Anya didn't want to allow herself to be excited about driving through West Kensington. She only heard of the popularity of that neighborhood, but she never dared to visit it. It would be too painful to come back to her shabby apartment, and she still felt that way now.
She thought that they were only passing through, but then Dominic parked the car, opened her door and took her hand. They walked up to the man standing in front of the door to one of the houses.
"Mr. Oldfield, it's a pleasure to see you. Why don't we go inside?"
Dominic followed behind him, his grip tightly around Anya. Even though she enjoyed the sensation, she couldn't help but tug it a little bit. It made him stop and look at her.
"What is it?"
"What are we doing here, Dominic? As in, what are we doing in this particular neighborhood?"
"We're going inside."
"That's cute. Now, seriously."
"Let's just go inside, all right? I'll explain in a little bit."
"Lead the way, then."
She smiled, sensing that his grip on her hand tightened in a very pleasant, securing way. They climbed the stairs to one of the houses that were turned into two apartments, one on each floor. The man waited for them on the second floor, next to the apartment on the right.
He unlocked the door and came inside, and Dominic followed. They walked into a long hallway. The man began touring them through the place.
"A spacious bathroom with shower and a bathtub are the first door on the right. The previous owners took a good care of the place, so hardly any renovation is needed. They also installed jacuzzi, if need be. Over here...", he opened the double door at the end of the hallway, "...we have the heart of this apartment. The living room. There is a built in fireplace with real wood. The carpets can be removed, there are wooden tiles beneath it and the heat isolation is excellent. That guarantees that the place will be warm enough during winter."
Anya's eyes were widespread. She couldn't help but admire the place. She removed her hand from Dominic's, and went to the window. She looked through it. A peaceful area, yet not isolated that she would feel claustrophobic. She loved seeing the movement on the street. Family cars were parked outside apartments.
Her heart warmed at the sight of a mother walking down the road with a stroller, and she smiled. She couldn't hear Dominic or the man. She focused on the view outside of the apartment. She could see the sun and she relished it.
She felt Dominic's arms sliding over her waist, wrapping themselves around her. She leaned back on his chest and smiled, closing her eyes.
"What do you think," he whispered into her ear, not omitting to nibble her earlobe a little bit.
"This place is amazing."
"And you haven't even see the bedroom and the kitchen."
"I'm sorry, I got mesmerized by the view."
"We're in no rush, enjoy as much as you want."
"Well, I can hardly do that now that you've mentioned the bedroom."
"That's my girl," he chuckled. She turned around and kissed his lips. His face was that of a pure bliss.
"Why are we here, Dominic?"
He raised a brow just slightly, and then pulled her to his chest once again. His voice was calm and soothing.
"Anya...I brought you here today because I need your help finding the perfect apartment for us."
She raised her head and smiled, while her arms were still wrapped around his body. Her heart picked up the pace, and she couldn't slow it down.
"You want to live here?"
"I want to live here with you. You is the key word here. If you don't like this place we can either redecorate it or find something else."
"Dominic, how can I not like this place?! It's amazing! I'm just..."
"...not used to be pampered and spoiled by anyone. I know. Well that's about to change. I'll take it as my personal agenda to make sure you've got everything you need, all right?"
"Well, I guess I'll have to say yes, then. Let's see that bedroom."
Taking his hand she let him lead her through the door left of the living room. She smiled. It was even bigger than his old apartment bedroom. He left the door open, and pulled her to the door on the right, and entered the kitchen.
The appliances covered two opposite walls. The cupboards, the fridge and the drawers were painted in light green wood, the working surface was dark grey. It made a nice contrast, and Anya immediately fell in love with it.
"By the look on your face, I see you approve of it," Dominic chuckled again.
"Very much so. Only, there is one problem."
"It's not big enough? I can arrange..."
"Dominic! It's not about the kitchen."
"Oh. Well, what is it, then?"
"As much as I love this place, one thing is missing. One room, I mean."
"The kitchen, the bathroom, the living room, the bedroom," he counted the rooms on his fingers.
"Exactly. We need the nursery room as well."
His hands dropped to the sides, and his mouth fell open. She bit her lip, trying to remain serious.
"The...nur...nursery...," he stammered.
"I hope that you didn't change your mind about having children? I mean, I would love to get pregnant, but if you don't want it, it doesn't..."
She couldn't finish because his lips crushed her with such force that she thought he would bruise them. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and turned her head a little to the side, to get some air from all the intensity she felt in both of them.
He didn't budge. He only proceeded to her neck, and she laughed. Groaning, he lifted her up on the kitchen table and tried to get the hold of the buttons on her shirt. He wrapped her legs around his hips.
"Dominic?"
"Mmmmm...," it sounded more like a statement of pleasure than a response.
"We're in somebody else's apartment."
"Mhmm...."
"I'm all for being adventurous, but having sex on someone else's table is unhygienic."
Another groan came from his throat, and she grabbed his face, forcing him to kiss her. She wasn't too convinced of her own words, but this was really not the place to do it. He opened his eyes and she could see that he was in a completely different world to this one. It took him a few moments to realize what she said.
"I'm so sorry."
"You wanted to have sex with me. Never apologize for that, Dominic. It's the place that is kind of a mood breaker," she giggled.
"So, we need to look for a house. I doubt that there is any apartment here with a spare room with enough space to turn it into a nursery room."
