With our trip to The Keys behind us, Amber and I returned to work and our typical, daily routines. Gone were the lazy days spent relaxing around the pool; in their place were long workdays and short weekends. The only difference after the trip was that both of our libidos had been fully recharged. Sex was no longer relegated solely to the weekends. Instead, it wasn't uncommon for my dinner preparations to be interrupted by a hand down the front of my pants, or perhaps our weeknight TV-watching time to end with Amber riding atop me on the couch. It felt like the first week that we lived together; but, it lasted us through the summer.
But, as summer turned to fall and then winter, we were both showing signs of tiring of our cramped apartment living. To relieve the stress, we took regular trips out to the site where our house was being built. We watched and celebrated little milestones as the land was cleared, the pad was poured, framing went up and it was eventually dried-in. We could see our dream forming right before us and every trip brought more excitement as it neared completion.
Along the way we celebrated other milestones, like the one year anniversary of our trip to Chicago. We had recreated our trip, from our first night together, this time not being shy at all about masturbating for one another, to the next evening when we went out for a really expensive dinner, unfortunately not on the company's dime this time. Afterwards we returned home for a night of passionate sex.
The holidays caused a slight slowdown in construction but our thoughts were occupied by spending our first Christmas together. We had considered going back to Arkansas and spending a few more days in Mike's cabin; but, we ultimately decided to stay home and save our vacation time. Instead, we stayed around town and used the holidays for something arguably more exciting: finally packing up our apartment.
Amber and I had gotten a call from our builder, Hank, just after Christmas telling us that things were wrapping up and he expected us to be able to move in within a couple weeks. We were thrilled if not a little overwhelmed. We contacted our landlord and arranged for January to be the last month of our lease. Then, we lined up movers to handle taking our things from our apartment and storage unit to the house. Finally, we waited, living out of boxes and counting down the days.
Those two weeks seemed to drag on forever; but, the day had finally arrived. It was a Friday morning in January and Amber and I had a meeting scheduled with Hank for the final walkthrough of our house.
I awoke already excited for the day. As I got out of bed, Amber rolled over, her hair a mess but a huge smile on her face as well. She and I had had a bit of a pre-celebration the night before and the clothes still strewn on the floor were evidence of such. Crawling back on the bed, I gave her a kiss good morning. Amber whimpered and said, "It's definitely a good morning after a night like that."
With a smile I said, "If today goes well, then I'm planning on you having a good morning tomorrow too."
Amber groaned, "Mmm, that'd be great."
With one more kiss I got back down from the bed and went into the bathroom. After taking care of my morning routine, I returned to the bedroom to get dressed while Amber took my place. Pulling up my weather app, it appeared that it was still going to be chilly throughout the day so I put on a pair of jeans and chose an off-white waffle shirt.
I was walking around the room picking up our clothes from the night before when Amber came out of the bathroom. Tying her hair up in a ponytail she asked, "Hey, do you want just go get breakfast before we meet Hank?"
Not needing convincing to ever go out for breakfast, I readily agreed and then went out to wait for her in the kitchen. I was just pouring our coffee into travel mugs when Amber came around the corner wearing a pair of jeans and a sweater. Taking her mug she excitedly asked, "You ready to go?"
My smile was all the answer she needed as I grabbed my keys and wallet off the counter. Heading out the front door, Amber was a couple steps ahead of me. Arriving at the car, as we got in, I asked, "You ready for this?"
Taking her seat, Amber just replied, "Breakfast? Yeah, I'm fucking starving."
I laughed and then she leaned over and with a kiss said, "Yeah, babe, it felt like today would never come."
With one more kiss, we headed off for the day. Arriving at what had become our usual breakfast spot, we got a table and ordered, no longer needing to see a menu. For the entire time we were there, we talked about how excited we were to finally see the finished product of all our months of waiting. We talked about the aspects of the house we were looking forward to and the things still left to do to prepare for our move.
