A Trip in the Fall Pt. 05

Brandon interrupted her rather curtly before she could say anything more, "It's fine. I don't want you to pay for this, it was my idea and it's really not a big deal."

"Okay...I just worry."

The tension was clear, but before they could speak, there was a knock at the door and Brandon stood, "That must be breakfast."

He walked to the door leaving Sarah and her parents at the table, Jim was the first to speak, "That's the first time I've seen him frustrated."

Susan nodded and Sarah spoke, "I think the move is stressing him a bit, especially since I bought the house, and spring is busy for him with teaching, the online college class he does, plus coaching and he's already started some stuff for Josh for the new job."

"Can he handle it all?" Susan asked.

"He's been handling it all so far, but that's the first time it's been really visible."

Jim nodded, "Is everything else okay?"

"Jim!" Susan said in a hushed tone.

"What? I just want to make sure he is treating her okay."

"Yes daddy, everything is okay. He's just stressed, we are fine."

"Okay, if you say so."

Sarah relied sternly, "Yes, I say so."

Before anyone could say anything else, Brandon wheeled the cart in and began to place food on the table while Jim put down plates and silverware. Once everything was set out, Jim led them in prayer and they began dishing out food and made small talk while they ate, talking about the awards from the night before, Sarah and Amanda's summer tour, what Brandon would be doing for Josh's company and other mundane things. Even though the conversation had taken a more lighthearted turn, there was still obvious tension over the idea of Brandon's quick weekend.

With breakfast finished and the clock nearing 10:30, Jim and Susan excused themselves, telling Brandon goodbye and to have a safe trip back that day and to be careful on the drive to and from Nashville in the coming weeks. He thanked them and after seeing them out, he walked back into the bedroom to finish cleaning up his things. Sarah came in, sat on the bed, and watched him finish packing while trying to read her book.

"I wish you didn't have to leave."

"Well, it's only a few more months, then you're stuck with me."

"Stuck with you?"

He smirked, "Yeah you can't get rid of me once I move in."

"Oh..."

He looked up, "It's a joke Sarah."

"Sorry, I'm just a bit out of it."

He smiled, "Don't be sorry, it's fine."

"Okay, what time do you want to leave?"

"I texted Nigel and said to have a car ready at 11."

"Okay." She got up and walked around the bed, wrapping her arms around him, and pressing her head into his chest.

She felt his arms embrace her, then felt him kiss her head, "I love you Sarah."

She felt a tear in her eyes but quickly pressed the, away, "I love you too."

They stayed like that until Brandon's watch flashed, signaling a text that the car was ready.

When he tried to pull away, Sarah didn't let go, "Babe I've gotta go."

"I know, but I don't want you to."

"I'll see you in two weeks, it'll be fine."

"About that, will you please let me..."

He cut her off again, "Sarah, you're not paying for anything, I've got this."

"But if you rented and flew..."

"Sarah, no. I'm driving down as planned and that's that."

She nodded but frowned, then said softly, "Okay."

He pulled her back into a hug, "This is something I have to do on my own, I appreciate your help, but this is me, it's my move."

"But we are moving in together, so I'm involved."

"It'll be fine, this is a one-time thing."

"If you say so."

"I do, now I have to go."

She finally let go, "Okay. Be careful and let me know when you land."

He smiled and kissed her before replying, "Always do, I love you."

Chapter 6- Late March

The next two weeks went by in a blur for Brandon. They played eight games over the two weeks and the end of the 3rd grading quarter hit, adding to his already busy schedule. Outside of work, he spent most evenings sorting through things, and trying to decide what he could haul to Nashville.

The Thursday before he left, he finally decided on some basic furniture like his desk, the spare bed, and other things from the spare room. He boxed up the majority of his summer clothes and some other things that he didn't think he would need from his kitchen. Seeing how Sarah wasn't going to be visiting, he packed up all of the stuff he had bought for her and things that she left. As he looked at everything by the door that night, he felt a bit of nervousness creeping back in.

He sat on the couch and thought to himself, "What if I'm making a mistake? I'm giving up everything I've known and doing something completely new." He took a sip of the bourbon he had poured as more thoughts raced through his mind, "What if living together doesn't work out? The longest we've ever spent together is 5 days." As more and more thoughts ran through his brain he began to feel even more anxious.

