(((February 14, 2016)))
Nicole's POV
I woke up with Parker's arms wrapped around me, sleeping in my own bed in my own house for the first time in a week. His mouth was slightly open, and he was snoring. I swear, sometimes I don't know how I sleep with him snoring in my ear. I smiled up at him and shut his mouth. He moved around a little, and involuntarily pulled me closer. I rolled over on my back, trying not to wake him up. I reached for my phone beside me on the nightstand. I checked my messages; there was nothing really of importance, just Sammy and Hannah texting me. I ignored Sammy's text, and said good morning back to Hannah. I then rolled back over to face Parker. I smiled at his messy hair and his snoring. I put one finger under his chin and gave him a kiss. He then started to smile and kissed me back.
"That's a good way to wake up in the morning." Parker smirked.
"Good morning, baby." I smiled.
"What time is it?"
"Like 10:00 or so."
He closed his eyes and got back comfortable. "You ready to go?"
I smirked and got back under the covers with him. "Mmhm. Yeah."
"Okay, we'll go in a few minutes."
"Hmm. Okay." I smiled as he put his arms back around me, and we closed our eyes.
It was actually about eleven when we started getting ready to go. We fell back asleep. We got showers, got dressed, and ate a little cereal. Everything was already packed, because we didn't bother to unpack. We were out the door by 1:00.
"You know we're not going to be in Dawson until almost midnight, right?" Parker chuckled as we drove out of the driveway.
"Well, oh well. We slept late." I said.
"Yeah, we didn't go to sleep until like three." He smiled. "It was worth it, though."
I chuckled. "Yeah, thanks for the Valentines Day presents."
"It was only chocolates and a teddy bear."
"Yeah, but it was from you, so it was like the best Valentines Day presents ever." I smiled. "Here, you want a chocolate?" I asked as I was eating the chocolates.
"Yeah."
"Here, then." I said as I held out a caramel chocolate.
He opened his mouth for me to put the chocolate in his mouth. I chuckled as I set the chocolate in his mouth.
"Happy Valentines Day, Parkie." I smiled.
"Happy Valentines Day, babe." He said with his mouth full.
I turned the radio station and turned the volume up. I leaned the seat back, took my boots off, and put my feet on the dash. I grabbed my phone from my purse and started scrolling through. Parker was singing to the radio, singing the wrong words to make me laugh. I videoed it and put it on Snapchat with the caption "What we do on road trips. Silly boy. I love him though."
"So what are we doing once we get in Dawson?" I asked him.
"Well, I've got a few places with ground that I need to check out. Then we'll check on things at Scribner. Not much, really. Just the new grounds are spread out. It'll be a lot of riding."
"Well, I don't mind. I love to ride." I smiled.
"I love to ride when it's with you." He smiled as he grabbed my hand and and kissed it. "Love you." He looked at me and smiled.
"Love you too." I smiled.
How is it possible that I still get butterflies every time he smiles at me? I guess people get like that with the person they love. And I love my Parker so much. The way he smiles, talks, laughs, the way he holds me when he kisses me, the way he holds my hand just out of habit, the little things he does and says to me everyday, I love it all. I find myself smiling for no reason a hundred times a day, and I realize that I'm smiling because of him. I look at my bracelet and feel so lucky that I have him in my life.
We talk into the night a lot. We'll stay up late and just talk about anything and everything. We talk about his work, family, friends, and about our future together. He's made me a lot of promises. To never leave me, to always love me, to try to be a good boyfriend, to work hard to support us, and that we're going to get married one day, have a family of our own, and to make it to the end game. We've talked about the house that I want to live in, where we're going to live (in Haines, of course), and we decided that when the time came to get married and get a house, we would build our own house. He told me that the house could be anything and everything I had always wanted, and it could be anywhere in Haines that I wanted. I've always wanted a log cabin by the mountains. He promised me that I would get my dream house. He's told me a lot of things that happened while I was gone, about his work and his high school years, and his friends and about what happened within the family. I told him a lot, about a lot of different things. I love when it's just me and him, and we can talk about anything; I cherish those moments, because I know when he gets back to working, there will be a lot of going to bed early, working through the night, sixteen hour shifts, and being worn out for Parker, my hard working miner.
"Nick?" Parker said, pulling me away from my thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"What are you doing? You're just staring at the dash and smiling." He smiled.
"Just thinking."
My phone started ringing. I picked it up from my lap and looked at it.
"It's Kayleigh." I said to Parker.
"Answer it." He said.
I slid my finger across the screen to answer the call.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hey, Nick." Kayleigh said.
"Hey."
