Count on Me

Chapter Twenty-Three: Katrina's 27th Birthday

Mesut couldn't keep the smile from his face as he helped Katrina officially move back in with him, it made him so happy when she had announced that she wanted to move in with him again.

The couple had been living in separate place for about two months now and Mesut was just relieved that now they were engaged that she wanted to move back in; he didn't deny that he had missed having Katrina here. 

"How much junk do you own?" Nick asked stepping into the house carrying another box, it was heavy and he didn't understand why she had bothered bringing most of this stuff with her. 

It wasn't like Mesut didn't have his own pots and pans or dishes, Katrina could have donated them or something since she certainly didn't need them anymore. 

Maria slapped Nick over the back of the head and moved to set the light box that she had been carrying on the floor; she was still in awe of where Mesut lived. 

"I do not own junk," Katrina replied coming downstairs, she glared at her older brother knowing that he didn't have to come and help if he didn't want to. 

She was sure that between her and Mesut that they could have sorted her things out, they had done it before and they could most certainly do it again. 

Nick scoffed shifting the heavy box in his arms before moving to set it down in the kitchen, he grumbled to himself knowing that his poor arms were going to be sore in the morning after all this heavy lifting. 

"Are you sure you packed everything?" Maria asked moving to stand next to Katrina, she didn't want her daughter remembering that she had forgotten something in her old apartment once the keys were posted back through the land-lord's door.

***

It was another couple of hours before all of Katrina's family had left, they had all insisted helping her unpack and her mother had cooked them a lovely dinner to celebrate the couple moving in together. 

Mesut sighed in relief as he sat down on the couch and relaxed back onto it, he liked Katrina's family but they never seemed to know when they had outstayed their welcome recently. 

Resting his head on the back of the couch, Mesut smiled as Balboa and Capone clambered up onto the couch and sat with him; it had been a good day and he just wanted to relax for a little while before he had to move. 

Arsenal were due to play Liverpool the next evening and Mesut had to be up early to travel all the way to Merseyside with his team-mates; he had sort of hoped that he would get to relax with Katrina for a little bit before that. 

"You look tired," Katrina mused leaning against the door way, she smiled softly a little amazed how much they had gotten done today and there were still a couple of boxes that needed unpacking but they could wait until tomorrow. 

Mesut nodded his head, his eyes closed as he relaxed back on the couch and he was dreading leaving for tomorrow's match already; he didn't want to leave early when he could be spending more time with Katrina. 

"How about I run you a bath?" Katrina suggested leaning on the back of the couch, she looked down at Mesut knowing that he deserved it and she was sure that it would help him relax. 

It had been a busy day with moving her back into the house and making sure that her apartment was prepared for her to move out. 

Mesut nodded his head and smiled a little, a nice relaxing bath was definitely what he needed right now.

***

"There," Katrina said proud of herself, she stepped away from the bath and moved to leave when Mesut stopped her; he looked nervous and she stared at him wondering what was wrong. 

He opened and closed his mouth for a moment trying to think of the best way to ask her to stay, he felt self-conscious and he knew that it would be sort of a turning point for the both of them. 

"I'll give you some space," Katrina said quickly excusing herself, she didn't want the bath getting cold and she was sure he could tell her later what was on his mind. 

Mesut groaned and pulled his shirt off over his head, he couldn't believe how nervous he had gotten; they were engaged and he knew that while they were still planning their wedding that they could slowly move forward. 

Changing out of his clothes, Mesut climbed into the bath and relax back against the side of the tub; he grumbled to himself about how he had chickened out about asking Katrina to join him. 

"Sorry... you forgot your towel," Katrina said stepping into the bathroom, she quickly stuck the towel on the towel rack making sure that she didn't risk looking at Mesut since she didn't know if he was in the bath yet. 

She still hadn't forgotten that time that she'd accidentally walked in on him a couple of months ago; Katrina hoped they weren't going to be awkward around each other forever. 

"Why don't you join me?" Mesut blurted out, he wanted to bang his head against the wall as soon as the words came out of his mouth; he looked at Katrina not knowing how she would respond to what he had just said.

***

"This is a nice way to spend my birthday," Katrina mused leaning back in Mesut's arms, it had been a little awkward to begin with but the couple had soon relaxed into the situation that they had found themselves in. 

Katrina was sort of grateful that Mesut had agreed to close his eyes while she got into the bath-tub and she doubted she would have had the guts to do it with him looking at her. 

"Today's your birthday?" Mesut said pausing, his stomach dropped a little bit and he couldn't believe that he had forgotten her birthday; now it made sense why her mother had insisted on making them dinner and had gone as far as to make cake. 

Katrina held back a smile, she had guessed early on that the date had slipped his mind and she hadn't minded; it was actually quite nice not having someone fuss over her because it was her birthday. 

Mesut swore under his breath and rested his head against the back of the tub, he couldn't believe that he had forgotten his own fiancée's birthday. 

"It's fine," Katrina attempted to reassure him, she sat up a little to look back at him; she honestly didn't mind and she doubted that he would have wanted her parents there for anything that he had planned. 

Mesut shook his head, she had been so wonderful on his birthday and he had wanted to spoil her a little for her birthday. 

"I had all sorts of things planned," Mesut explained with a shake of his head, he couldn't believe this and he knew that he would have to make it up to her; he wondered what her family thought about him forgetting her birthday. 

He just couldn't believe that it had slipped his mind, he had the date marked off on his phone so a reminder would pop up so he wouldn't forget. 

"You can do them next year," Katrina reassured him, she was sure they would work all of this out and she hoped that they wouldn't have any problems this time next year.