He finally stood up and decided to go for a run to clear his head. He spent the next 20 minutes on a short 2-mile loop around his neighborhood and allowed his thoughts to clear and when he got back, he definitely felt better, but he couldn't help but feel at the same time that he could be making a mistake. He found a text from Sarah on his phone when he returned, confirming their usual call that night. He replied back that he was going to shower, then he would call her.

Once he showered, his call was answered by a chipper Sarah, "Hey! How are you?"

"I'm good, just finished a run and a shower."

"Uh oh, you're running?"

"Yeah, needed to clear my head."

"Oh....what's wrong?"

Brandon stayed silent for a bit, trying to gather his thoughts before finally saying, "I dunno, I've never done anything big like this move other than when I moved here the first time, and I can't help but feel anxious."

"Why are you anxious?"

"I dunno, I'm still worried you're going to wake up one day and decide that you want something more than a teacher."

"We've been over..."

"I know we've talked about this a bunch, but I just can't help but feel like I'm in some dream that I'm going to wake up from. Now that I'm looking at all this stuff sitting here to be loaded in the morning, shit's getting real, and I think I may be freaking out a bit. Plus, with everything with the team and the trip, plus going home, I feel like I'm going in 29 different directions and doing everything a bit half-assed. Hell, I made a stupid call last night and sent a kid home when I should have held him because I was thinking about tomorrow."

Sarah sat silently, trying to think of a way to calm him down from 800 miles away, "I'm sorry you're worried, would it be better for you if we scratched this weekend?"

"No, that's the thing, I'm excited to see you like normal. I can't wait to get on the road and get to you and see the house. I can't wait to hold you and sleep in our bedroom."

"Oh...okay, is there anything I can do to make things easier?"

He chuckled, "No, I don't think so. I just need to suck it up and get my shit together."

"I think you're doing really well; you're juggling a lot of different things right now. I just don't want to be something you juggle or that makes your life harder."

Feeling more relaxed Brandon smirked, "You make plenty of things hard for me."

Sarah giggled, "Perve, you know what I mean."

He laughed "I know. Thanks for listening to me vent."

"Of course babe. We are in this together. You will get your turn to listen to me vent; just wait until we are a month out from the tour, and we start rehearsing."

Brandon laughed, "Noted. Okay, I hate to cut it short, but I'm gonna move some stuff to the truck, then get in bed."

"Okay I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Yep, I love you."

"Love you too, and Brandon?"

"Yeah?"

"I've got a new lingerie set for you."

"What?!"

"Night babe."

Brandon was left with a dead line as Sarah had hung up on him, he laughed and shook his head and after taking the disassembled furniture to his truck, he headed to bed, falling asleep and resting better than he had the past few nights.

****

When Brandon woke up the following morning, his mind immediately flashed to what Sarah had said about new lingerie, causing his usual morning wood to be even more intense than usual. He tried to put it out of his mind and just get through the day so he could get on his way. He still couldn't help but feel anxious, but after breakfast and loading the boxes in his truck, he was more excited than anything.

His day went well, but like all things when you're excited for something, it just drags on. As he was starting his 8th and final period, there was a knock at the door. He gestured to his student assistant Mya, and she rose from his desk and opened the door. He heard the girl say, "Hey Coach Jackson."

Brandon turned to the door and saw Matt walk in, "Hey, those practice plans are on my desk, don't go too hard on them; it's been a long few weeks."

"Hey, don't you have some faith in me?" This response elicited a laugh from his class to which Brandon responded, "Would you all trust this guy?"

A couple of the kids shook their heads, causing more laughs. Matt rolled his eyes, then said, "So what you working on today?"

"They are going to do some comprehension questions so we can dive into the First Amendment SCOTUS cases on Monday."

"Nice, get out of here."

"What?"

"I've got you covered this period, go ahead, and get out of here a little early. I already cleared it with Bret."

"You sure?"

"GO!"

The kids in the room chuckled and Brandon hurriedly made his way back to his desk. Mya was sitting once again and she handed him a picture, "You promised."