"What are you doing?"
"Riding down the interstate with Parker."
"Oh, where you going?"
"Dawson. Well, actually we're going a few places. We're in Canada. Parker wanted to look at some new ground and look at his old claim. But what are you doing?"
"Nothing. Just sitting around."
"Happy Valentines Day!"
She laughed. "Thanks. How is your Valentines Day going?"
"Pretty good. Parker got me a teddy bear and some chocolates."
"Aw, goals." She chuckled.
I chuckled. "So what's up?"
"I miss you."
"Aw, Kayleigh, I miss you too."
"Me too!" Parker yelled so Kayleigh could hear him.
"Did you hear Parker?" I laughed.
She chuckled. "Yeah. I wanna come see you."
"Well, when's the next time you're off school?"
"Do I have to wait that long? Not until Easter." She pleaded.
"I don't know. I don't want you to miss school."
"Nick, please. I'll get my homework and do all of it before I leave. It'll be like I wasn't even gone."
I looked at Parker. "What do you think, babe?"
"About what?" He asked.
I put the phone on speaker and said, "Kayleigh wants to miss school and come up here to see us."
"Please, y'all. I'll do all my homework and quizzes and tests before I leave."
"Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. I mean, we're not doing anything right now. We'll be back in Haines in a few days." Parker said.
"Yay!" Kayleigh squealed. "Nick?"
I thought about it for a minute. "You can come next week if, and only if you do all your work for next week during this week."
"I promise I will!"
"Is that a good time, Parker?" I asked him.
"Yeah. We'll stay in Haines next week."
"Oh my gosh, I love y'all!" Kayleigh squealed again.
"We love you, too." I smiled.
"I gotta go tell everybody and work on my homework from Friday."
"Yeah, you better go do it." I said.
"Bye, y'all. Love you!" Kayleigh said.
"Love you too." Parker and I said.
A few minutes later, a thought suddenly popped into my head.
"Wait, she does realize that she's going to have to get on a plane all by herself, right?" I said.
"To be sure she does. I mean, there's no other way she can get here." Parker answered.
"I'm texting her." I said as I started texting.
"Okay, babe." He smiled and shook his head as he turned his head back to the road.
"She said that she doesn't like the idea of getting on a plane by herself, but she really wants to see us." I smiled as I read the text.
"She'll be fine."
"I hope so....and while she's staying with us, you have to be good."
He turned his head and smiled. "I'm always good."
"You need to act like an adult." I smiled.
He chuckled. "Like you act like an adult. And I do act like an adult, thank you very much."
"That's not what I mean. You need to be good. No drinking, no cussing, no anything like that. And we can't be acting like we always do."
"What you mean?"
"You can't be kissing me on the neck all the time, we can't be making out, and you can't be making the little comments about me you make." I smiled.
"I don't do that."
"Whatever. You know you do." I smirked. "And I love it."
"Then why I gotta stop?"
"Because Kayleigh don't need to hear it, Parker."
"Can I whisper it to you?" He smirked.
I chuckled. "Sure, babe."
"And I can't kiss you? What's next? No alone time?" He smirked and rubbed my thigh.
"No, no alone time for next week."
"But-"
"Parker, Kayleigh doesn't need to hear or see what me and you do. She's only eleven, well, she'll be twelve next week. But still, she's just a little girl."
"Can I still sleep with you?"
"Kayleigh's going to sleep with me. You either sleep at your house or on the couch."
"Nicole! You're kicking me out of the bed? For real?"
"Yes." I chuckled. "Only for one week. You'll live."
"But we always sleep together." He pouted.
I smiled and held his hand. I would miss him being in the bed with me. I don't sleep that well if he's not with me.
"I'm sorry, baby. You know that I want you to sleep with me." I said.
"You can sleep on the couch with me." He smirked.
I smiled. "I might....you can't be cussing and you can't drink."
"You're just as bad as me, Nick."
"I know, and I'm going to be good, too. I don't want Kayleigh to be thinking that it's okay to drink and cuss and other stuff. She's too young."
"Okay, okay, if you want me to, I'll be good."
"Thank you, baby." I smiled as I gave him a kiss on the cheek.
***
The ride was so long; it seemed like it was going to last forever. We talked, listened to music, and I played on my phone. I talked to Hannah on the phone, and Mom to see about Grandma and Grandpa. We stopped every so often to get gas, food, drinks, and to stretch our legs. I was so happy when I saw the sign that said "Dawson City-10 miles." I started fixing my hair and makeup, getting my things together, and putting my shoes back on. It was an awesome feeling to finally be there, after more than twelve long hours.