When we both finished eating and paid the bill, the time was approaching for our meeting. On the short drive out to the new neighborhood I commented, "Wow, it's weird that soon, this will just be our daily commute. A new normal."
Amber smiled and said, "I know; it's weird. Someday all this will just become routine."
A few minutes later, we turned off into the neighborhood. As we wound back through the wooded lots, we turned onto our street. Coming down the road, the first time we laid eyes on the finished house was remarkable.
As we had requested, most of the tall, mature pine trees still dotted the front yard, framing well the appearance of the house. The house itself sat back a bit from the road and had a porch that stretched almost the full width of the front. We had paid to have the front yard and pool areas planted with sod and that new grass appeared to be taking well. Amber was excited about a long area along the sidewalk from the driveway to the front porch, having already decided on various shrubs and ornamentals she was looking forward to planting.
After stopping in the street to admire the house from there, we pulled off onto the driveway way. It led up to the right side of the house where a two-car garage sat, its door painted to match the other dark wood accents on the house. The exterior walls were painted slightly off-white, not too unlike the shirt I happened to be wearing.
When we pulled up, Hank's truck was already in the driveway and he got out to greet us. Shaking our hands, he looked back at the house and asked, "What do you think?"
Amber's eyes lit up and she said, "It's beautiful!"
With a smile, Hank lead us up to the front porch. The large overhang provided ample shade and the ceiling posts were stained dark brown to match the doors and shutters on the house. Motioning to the far side, Amber made sure to point out where she already wanted a bench swing to go. Then, when Hank opened the front door, I let Amber go first and then followed her in. Taking a deep breath, the new-house smell was worth every penny.
We stood in an entry foyer with a wall to our left and a dining room to the right. Amber and I had actually discussed using it as a sitting room and, seeing the view out the windows, I instantly decided that that would be our plan.
The foyer lead to a large open living room, beyond which the back wall was all floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the back porch and pool area. The flooring throughout the house was a walnut-shaded hardwood except for the bedrooms, which had ivory-colored carpeting. A hallway went off to the left, which lead to a half bath then a bedroom at the front of the house that we planned to use as an office. The hallway then headed back to a full bath and two additional bedrooms.
From the foyer we stepped into the living room, which had a vaulted ceiling and exposed, stained wood rafters. A hallway directly to the right lead to the laundry room and garage. Stepping just a little further into the room, the open kitchen could be seen to the right. Off the back of the kitchen was a breakfast nook with a bay window, which would serve as our main eating area. Finally, between the kitchen and the nook, a hallway headed back to the master suite.
Walking around the empty living room, Amber and I had already decided where different furniture would go. I foresaw where, on the blank wall, a large TV would soon be mounted. With a little imagination, I could also picture what the room would look like with all the lights off and the two of us tangled up together on the couch.
Turning to face the kitchen, I could see the counter wrapping around the back. We followed it around and admired the beautiful countertops and cabinetry. The empty cupboards would soon hold our dishes and I was excited to use the brand new stainless steel appliances.
From there we headed back into the master bedroom. It was huge compared to the tiny apartment that we were used to. From the bedroom, there was an exterior door that lead to a small, private patio behind the garage. Looking to the left, there was a large walk-in closet; and, beyond that was the master bathroom.
Stepping into the bathroom, Amber and I both looked at each other with the same thoughts in our minds. Large, light grey tiling covered the floor. There was a big, glass enclosed shower with grey slate walls and a built-in bench. We had splurged on the fixtures, having multiple shower heads installed and, based on the look on her face, we were both looking forward to trying it out. Finally, there was a long vanity with two sinks and a large mirror and finally, a door leading out to the pool area.
Returning to the living room, we exited through the large French doors out onto the patio. It was deep and well-shaded, with overhead fans to provide a breeze on even the hottest, muggiest summer day. The ceiling was made of stained wood that matched the columns and the rest of the trim on the house. And finally, to the right was something I was most excited about, the outdoor kitchen and wet bar.