"I don't think we need to do that. There is another way."
"I'm listening."
"The bedroom is ridiculously huge. We don't really need that much space. We can split it in half, and put the crib in there. Later, we can think of something."
"I had a few more places in mind, and there is one that I particularly love. It's unoccupied already and the former owners took everything with them, which means that we get to choose our own kitchen appliances and the whole place just the way we want to. Also..."
"What?"
"Well, I was really secretly hoping that you'd want to have kids with me, God willing, so we should think about finding a place where they would be able to play. So we need a house with a garden, and I know just the place."
"Really?"
"Yup! It's just a few minutes ride from here. Let's go. But if you still want this apartment, then this is the one we will buy."
Dominic took a bunch of keys and unlocked the garden door. The house on the outside looked a little bigger than the one they visited. Once inside, Anya was delighted to see that it was, indeed, bigger and brighter.
"I think this place belongs to us," she said, wrapping her arms around him. The happy look on his face was a bonus.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. How fast do you think we can move in?"
"You don't want to go back to your apartment, right? I don't blame you. I couldn't wait to get you out of there."
"But we'll have to stay there for a while, until this place is settled."
"No, we don't. I know one place that we can go to. It's very close to here. It's a surprise."
"More surprises?! Dominic, honestly! Enough!"
"Good luck with that."
"Ok, where can we stay, then?"
Anya didn't expect him to take her out on the street and ring the door bell two doors down from their future home, on the left. She looked at him in disbelief, and he tried not to laugh too much. There was a buzzing sound and Dominic pushed the door open.
"What is all this?"
"Well, it's time for you to meet my brother."
"Mike?!"
"Yes. He has a huge spare bedroom where both of us can fit in. He..."
Dominic wanted to say something else, but Mike opened the door with a huge smile on his face. He spread out his arms and pulled Anya in a hug. At first she was surprised, but then she hugged him back. She already knew they'll get along very well.
"Well it's about time that we've met! Finally Dominic decided not to hide you from the rest of the world."
"I think I can say the same. I heard so many things about you."
"The accent was on all the mischief that you've done! Come here!" Dominic said, hugging his best friend. They both giggled like juveniles.
"I had a good tutor, Anya. All the bad stuff I learned from him."
"That's right. That's what older brothers are for," he ruffled his hair and Mike pushed them both inside.
"Older brothers?! We're not even a month apart!"
"I'm still older than you."
"Fine, have it your way. Anya, what do you want to drink?"
"Coffee, if that's all right?"
"That's my kind of girl," he said, rummaging through the cupboard for coffee and cups. Then he filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove, turning the gas on.
"You watch your actions, Mikey, she's mine!"
"Learn to share, dude," Mike grinned again and both Dominic and Anya joined him. Watching him being so open and playful, Anya couldn't help but admire him. He was definitely easy to love.
"No! Anya already knows that I'm not giving her away to anyone. Even if it's for the love of my brother," Dominic wrapped his arms around Anya's waist, pulling her closer to him.
"Don't I get to say something on that matter," Anya tried to keep a straight face but failed at it.
"No," they both said at the same time.
"I give up. You are brothers, by all standards. I've never seen anything like it."
"So, Dominic told me that you're looking for another job. Is that right?"
"Well, as far as he told me, you already agreed on hiring me as your graphic designer."
"That's right. Are you all right with that," he smiled.
"Working for my boyfriend's brother?! Absolutely!"
"Good. But not today. Today you rest. You've had an intense day."
"I agree, and it's not over yet. I'm going to get the clothes from my apartment, and I'm trying to get there before Kayla comes home." Dominic huffed.
"Good idea, I'll do the same. I want to show Alice where I lived so far. Since it's all over, there's no need for me to hide it any more."
"Do you need help with the stuff," Dominic asked.
"I'll call you if I need you. But if you could drop me off to the center, I'd appreciate it very much."
"Of course. Let's go."
They were already out the door when Mike followed them.
"What do you guys want for dinner when you come back?"
Anya turned around and hugged him. He reminded her of a teddy bear, so lovable and caring. Yet, physically he was very attractive to her. If she hadn't met Dominic, she would have definitely fallen in love with Mike. He hugged her back.
"Whatever you feel like cooking, if you feel like it."
"It's a deal."
"Hang on you two, stop hugging so much! Mike..."
"Oh drop it Dominic, will you?! He's your brother and by being that, he's my best friend; besides, you know how much I love physical contact."
"Yes! A voice of reason, thank you," Mike stuck out his tongue to him.
"Let's go," Dominic spread out his hand. Once they were on the street, he kissed her.
"You know that I love you, right? If I didn't, we wouldn't be doing all this."
"Anya...of course I know. I just love teasing Mike, that's all. He's a great guy and I love him. I know that he won't do anything to you. He's just..."
"Lovable, yeah. So, I'll call you when I'm done with Alice, all right?"
"Sure. If I'm late, call Mike. He's all too excited to be your chauffeur," he winked at her. A few minutes later they were at her apartment. She unlocked the door and speed-dialed Alice's number.
"Hey honey, what are you doing now? Are you busy?"
"No, why?"
"Well, I've got so many things to tell you, but here is the most important one: would you like to see my apartment?"
A few moments of dead silence, and then she heard her excited voice.
"I'm out the door. Text me the address."
Oh yes, Alice was in for a surprise and a treat.