"I know, I'll get it signed for you." The picture she handed him was from earlier in the year when Sarah had visited and the softball team had caught wind and taken a bunch of pictures, including a single one with Mya. Brandon had a soft spot for Mya, her dad had passed away from cancer her freshman year and he had had her for 2 years, so when she needed a student assistant job for a study hall, he gladly took her. He had told her that he would take the picture of her and Sarah together and have her sign it, causing Mya to break out in smiles.

As he walked out of the room he smiled, "Thanks for covering man, Mya, keep him in line."

Almost in unison, Mya, and Matt both said "GO!" as Brandon jogged out the door to his truck. Seeing as he was getting an hour head start, he started pulling up his GPS to figure out how far he could make it by 11 that night. It was only 2:15, his original plan of driving to Wytheville, VA was now out. As he headed out of the parking lot, he looked and realized that Bristol was just into Tennessee and about 9 hours away if he ran the speed limit. His phone and opening up Waze, he headed out of town, making his way towards Tennessee.

He made good time for the first two and half hours, clearing Harrisburg, PA just before rush hour where he picked up I-81 and turned south. He did get hung up in traffic in Hagerstown, MD and he finally had to stop to use the restroom and get some dinner around Harrisonburg, VA, but after grabbing a Red Bull, filling the truck up and getting something to eat, he was back on the road. The rest of the four hours was pretty uneventful, and he pulled into a Hampton Inn off the interstate at 10:45. He had thought about continuing on, but when he had looked at the GPS, there wasn't much else until he got to Knoxville another hour and a half away.

He walked into the hotel carrying his backpack and reserved a room for the night. As the lady behind the counter went over the amenities and everything that the hotel offered, he smiled and told her that he wouldn't be needing it and would be checking out around 6. The woman nodded and told him to enjoy his stay. He rode the elevator to his room, and found it just around the corner, he keyed in and dropped his stuff off before heading to the bathroom. He went ahead and showered, then texted Sarah, "Made it to Bristol, Matt covered my last class."

Sarah responded almost immediately, "Yay! You're farther than you planned to be."

"Yeah, an hour head start, and Waze allowed me to get closer."

"I don't want to know how fast you drove ;-)"

"Fast enough to get to you."

She responded with a heart emoji and, "So what time will that put you here tomorrow?"

"I'm leaving at 6, I should be there around 10."

"Great! Do you think you'll have some shopping in you?"

"For what?"

"The house...I want to look at some furniture for your man cave and the house in general."

"Sure I can do that, but I thought there was new lingerie for me?"

";-) Oh there is, but that's for tomorrow night."

":-( you're no fun."

"Lol, oh don't worry, you're gonna love it."

"Okay, I need to go to sleep if I'm gonna leave at 6."

"G'night baby, drive safe tomorrow."

"Goodnight, I love you."

"Love you too."

***

Brandon woke to his alarm at 5:45, groggy but excited to start the day. He hurried to the bathroom and dressed in a pair of gym shorts and a hoodie. He threw his things in his backpack, pulled a Pop-Tart from the outside pouch, and headed to the main desk to check out. After checking out, he made his way to his truck, found a gas station where he could fill up, grabbed another Red Bull, and headed southwest on 81.

As he neared Knoxville around 7:30, he stopped to refill his coffee cup and to use the restroom before making the remaining two-and-a-half-hour drive into Madison where Sarah had bought the house. Following the GPS, Brandon turned up the driveway that he had seen pictures and FaceTime video of, but never in person. He said aloud as he pulled up to the front of the house, "Holy shit it's huge."

He could see Sarah's teal Jeep Wrangler sitting below him in front of the garage, so he hopped out and walked up to the front door and finding it unlocked walked in, finding himself in the main living room, "Damn." He could see through the living room onto the deck because of the huge windows and French doors, he walked in and just admired the space. Sarah had already put a large sectional and some other furniture to fill the room.

He set his backpack down and continued into the room where he found a dining room to his right and a set of stairs going up on his left. Around the corner of the stairs he could hear music playing and yelled out, "Honey, I'm home." The music stopped and Sarah came running around the corner in a pair of gym shorts and one of his hoodies. She jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, and squeezing him before kissing him.

They stood at the foot of the stairs kissing for a moment before they pulled away and she smiled, "You made it!"

"Yep, this place is huge!"

