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"I think I was made to love you."
- unknown
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Luna's POV
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"Are you finished?"
"Almost."
I wait one second. Three. Ten.
"Okay, you can turn the page."
I do so and continue reading, my eyes scanning the page. Oli's arm tightens around my waist, pulling me back further into his chest. We're currently sitting in his living room beside the large window in his apartment, reading a book together. Oli and I both love to read, but I never knew he was such a slow reader.
Getting lost in the story, I start to turn to the next page when he stops me, "One second,"
Rolling my eyes, I tilt my head back against his chest to look up at him. "You could just buy yourself a copy of the book."
He shrugs, eyes not leaving the page, "I have a copy, just haven't read it yet."
"So... Why don't you grab it and we can still read together but just separately?" I suggest gently.
Now he turns to look at me with a playful scowl, "No. I want to read it with you. We'll be at different points in the book otherwise."
I roll my eyes and turn back to the book, turning to the next page. "Yeah, because you're a slow reader, my love. That's not my fault."
"I don't want you to spoil it for me," He mumbles then presses a kiss beside my ear.
"I wouldn't spoil it," I scoff.
"You would," he says as if it's a fact, "You like to talk, Little One. You tell me everything, and I love that. But you'd accidentally let it slip without realising."
I huff and slouch into him further, knowing he's right. "Baseless allegations."
He chuckles softly, "Just keep reading."
I do as he asks for a few moments. It's peaceful and comfortable until Oli suddenly says, "You should move in with me."
I still. Then whip my head around to stare up at him incredulously. His eyes are still on the book as if he didn't just say what I think he did. "Excuse me?"
"Actually, we really should start house hunting, I think. Would be easier. I'm thinking the neighbourhood between your parents and mine, if we can. Or around that area." He explains calmly.
Meanwhile, my mind is reeling. "Oli, you're not serious?"
"Sure I am." He shrugs. We've only been official for three weeks. He's losing his mind. "Obviously you're it for me. I'm going to marry you one of these days, so why wouldn't we move in together?" He looks down at me now, finally meeting my gaze once more. His eyes are soft and honest and open.
I think over my words for a moment. "You're it for me too. I want to spend my life with you, Oli. But I'm living with Alana, I can't just up and leave her. We split rent for a reason. We're fresh out of school and brimming with student debt. I can't afford to buy a house and Alana can't afford to rent by herself."
He tilts his head, "Luna. You understand that I played professional basketball for the last almost nine years? I was paid millions to play every year. I've invested a lot of that. But even if I hadn't, we could live off that for the rest of our lives. I keep working because I love this industry. You don't have to worry about money, okay?"
I narrow my eyes, "That's your money, Oli. Not mine."
He furrows his brows as if he doesn't understand why I'm getting annoyed. "Luna baby, what's mine is yours. I mean that in every possible way. I know you love me and I love you. This is it. Once we're married, that money will legally be ours. I don't see it as mine because it won't be for long. Why wait for a legal document? It's yours."
"I'm not with you for your money." I grumble, sitting up slightly. But he quickly and gently pulls me back against his chest, not letting me put physical distance between us.
"I know you're not, love," he murmurs lowly beside my ear, "And that's why I don't care about whether we call it my money or your money. It's ours. This apartment? It was ours in my mind from the moment you stepped foot in here after we got together. It's our bedroom. Our kitchen. I hate the idea of them being mine when you're here just as much as me."
My heart warms and I fight the urge to turn around and kiss him. "But Oli, you can't just say that we don't have to think about money anymore. I get it, we'll have enough to live off of. And we both love our jobs, so we'll keep working too. So sure, in theory, we're in a good financial position to buy a house," Where was I going with this again? I'm supposed to be arguing with him. "But what about Alana?"
"The other night, Alana and I had a very similar conversation."
I reel my head back to look at him again, "You did?"
He nods, a little smile on his face, "We did. When you were in the shower. Just about the future in general. I told her that I was ready to move in with you whenever you said the word. And do you know what she said?"
"Fuck off, she's mine?"
He just shakes his head, "Close. She said that when you're ready, whether that's tomorrow or five years from now, she can handle it. She even mentioned that one of her friends from work is currently looking for a new roommate. There will always be a way for her to make things work."
"She really said that?" I ask, looking up at him, wide-eyed.
"She did. Because she loves you. And she can see how quickly we've merged our lives together now that we're a couple." He tells, his voice soft as he leans down to kiss me. Just for a second, then he pulls away again.
And he's right. From the moment we got together, things have felt so easy. So effortless. He takes me to and from work. Not because I don't want to drive but because we spend every night together, so why would we take separate cars? Sometimes he drives, sometimes I drive. And every night we either come back to his place or mine. That mostly depends on Alana's plans. Some nights we let her have our apartment to herself and other nights use have dinner together, all three of us. He has some of his things in my room, I have some of my things at his apartment. Our lives have seamlessly blended together over the last three weeks.
"But what about..." I trail off, trying to think of another reason that this is absolutely absurd. Because it definitely is.
"Yes, Luna baby?" He asks and oh he sounds so smug.
"I'm thinking," I grumble, sinking back against his chest, "This is crazy. We can't just move in together."
He sighs softly and presses a kiss against my cheek from behind. Then another. And another before he murmurs, "Our relationship hasn't exactly been conventional. Sure, we've only been together for a few weeks, but I've known you eighteen years. I'm ready for everything, whenever you are."
I consider his words for a moment in silence. He lets me think things through and doesn't try to convince me any further. "Okay. I'll talk to Alana about it. I'm not saying anything will happen right now, but it does make sense for us to move in together. But I think we should wait until we find a house. That will give Alana time to make arrangements while we house hunt."
