me they’re the nosy kind,” I groan.

“They might be.” He winces playfully. “But don’t worry. When I bought this house, I made sure we had plenty of trees and a long driveway so people couldn’t see the front of our home. My wife and I will need all the privacy we can get.” He plants a kiss on my lips. “I want to fuck you all over

his house. Break it in properly,” he murmurs on my mouth, and I curl my fingers into his shirt.

“Then do it,” I challenge.

“I will…” He kisses me again. “Right after we get the last of these boxes.”

With one more kiss, he pulls away, and I lift my hands in the air, groaning before letting them drop to my sides. “Remind me again why we didn’t hire movers?”

“Because, as newlyweds, we have to experience it all, Gabs! This is our first house together. We’ll feel much more accomplished doing it ourselves.”

“Yeah, gotta tell you, Kyle…I’m not feeling so accomplished at the moment. Bringing the boxes in is one thing, but unpacking them is a whole different ball game.”

He laughs on his way down the stairs.

We get the rest of the boxes from the U-Haul we took turns driving, and for the rest of the day, we unpack what we can until our bodies grow weary.

We decide to eat a delivered dinner on the only available space we have—our sofa—and chat about Kyle going back to work next week and me starting a live online seminar for young art students. I’m getting paid $15 per student for the session, and so far I have twelve students attending. Not too bad for my first online class.

“I’m nervous about it,” I admit, tossing my plastic fork in the brown paper bag. “What if I don’t make any sense? Or they secretly hate my artwork?”

“I highly doubt that, babe. You’re extremely talented. My dad bought that painting from you, remember? He loved it.”

. “Of course he’s going to support me, even if deep down he may hate it.”

“He has it hanging in his house—the house he lives in and takes pride in. I’m certain he at least favors it, if it’s hanging where he has to look at it every day.”

“Right. Oh—well, speaking of this whole house thing, what do you think of doing a housewarming or something? Maybe we can cater some food, some wine, everyone bring a little gift.” I look around. “We could use a broom and mop, now that I think about it.”

“Very true,” he agrees. He looks around as well, sighing. “When, though? You know I’ll be out of town a lot, catching up.”

“Maybe in a few weeks? When we get everything settled? Maybe we can even have the backyard fixed up—add a hot tub, some flowers. All that stuff?”

“And you think all of that will be done in decent time? You’d have to find a landscaping business and everything. That stuff takes a while.”

“I know. I’ll work on it.”

He sighs. “Maybe.”

“Maybe I’ll hire a maid to help me around the house, too.” I wink at him, and he presses his lips, giving me a yeah, right look. “Come on. What do you say? It’ll be great for us—the housewarming, that is.”

His mouth twitches before a slow smile spreads across his lips. “Okay, sure. We can do it. I’ll do whatever makes you happy. Find out how much landscaping the yard will be. Ask around, do some research.”

I unpack the box I’m working on and then go upstairs. I take a quick shower, change into pajamas, and then climb into bed with my husband. I curl up beside him and he stretches his arm out, welcoming me in with a tired groan. I smile, warmth coursing through me. I’m safe here with him. I have nothing to worry about.

This is my life now, being here with Kyle, and I’m going make the best of it

I point at the men across the street, steering the subject a different direction because the way she’s looking at me is slightly uncomfortable now, almost like she wants to jump right into my skin. “What are those guys working on for you over there?”

I walk around the corner to get to my studio, where my laptop is. I type Ward Landscaping into the search bar

“Oh—one of my trees is dying, for some reason, so they’re replacing it and also adding more mulch around the garden to make up for it.” She plants a hand on her hip, turning halfway to look at the men, who are already stained with sweat. The humidity will do that to you. “Between you and me, I wanted the tree gone, but my husband insisted that I call them and get it replaced. I thought the owner would show—he normally does for these sort of mishaps—but not today. Must be busy.”

“Do you know the owner well?”

“Oh.” She sighs dreamily, a smile pasted on her face. “Honey, I wish I did.” She giggles, and it hits me that this woman isn’t dressed up to go to work or a day out. She dressed up in hopes she’d run into the owner. I’m not sure what that says about her, but she’s pleasant, and I don’t know what her home life is like, so who am I to judge? “Anyway, I saw your husband leaving. Is he headed to work?”

“Yeah—out of town for the next three days.”

“Oh—bummer. Those days when they’re gone are always the worst. Bill works out of town a lot, too. Does architectural designs for commercial places, so locations always vary.” She huffs.

“Oh, that’s cool. Kyle runs an investment banking company in New York.” I don’t know why I tell her that, but I figure since she’s sharing her husband’s occupation, I should share mine too.

“That’s amazing!”

“I was actually looking into having someone do our backyard. It’s nice, but I

want to liven it up, make it a place I’d actually like to hang out. Not only that, but we’re thinking about having a housewarming in a few months or so to break it in.”

“Oh, honey, hire Ward Landscaping! I am telling you, the owner is a genius! He has a great eye, and he’s efficient and quick. Everyone around here uses him—ask Mrs. Bertha and Mr. Hull. I’m sure he’s made himself a pretty penny landscaping all of our houses.”

“I will have to look into them. Thank you for the recommendation.”

“Oh, no problem! Just let him know I sent you!”

“I didn’t catch your name,” I say, realizing how rude of me it is to not have asked when she first trotted over.

“Oh, I’m Meredith Aarons! And yours?”

“Gabrielle Moore, but most people call me Gabby.”

“Well, Gabby, it was a pleasure meeting you.”