He set her on the ground, but she kept her arms around him, "Do you like it?"

"It's very nice, even if I've only seen 3 rooms."

"Well come on, let me give you the tour." They spent the next 15 minutes walking through the house, seeing all of the different rooms downstairs before heading upstairs where she showed him their room, "And this is our room." The room had a queen size bed in the center with a dresser and two side tables. There was a large window that looked out onto the back yard, and behind them was a walk-in closet and the master bathroom.

The closet was already full of Sarah's things, but there was half left empty for him, "I don't have that much stuff," he said with a laugh.

Sarah laughed, "Here is the bathroom."

They walked through another door and Brandon could help but let out a slight gasp, "Holy shit, this is the nicest bathroom I've ever seen." The bathroom was white marble with a large soaking tub plus a stand-up shower that you could fit 4 people in with 4 different shower beads, along with a double sink and a makeup table.

They both walked in, and Sarah put her arm around him, "I always wanted a bathtub where my knees and boobs were both underwater."

He grinned and kissed the top of her head, "I think you got it and more."

They kissed quickly before Sarah pulled him out and said, "Okay, let's go see the basement."

They made their way back downstairs to the basement and she showed him the garage access then to a room off the basement living room, "I thought this could be your office." The room wasn't huge, but it was big enough for a desk and a small table for sure, plus the windows looked out onto the backyard, letting in plenty of natural light.

"This will work."

"I'm glad, let's go see your man cave."

Sarah was almost giddy, pulling him down the hall to a closed door. When she opened it, Brandon stopped dead, "What is this?" Before him was a large room with a large net and screen. He saw the words "Trackman" on a box behind the screen.

"I convinced the previous owners to leave their golf simulator."

"This is top of the line..."

Sarah smiled, "That's what Josh said."

Brandon walked around the room, noticing all of the open space and a small wet bar in the back of the room. "I dunno what to say."

"Say you love it?"

"I do love it."

He pulled her against him, and they kissed passionately for a moment. Just as things were beginning to heat up with his hands wandering to her ass, she pulled away, "Hold your horses mister, we've got to unload your truck and then go shopping to fill this room."

"I dunno about that, this is pretty awesome."

"Well you need a couch and some other things down here. I think your TV can be put on the wall, and I want you to make this room yours. I set up an appointment at a furniture store so you can pick things out."

"Define pick things out?"

"Look at designs, feel fabrics, things like that, then they get it for us and deliver it."

"That sounds expensive...."

"Well I do listen to you, and I know you said you could send me $5,000 right away for things, so I told them that was our budget."

"You don't need that money for other things?"

With a smile she said, "Nope, once you move in, you can pay the utilities like we agreed upon and then split food."

He pulled her back into his arms, "Thank you so much, this place is amazing. Once I get working here officially, I'll pitch in on the mortgage and other things."

"Don't get in too big of a rush, you've got 5 acres of grass to mow, and we don't have a mower."

He laughed, "Alright, I'll get on that."

"So, let's get your truck unloaded and things moved around. I'll make lunch and our furniture appointment is at 1:30."

"Go ahead and get ready for the day, I'll get things unloaded and put together."

"You sure? I can help."

"I know, but come up and grab my suitcase, and I'll handle the rest.

****

It took Brandon about 30 minutes to unload the truck into the garage and carry the furniture pieces he had brought to their new places. He stuck his head in the bedroom and heard the shower running, so he cracked the door and said, "Hey, I've got the truck unloaded, want me to get lunch going?"

"Nope, I'll handle it if you want to go ahead and put your desk and whatever else together."

He shut the door and headed to his new office and spent the next 20 minutes putting his desk and the other pieces back together. As he was wrapping up, Sarah appeared at the door wearing a blue silk robe, "Lunch will be ready in about 15 if you wanna shower before we go."

He smiled, "Damn you look hot." She blushed as he continued, "is there a dress code?"

She laughed, "Not really, jeans and a tee shirt will be fine." He walked past her, pulling on the sash of her robe, causing it to loosen, but she grabbed it before it could slip open. "No."

"I just want to see this lingerie you hinted at."

"Who said I'm wearing anything?" He went to speak but she pressed a finger to his lips, "Shhh, go shower."