"Sounds perfect." He says, grinning against my cheek.
I turn to look at him then with wide eyes, "Did I really just agree to us buying a house together?"
I can see his grin now and he leans closer to speak against my lips, "You absolutely did."
Sighing softly, I shift around so that I can rest my head in the crook of his neck. Gently, he takes the book from my hands and places a bookmark between the pages before placing it to the side. His arms wrap around me securely, moving me so that my front is pressed against his and I'm resting between his legs, laying on his chest. He rests his hands on my lower back, fingertips tracing patterns over my shirt.
"Do you not think it's insane? To be moving this quickly?" I murmur quietly.
I feel him shake his head. "No. I really don't. Luna... for the first thirteen years of my life, I had stability. None. Then my parents found me and I finally had a home. Joining the Lakers was a dream come true, but it also meant that I was thrown back into a life of constant travel and never settling. I'm ready to put down roots and I'm ready to do that with you."
Staying quiet for a moment, I finally whisper, "You don't talk about that time of your life much. The years before I met you."
I expect him to immediately shut me out, but he doesn't. His body tenses but then slowly relaxes once more, his hands slipping beneath the hem of my shift to touch my skin. He takes in a deep breath then says, "There's not a lot to talk about. I was a little shit when I was young, so no one wanted to adopt me. Then I got older and no one wants to adopt the older kids. Until my moms did. And the foster homes... They're not memories I like to revisit."
Tracing the muscles in his neck, I risk another question, "It was that bad?"
"It wasn't great. I-" I feel him swallow roughly, "There was a lot of abuse. Getting locked in the closet for bad behaviour. Not being fed for days on end. The occasional beating too. More than that though, never having someone love or care about you takes a toll on your mental health, even as a kid. Especially as a kid. It's hard to go to school and not have parents like every other kid there."
I close my eyes tightly, forcing myself not to cry. I knew his time in foster care wasn't the best, simply because of the fact he never ever spoke about it. But actually hearing these words from him make it all real. "God, I wish they'd found you sooner."
"They found me when they were supposed to." He reassures me, "No matter how much my past has affected me, I'll never wish anything happened differently. Because if things were different, I might not have ended up here with you."
"You're so fucking cheesy," I laugh, sucking in a deep breath and reaching a hand up to wipe away a stray tear from my cheek. "And so brave. For getting through that. Thank you for opening up to me."
"I don't like talking about it but, I like talking to you. You're the one person who I feel comfortable enough to talk about my past with. I want you to know about it."
Resting my chin on his chest so that I can stare up at him, I wait for a moment. I gaze up into his eyes and watch his face carefully for a moment. Then I can't help but whisper, "You're going to be the most amazing dad one day."
He shifts his chin to stare down at me properly and I watch his dark eyes shine. "You think so?" He asks, a little breathless.
I nod, "Your past has made you the kindest, most gentle and considerate person I've ever met. You hurt so much but that just means you'd try even harder to be the dad your kids need."
"Our kids," He murmurs gruffly, "Because the only way I'm raising any kids is with you by my side."
I grin at him and lean up to kiss his chin. "Have you ever thought about adopting?"
Now his eyes are wide and filled with... hope? "Adopting? Kids of our own?"
Nodding, I explain, "We could even adopt older kids. So that they get to experience a life like you did after you were adopted. Instead of being left in the system to fend for themselves. I think... I think that's something I'd really like to do. If you'd be up for that?"
Quickly, Oli effortlessly tugs me up his chest and crashes his mouth to mine in a kiss that's immediately heated. My lips part for him and his tongue licks inside. I moan at the taste of him, shifting to sit straddling his lap as the kiss deepens. But before it goes any further, he pulls away again, breathing heavily.
"You're perfect. So perfect. You want to adopt kids with me? Older kids? Really?" He sounds almost breathless, eyes filling with tears as he stares up at me.
Reaching my hands up, I gently cup his face, leaning down to kiss him quickly before murmuring my reply against his lips. "I do. I really do. Maybe not this year. Or even the next. But once we find a house - big one with lots of rooms for lots of kids. And we can get a dog or maybe two. In the suburbs but closer to the city so I can get to work. Then we'll look into it. We can give them proper homes. And not just good foster homes, but homes for life. Even if they're only a few years away from aging out of the system, once we adopt them, they'll have a family for life. With us."
"Fuck," Oli's tears start to fall and he holds onto my hips tightly, gripping onto me as if he's terrified to let go. "That sounds like the best life imaginable. Would you really be up for that? It won't be easy. Some of those kids come from terrible homes. Worse than ones I went to even."
"I know that," I tell him softly, "Isn't that even more of a reason to do this? We can handle it. I know we can. Because between us, we have so much love to give."
"You wouldn't feel like you're missing out by not having biological children?"
"Not at all. And maybe down the track we could do that too. But I would be perfectly content to adopt as many kids as we can and give them all a safe home. What do you think?"
"I think you were made for me," He admits roughly, moving a hand up to rest on the back of my neck. "That sounds like the perfect life and I can't wait to live it with you."
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A/N
Hello wonderful readers!
Thank you once again for being so patient while I get this chapter ready for you! I really hope you enjoyed it! I loved diving in a little deeper into Oli's past. I know you were probably hoping for more of an in depth backstory about it, but I think it suits his character best to keep it to a short conversation like this. Oli's said before that he thinks of his life starting to the moment he was adopted. So I like to think that he keeps his past to himself for the most part, only sharing little parts with Luna.
Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Only a few chapters left to go! I really hope you've enjoyed this story so far!
Thank you so much reading! Have a wonderful day!! I love you lots!!!
~ Pink Flamingo