"So, we only have 3 bedrooms, but the couch is a pullout, so y'all can decide on who gets the bed." Sam explained as we gave them a tour of our apartment. "Or... Cole could just stay in Hope's room." Joel suggested. "Dude!" Cole snapped at Joel.
"It's actually not that bad of an idea. That way, y'all both get a good night's sleep." Sam added. "Works for me." I added. "Are you sure, baby?" Cole asked. "Of course. We're just gonna be sleeping, it's not a big deal." I smiled.
*
"Hey Sam, are you sure that you're gonna be ok with handling the apartment by yourself while I'm gone? I don't want you working too hard just to pay rent, I can send you my half every month." I suggested, but she said no. "Why don't we go ahead and pay for it in advance. That way Sam doesn't have to worry about it." Joel suggested. "We don't have the money for that." I sighed. "I do." Cole stated.
"I couldn't ask you to do that, baby." I smiled appreciatively. "You're not. I'm offering." He said. "But you work so hard for your money." I said. "Which is why it's my money & I decide what I do with it. That is.. until it becomes our money." He smiled & I couldn't help but smile at the thought of spending my life with Cole. "Come on, let's go speak with the building manager." Cole smiled and led us out of the apartment.
*
"Excuse me, I was wondering how I would go about paying for my apartment for the year?" I asked him. "What's your apartment number?" He asked. "It's Apartment #615." I smiled. "And how would you like to set up this payment?" Josh asked & that's when Cole walked up. "Put it on my card." Cole smiled. "Wow. You're Cole Swindell." Josh exclaimed & Cole smiled. "I'm just looking out for my girl, here." He said & grabbed my hand.
*
"Hey Sam, can I talk to you?" I asked as we entered our apartment again & she nodded. "What's going on?" She asked. "When did I become one of those girls? The ones that depend on a man for everything?" I asked. "You're not. You're letting the man who loves you more than anything, help us. Believe me, your time is coming & you are going to be right up on that stage with him, being able to support both of you, someday soon." Sam said encouragingly.
"She's right baby." Cole suddenly said as he walked in the room. "I'm gonna go see what Joel's up to." Sam smiled & walked out of my bedroom. "I know that she's right, Cole. I know that I sound stupid for even thinking like this, I just don't want your fans, not to mention your friends and especially your family to think that I'm just with you for the money and fame. I want them to see how much I really love you." I explained.
"And they will baby. Some of them already do. You show how much you love me every day. I don't want you to ever think that you're not good enough for me, you're everything that I'm ever going to need." Cole smiled with tears in his eyes.
*
"I will ask them, mom. I'll call you back in a little while, ok?" I asked my mom after she called to invite us over for dinner tomorrow night. "What was that about baby?" Cole asked as I put my phone on my nightstand. "My parents invited us over for dinner tomorrow night, my Dad's barbecuing & his Knights of Columbus buddies are coming over." I explained.
"That sounds like fun. I'm excited to spend some more time with them. Learn a little bit more about my baby's life." He smiled & hugged me from behind. "Are you sure? I mean, you've already met my parents and sisters technically, but the guys in the Knights are probably going to act the way you probably expected my dad to act." I warned him. "Everything's going to be great, baby. Don't worry. We should probably go tell Sam and Joel though. I know that Joel has been excited to meet your family, & Sam can come to." He smiled.
*
The Following Night
"Are you ok, beautiful? And beautiful is an understatement, baby. You look absolutely amazing." Cole smiled softly. "Thank you, baby." I forced a smile. "Ok, back to my previous question, are you ok?" He asked again and brushed some hairs out of my face. "I'm fine. I'm just a little nervous." I admitted.
"Baby, I promise you, everything is going to be great. Don't worry about it." He smiled and kissed my cheek softly. "Shall we go?" He asked. "Yeah, let's get going." I smiled.
*
"Hello?!?" I called into the house after the four of us walked in. "Hey! Come on in guys!" My mom smiled and called us into the kitchen where she was talking with some friends. "Hope, introduce us to your friends." Mary smiled after I hugged everyone. "Well, y'all know Samantha. This is my boyfriend Cole, & that's his best friend and lead guitarist, Joel." I introduced everyone.
"It's so good to meet you Cole. We're really happy that Hope is with someone who loves her so much." Brenda smiled. "Yep. These lovebirds really have something special." Joel smiled. "Well, I guess I should go out & say hi to the guys." I sighed. "You tell us if they give y'all a hard time!" Susie shouted & I smiled as we headed outside.
"Hey guys!" I said nonchalantly as we reached them. "Hey Mija!" Ruben said & hugged me and so did the rest of the guys. "So.. This is the boyfriend, huh?" Jim asked. "Yep. Guys, this is Cole, & this is his best friend and lead guitarist Joel." I smiled & hugged Cole from the side.
"It's good to meet you, man. So, you like our girl, huh?" Steve asked. "Actually.. I love her." Cole smiled & leaned down to kiss me quickly. "We're not trying to be hard on you, but it's just the last few years haven't been all that easy for her health wise, & we just wanna make sure that if her parents aren't around, that she's going to be taken care of." Ruben explained.
"Of course. All I want to do is take care of her & make her happy." Cole promised. "You guys aren't being to hard on him, are you?" Dad asked as he walked out with some raw burgers to put on the grill. "They're just making sure I'm ok, dad." I smiled. "Guys, Cole's a good man." Dad smiled & kissed my head. "Thanks Dad." I smiled.
