Chapter Forty-Six

"Alice, what are you talking about?" Keanu asked.

"I'm sorry, Keanu," she said. "I'm sorry that Leonard is going to move out because of me."

"Are you for real?" Leonard said.

"Alice, that also means you're moving out," Mike said. "You can't be serious."

"I said I wasn't going to back down," Alice said.

"The both of you are going to cut us off?" Mike said.

"We aren't the ones doing that," Keanu said. "Leonard can stay here. Alice, will you move out with me?"

"Of course," Alice said.

"You're putting family before your relationship!" Mike said.

"If you haven't realised already, I already consider Alice to be family."

"So this is how you want things to be," Mike said.

"Well," Keanu said. "You gave us an ultimatum. This is our response."

"Motherfucker," Leonard said.

"If that's what you've decided," Mike said. "Then so be it. Move out by the end of the month."

They went looking for a new place almost immediately. There were a lot of promising homes online and they discussed what they envisioned for themselves. Alice wanted a home by the seaside, but Keanu was hoping to have one near the school. They talked for a while, and Alice decided to go with what Keanu wanted.

They dropped by many places to check the homes out, and they found one which was cosy on the outside, but roomy on the inside. The moment they set foot in the home, they knew they wanted to have it. They went through the rooms in the home, deciding which each rooms were for. They settled on rooms like a man cave, a shared bedroom and a library, among others.

The day they purchased the home, Alice jumped in joy. The home was still in renovation, but she was so happy she bought a sleeping bag over to spend one night there with Keanu. He prepared a portable stove even though they had a kitchen so they could pretend like they were camping. To say that the night was one of the best moments of her life would be an understatement.

Over the last few days of the month, they both slowly moved into the new place. Alice did most of the unpacking since Keanu was rather disorganised as a person when it came to his belongings. He was out fetching some dinner for them while she was at their place unpacking and since she had been doing so the entire day, she decided to rest a little and get a bath.

Undressing herself, she filled the bathtub with water and got in. She laid down on the ceramic and slowly, the tub filled with hot water. She added a bath bomb and the water turned into a sparkly pink. Putting on some music, she heard the front door unlocking.

Within moments, she heard Keanu calling her name. She called out to him to let him know where she was and he opened the bathroom door, coming in with a loving smile at her. He sat on the edge of the bathtub.

"Tired?" Keanu said.

"Sorta."

"Let me handle the rest of it today, alright?"

"Okay," she said, then turned her eyes downcast.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he said, lifting her chin up.

"Will we forever be estranged from our families? I miss them so much."

"We could always choose to put them first and do what they want," Keanu said. "But we'd be giving our souls up."

"Yeah."

"I'd burn the world for you, baby girl."

She smiled. "I know."

"You know what," he said, getting off the edge. "My girl is sad, so I need to fix this." Then he shrugged out of his jacket. Still fully clothed, he stepped into the bathtub and the bathwater drenched him.

"Keanu!" she yelled, laughing.

He lowered himself to her, covering his mouth with hers. He licked her bottom lip, trapping it between his lips. Kissing her deeply, he pushed his tongue into her mouth. Parting momentarily, he pulled his shirt over his head before he kissed her again.

Reaching down into the water, he found her thighs and grazed the back of his hand on the inside of one. Dragging it up, his finger found her core and he dug his fingertip into her clit, nudging it slowly. She let out a moan as he continued kissing her, and he flicked her bud.

"You perfect every moment, Keanu," she said, sighing.

"Oh, we haven't even gotten to the best part yet, baby girl," he said, slipping his finger into her. She gasped in surprise, and then erupted into laughter.

That was the first day they were fully moved in. And that night, they did not catch a single wink of sleep. It wasn't long before the next year came and though they tried hard to reconnect with their families, they refused to bend their wills. Likewise, Keanu and Alice chose to stand strong.

It was a Tuesday when Alice was home alone. Keanu was outside getting some sanitary pads for her since it was her period and she didn't want to go out. She was busy writing him a letter as usual when three loud knocks sounded on her door. She walked over to it and stared into the peephole.

It was Leonard, with the most displeased expression she ever saw on him.

"Alice, I know you're alone in there! Open up! Let's have some fun!"