Times Like These

BRIAN POV

It has been about a month since the whole Michelle fiasco, and things between Nick and I are going great. Jan decided to move out to California permanently, so Nikki is in the process of trying to find a suitable home for her and her mom, but I have a better idea. “What’s up man? Your text was vague.” Matt said, walking into my kitchen. I was sitting at the breakfast bar, scrolling through a website on my laptop. “Come tell me what you think about this.” Matt walked closer and peered over my shoulder. “You buying a new house?” He questioned. “Yep. Well, if Nikki wants to move in with me I am.” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest. Matt looked at me with a raised brow, “You’re really going to sell this house? With all the memories we’ve had in it?” “Matt, this was my home with Michelle.” I sighed, “I’ve brought god knows how many chicks home and fucked them in my bed upstairs. I don’t want Nikki to be reminded of that every time she comes home. I don’t want to raise my children here. They need space and a big ass yard to chase the dog around in.” “Wow man. You sound like a pussy.” Matt joked. “Shut up asshole.” I said, punching his arm, “Don’t act like you wouldn’t do anything in the world for Dani. Like you don’t love waking up to her every single morning.” “Oh I do, which is why I bought this.” Matt said, pulling a box out of his pocket and showing me an engagement ring. It was at that moment that my girlfriend decided to show up. “Matt! Get your own boyfriend!” She joked, walking into the kitchen. “Hey babe. What are you doing here so early?” I asked, standing up to kiss her. “I brought lunch.” She replied, holding up the bags of Chinese food, “And we have plenty, so sit your ass down Matt.” Matt nodded and sat back down on his bar stool, while Nikki eyed him suspicipusly. “So are we not going to talk about the gigantic rock in your pocket that I’m assuming is for my sister?” “That’s not the only gigantic thing Matt has in his pants.” I chuckled, making Nikki roll her eyes. “I honestly did not need to know that.” Matt laughed loudly at her and pulled the box back out of his pocket, “Actually, I was wondering if you could maybe see if it fits you? I remember her saying you guys wore the same size.” Nick smiled and nodded before pulling the ring out of the box and sliding it on her finger. “It’s a perfect fit.” She said quietly, admiring the large diamond in the center of the ring. When she looked up at Matt again she had tears in her eyes. “She’s going to love it. I’m so happy for you guys.” “She hasn’t even said yes yet.” He shrugged before grabbing a container of food. “She would be stupid not to!” My girlfriend laughed before digging into her lunch.

Once we had finished our lunch, Matt said his goodbyes after making Nichole promise to keep her mouth shut about the ring. “I’ll do my best. You better do it soon before I blab.” She joked. Nikki was currently cleaning up the kitchen when I decided to bring up the house. “So, hows house hunting going?” “Horribly.” She sighed, rinsing off a plate. “I’ve found a few that I liked but they’re not close to you or Matt and Dani. I want to find the perfect place for me and mom.” “Well, I found a pretty good one.” I said, eyeing her carefully. “Really? Tell me about it.” “Well, it’s four bedrooms, three and a half baths. The kitchen is huge, and it’s got a big ass fenced in backyard. Oh, and a pool.” Nikki slowly placed the plate she was holding in the dishwasher and stood up. “Brian-“ she started, but I cut her off. “Just hear me out, Nick. You practically live here anyway. You go home maybe once or twice a week, and honestly I think your mom secretly loves it so she can have her man friend over.” I joked. “Look babe, I’ve grown out of this house. This isn’t the house I want to live in for the rest of my life, or raise my children in.” I watched as her eyebrows rose in surprise, “You want kids?” “Well yeah, I want kids. And I want them with you. Well, after I somehow convince you to marry me one day.” I said, wrapping my arms around her. “And they’re going to need a lot of room to run around. And we have to have room for the swing set and the sandbox and whatever else they might want.” Nikki laughed as she wrapped her arms around my neck. “You sound like a girl right now. But I love it. Show me this house.”


————————————NIKKI POV——————————

The house Brian picked us absolutely perfect. I was still in shock that he wanted to sell his house and buy one with me when we pulled into the driveway of what might actually be our home together. “Brian, it’s gorgeous.” I gushed. The house has everything I wanted; a big front porch, huge kitchen and living area, and the bedrooms were the perfect size. We walked through the house slowly, taking in every bit of wood flooring, and marble in the kitchen. When we got to the master bathroom my mouth dropped again. The room was huge, with a walk in shower, jacuzzi tub, and a jack and Jill vanity. The shower had one of those rain heads that Brian loves so much, and there was actually a tv positioned to the right of the tub. “Oh I will take full advantage of that.” I joked, pointing to the tv. We made our way back downstairs and into the back yard, where there was a huge patio and outdoor kitchen, along with a pool and a lot of yard space. “This is awesome.” Brian commented, walking over to check out the kitchen. “I could see us being really happy here, babe.” I looked over at my boyfriend and smiled. “There’s just one thing we need to talk about.” “What’s that?” He asked, clearly confused. “Zeus.” I said simply. “Who the fuck is Zeus?” He laughed, walking back over to me. “Mark’s dog. His best friend Aaron was taking care of him through his deployment, but now...” I trailed off. “Anyway, Aaron got a few huskies that don’t like Zeus, so he asked if I could take him in.” Brian wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed my head, “Baby, we can have ten dogs, if that’s what you want. As long as they love Pinkly and Charlie.” I grinned up at my boyfriend and kissed his cheek, “I love you, Bri. And I really love this house.” My boyfriend’s eyes lit up and a huge smile crossed his face. “Let’s buy it.”

Once we finished talking to the realtor and got all of the paperwork in order, we put in an offer on the house and put Brian’s house on the market. “I can’t believe we just did that!” I said excitedly. “Now we have to find mom something.” “Don’t worry about that, Matt and I have it taken care of.” Brian said as he drove us toward his house. “What are you talking about?” I asked. Brian opened an app on his phone and showed me a picture. “We found this. Two bedrooms two baths and right in between our houses” I scrolled through the pictures and smiled. “Mom would love this. It’s the perfect size for her. You two sure were busy this morning.” I said suspiciously. “That’s all I have up my sleeve, I promise.” He chuckled.

Soon we made it back to his house, where I decided to take a shower and throw on some clean clothes and makeup before we head to dinner with everyone. As we were walking out to the Jeep, Brian’s phone rang. “Hello? Yes. Really? You’re serious? That was fast. Thank you, we will see you tomorrow. No problem. See ya.” As he disconnected his call I looked at him expectantly. “Apparently the sellers of the house really wanted to get rid of it. They accepted our offer, we go sign paperwork tomorrow.” He beamed while I let out a squeal and jumped into his arms. “I am so excited!” “Me too babe. Let’s go celebrate with our friends.” He said, leading me to my Jeep and helping me in before going to the driver’s side. “This is going to be the best summer ever. I can’t wait.” I said as we headed down the road toward our six best friends to share our good news with them.

Notes