The Sunday afternoon football game in the park had become something of a ritual for the group of friends that Greg and Jill were part of. Greg had come into contact with them from the time he had first come to the city, rooming with Eric while he got his feet on the ground. They were a diverse bunch--Eric was a stockbroker, Mark was a computer systems analyst, Steve and Joe were brothers, the former a corporate lawyer, the latter an advertising account exec. The women were also as much a part of the group--Lisa, Eric's wife, worked for a restaurant consultant, which is how she come to meet Greg, who subsequently introduced her to Eric; Stacy was a graphic designer, who at times had dated both Joe and Mark; Sandy was Mark's girlfriend now, she worked at the NASDAQ stock exchange, and Dianne had come to know Joe because they belonged to the same gym. Dianne in turn had brought Jill in to the gang. They had seen others come and go, but the core group stayed pretty much the same. They had a shared love of fun and good times, and they stayed true to one another, in spite of whatever previous romantic entanglements existed, and there were a lot of them. The Sunday game was their one solid commitment, from which all their other activities were hatched.
On this particular day, Greg and Jill were on opposite sides. She had already wrestled him to the ground on a play, and now it was Greg's turn. He lined up in front of her and when the ball was snapped, Greg grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder and ran the opposite direction. Thirty yards later he set her down as she tried to stop laughing. "We have a penalty!" she screamed, jumping on his back for him to carry.
After they had gotten back to the apartment, Jill was in a playful mood. She got Greg wrestled to the floor, and she rolled him onto his back. She looked down at him with her piercing blue eyes. "What would you think if I said I didn't want to go home. Ever."
He smiled. "Are you asking me if you can move in, or are you telling me you're going to?"
"I guess since I have you flat on your back, I'm telling you I want to."
He made a sudden move and in an instant they were reversed. He gave her gentle kisses on her face, and she moved her head to meet his last kiss. When he pulled back, he wiped a smudge of dirt from her temple. "Well, first thing you'll have to do is get out of these sweaty clothes and clean up. Can't have you all dirty now." He got up and pulled her from the floor. As he watched her go into the bedroom, he went into the kitchen and got something to drink from the refrigerator. He heard her call his name. "Greg. Can you help me?"
He walked through into the bedroom and she stood there, without anything on. "I need you to help me scrub my back." She grabbed him by the shirt and led him to the bed. "In a bit."
Before he left for work, he dug around in the desk drawer, and found what he was after. He went into the bathroom and showed her the keys. "This one is for the street door, and the other one is the front door. I'll see you tonight." He gave her a kiss and was off. After he left, Jill wondered how she was going to tell Dianne.
They were sitting at the table at lunch when Jill spoke up. "Greg and I talked last night. I'm gonna move in."
"I wondered how long it was going to be." Dianne smiled. "Don't worry about it."
"Are you sure? I don't want to leave you in a bad spot."
"I'll manage. It's not a big deal. The question is, are you ready for it?"
"I think so. I'm the one who brought it up. It's kind of scary though."
"Well, you have to be willing to compromise. It's his place, he has his way of doing things, I'm sure."
"You don't think he's gonna expect me to be his maid, do you?"
Dianne laughed. "I doubt it. Greg seems fairly self-sufficient. He probably will have to adapt more than you. Just don't go re-arranging the furniture, and everything will be fine."
Greg knew that this was going to be a different day than any other one he had experienced. He was going to have someone waiting for him when he got home, and the prospect made him think about what that meant. He wasn't as free as he had been the day before, but he knew that he needed Jill. She gave him a stability that he hadn't had before, and he hoped that he could give her everything she wanted. He already had thought about how much stuff was she gonna have, and where was he gonna put it? Not to mention the fact what were his parents gonna think? Or hers? He decided in the end to not worry about it for the moment. These were things that could be handled, they weren't obstacles.
On his way home, he made a stop and bought her some flowers. He thought about getting the car and taking her for a drive, but decided to wait to see what she thought. He got in the door and she sat up on the couch, then jumped up and ran over to him. "Hi sweetheart." He held out the flowers, and she beamed. "You are too sweet!" She kissed him, and they held each other close. Looking at the flowers in her hand over his shoulder, she thought that he was the most wonderful man she had ever known. He stroked her long hair. "Let's go out for dinner. We can take a ride afterwards."
Jill felt like the queen of the dance. "Sure. That sounds wonderful."
"I'll go get the car, if you want to get ready."
"Brush my hair and check my makeup and I'm ready. I'll wait for you at the door."
He kissed her. "I'll see you in a couple of minutes."
They went shopping the next Saturday, and Greg had her pick out a dresser for herself. After arranging delivery, they walked down Broadway, until Jill dragged him by the hand into a game arcade. "I want to see if they have something." She looked around until she spotted what she was after: a two-player motorcycle simulation game along the back wall. She asked Greg to get some change so they could play. When he returned, they both took their places and deposited the money. Greg was no match for Jill on the first go, so he immediately called for two out of three. Jill was enjoying her secret passion, even though it was only a simulation. Greg came through to win the second race, so they had to play one more time, which Jill won, and it gave her great joy. She punched his shoulder playfully. "Woohoo!" Greg smiled at her, and then climbed off, waiting until she had dismounted. "OK, the winner can buy lunch then."
She laughed. "The least I can do."
When they got home, Jill made little pretense about what she wanted to do. Competition always had gotten her excited and very aggressive, and she didn't say a word from the time they walked in the door until they lay arm in arm some time later. She ran her hand lightly across his chest. "Greg, I love you."
He squeezed her tight. "I love you too. I hope you know I'd do anything for you."
"I know. That's why I love you. No one has ever meant more to me than you do." She kissed him and laid her head on his chest and drifted off to sleep.