More Than Fine. (Complete)

45- MTF Revelation

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     The flight attendant finished her announcements and made a final sweep of the plane, before moving to her in-flight jump seat. Nick gave Gia a knowing look as he interlaced their fingers and squeezed her hand.

     She wondered if he knew what she was thinking. With a quick glance at Evie, sitting next to her in the window seat, the reality of the changes in her life hit full force. Yes she was happy, very happy, but it was tinged with sadness knowing Evie wouldn't be returning with them. This was the beginning of the next big phase of her life. Opening her heart to love, real love, with Nick seemed to have opened the floodgates of her emotions. Things she would have handled with ease a year ago now seemed to leave her on the verge of tears. Needing to lighten the moment she turned to Nick. "If I drool on you, will you still love me? I didn't sleep well last night, so I think it's inevitable."

     A soft chuckle erupted from Nick and he leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Beautiful Gia, you're mine now. Drool all you want. Nothing you do will make me love you any less."

     She pulled back and her eyes narrowed then she whispered back to him, "Don't say things you can't guarantee. We both know there will be times we're going to get mad at each other."

     "Yes, but just because I get irritated with you about something, don't ever think that means I don't love you. I'm here for the long haul, you can't get rid of me that easily." He sealed his words with a kiss to her forehead and an arm around her shoulders.

     Leaning into him she relaxed with a sigh. It was just what she needed to hear, but it also made her contemplate what it would mean to love someone even through anger and frustration. It sent a shiver up her spine. Her memories of her parent's relationship were fading and what was left was tainted by her rose colored version of them. With Nick it would be like piecing a puzzle together without the picture of what it should look like, except that the result of making mistakes would have real life implications. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe slowly and lay her burdens of an unknown future down.

~~~

     After a brief stop to check out Evie's new apartment, they went on to Lawrence for the fourth of July weekend. Gia's worry that things would be awkward with Evan were unfounded. Fortunately he was his usual charming self, though he wasn't as attentive to her as he had been. It was clear he was stepping back in deference to Nick. Evan seemed to have come to grips with their impending marriage and was more accepting of Nick as a person. Gia was determined to wait until they were in Clemson, without Evie's family, before telling Nick what she had learned about Evan's feelings. They were only in Lawrence three days and it wasn't worth risking their time all together.

     In Lawrence they had Gia's car to drive around and later take to his parents' house. The drive to Clemson was just over four hours from Lawrence, and it went by quickly with Nick and Gia talking about plans for the future. He was working on a surprise for their honeymoon, and just needed to know what her must haves and absolutely nots were for it. Warm weather and a beach were her two requests.

     As they approached Nick's parents' house, a longing came over Gia. It was the quintessential all American house, which didn't surprise her after meeting his parents. The house had two stories with a full length porch on each level and a two car garage. The house had grey siding, white trim, and stone along the bottom over the crawl space.

     "Look, Emma's peeking out the front door." Gia pointed and waved at Nick's niece.

     Before they were even parked the whole family was out the front door to greet them. Lorenzo was just as handsome as she remembered, an older version of Nick, and his mom was stunning. Gia couldn't shake the feeling that she had met her before the engagement weekend. So much was happening that weekend that she hadn't had a chance to question his mom to find out where they might have met.