Marry Me

Part 7

"This is the last of it," Ricky sighs as he sits the last box of his things in your spare bedroom, which is now quite full of extra boxes and... well, guitars. He literally moved his most prized possessions into your apartment but left the rest of it at his house with Ryan.

"Well, that's good. I'm sure Ryan is relieved to have the extra room." You comment as you lean against the door jam, watching him open one of the boxes containing his clothes. "Think he'll put a play room in there like in Fifty Shades of Gray?"

Ricky rolls his eyes; he's never seen the movie but he understands the context. "No, he's gonna leave it for me when I bunk over."

Oh, right. Ricky doesn't plan on staying with you constantly, just enough to keep the facade going. It's almost easy to forget.

The two of you spent your honeymoon weekend on your couch eating takeout; you watched TV and he read a book, and occasionally you had a conversation about how much you dislike the Bachelorettes choice in men and how she keeps picking the worst ones, and he made agreeable sounds.

Marriage is easy.

"You can change the room around however you like, but you know when Chloe is over you're going to have to sleep with me." You remind, biting your lip. "I kick in my sleep."

"So long as you don't shove me out of bed, it's fine." He shrugs, his back to you so you don't see him flush. Yeah, he's thought about that already, but you're both adults. He spent the nights in your spare room, the beds okay but he'd really like a softer mattress. He'll have to buy one because he know Chloe will complain as well.

"I'll steal all the covers."

"Are you trying to make me want to sleep on the sofa?" Ricky sends you an amused look. "I mean, I can if it would make you more comfortable." He adds hastily, hands hovering over his open box. He doesn't want to push or anything or make it seem like he's trying to ---.

"Nah, it's all good. I don't really mind, I'm just teasing." you shrug, taking a step back as you glance at your watch. "I gotta head back downstairs, I can't leave the guys to their own devices too long. You good up here?"

"Yeah."

You turn away, heading back downstairs to your car shop; you have a business to run now that the marriage is done, and you figure the worst is over. You wear your ring, occasionally post cute photos of the two of you, that's it, right? Ricky just has to file for custody of Chloe, where it's fair, and he'll totally have the appearance of a stable home for her when he's on tour.

Easy peasy.

Ricky listens for the front door to close before sitting down in the floor with a sigh, pulling the box between his knees as he rifles through it. He's tired, but the stress of the wedding is over, so that's a relief. He feels like he'd really roughed it up into a horror show in his head, but it went smooth.

You'd looked so beautiful, he doesn't think he's ever seen anyone glow the way you did, and that dress ---. Well, he's kind of embarrassed with how blown away he'd been, he's just so used to seeing you in a greasy jumpsuit or with black streaks all over you, smelling like oil and brandishing a wrench. 

Whenever he thought of you, that's all he could picture, but now it's a little different. He's seen you in dresses, noticed your lovely legs, and when you doll up you're certainly a sight to behold. He almost regrets that he didn't notice any of that before, but, well, with Claire, he's not really been noticing anything else.

Chloe is his world, he'll do anything for her, and he doesn't want to do anything that could mess that up. The fact you're changing up your life to help him ensure that means a lot to him, especially since you went to such great lengths. He appreciates you more than you know, but he's having a harder time thinking of you as just one of the guys now.