Erica knew that Adam would be working a lot over the summer so she found a job with hours that overlapped with his. Partly so she would have something to do when he was busy and partly so she could start saving up for her own apartment.
When her parents found out she was planning on moving out, they offered to pay the security deposit so that helped. At this rate, she would be able to move out before the new semester started.
Even with working at an ice cream shop, she still had plenty of fun that summer. She spent a lot of time hanging out with Adam and his siblings and always enjoyed her time with them because they were funny and she loved seeing him having fun.
One day when they were out for lunch on their own, he told her that he would be out of town for a few days on his family's annual camping trip and she remarked that she had never been camping. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"Never?!"
"Nah. My family isn't into that sort of thing. I've always been curious about it though."
"Do you want to come? If you think you could get work off, that is."
Erica would love to come! Especially because he specifically invited her after finding out she was interested in that sort of thing.
"Yeah! I'll talk to my boss."
She would only need one day off since the rest of the days Adam would be gone were on her natural days off during the week. She was able to get it without too much trouble and found herself sitting in the Mitchells' huge van listening to a very enthusiastic sing-along of road trip songs she had never heard before that everyone participated in at one point or another.
Erica already knew that this family was very high energy. But that point was truly driven home on the camping trip.
They were constantly going. Kayaking. Hiking. Making smores. More sing-alongs at the campfire. Playing games. Climbing trees (in the younger ones' case). She couldn't remember the last time she had been so tired…or laughed so much.
She had never done half of the things they had on the itinerary and Adam very patiently showed her how to do things like paddle the kayak she shared with him. He did most of the work but she still figured out how to be more help than hindrance by the end of their time on the lake.
Erica made sandcastles with the twins (which she did know how to do from many years of going to the beach), refereed a race between Adam, Colton, and Evan, and learned how to make breakfast over a campfire from Sarah.
She had felt like a part of this family for a while now with how much time she spent with them but never more than on this trip. She didn't just love Adam. She loved his family too.
By the time their first anniversary rolled around, she was absolutely convinced that she wanted to spend her life with him. She couldn't imagine being with anyone else. She wanted to fall asleep in his arms every night and wake up next to him every morning.
Right now, she was managing a few times a week at best since she had moved into her own place. He still lived with his family but stayed over whenever he ended up hanging out at her place late. Some of his things stayed there permanently for when that happened but she wished he would be with her all the time.
Erica knew that was selfish though. She knew his plans by this point. He was going to stay at home until graduation when he could get a good job and be able to pay both his own bills and half of theirs.
She truly hadn't intended to say anything. She thought he was asleep when she caressed his face and whispered her wish out loud.
The following night after he got off work, she was just about in bed when he showed up with a couple of suitcases. She blinked at him, not comprehending what he was doing.
"Adam? What are you—"
"If you wanted me to move in, you should have said something sooner."
"But your family needs you. I didn't want to make you feel bad," she said stupidly.
He reached out to touch her cheek with a soft smile. "You need me too. It's not a problem now that I have a cellphone. If they need me, I'm only a call away."
Tears filled Erica's eyes and she threw her arms around him. She had known from the beginning that they were his biggest priority so being put first like this…didn't it mean that he thought of her as family too?
He still spent a lot of time over at his mom's house—her apartment was more a place to sleep than anything—but she didn't care about that. How could she? She wouldn't have fallen in love with him if he wasn't the kind of person who loved so deeply.
Erica was just happy that he was accounting for her in his future plans. He had changed them because of her. How could she not be touched by that?
She had to think a lot more about the future as she got closer to her last year of college. The one where she would be doing her student teaching. She looked forward to it but was nervous at the same time.
What if she wasn't any good? What if she had wasted her degree? What if she couldn't handle being a teacher after all?
Whenever she voiced concerns like this, Adam would reassure her. "Erica, if you can handle the twins, you can handle any problem children."
Erica snorted. Such a harsh way to talk about the siblings she knew he loved more than anything but he had a point. Those two were a handful. Sometimes she wondered how Sarah handled them.
She had to be some sort of superwoman. She managed to raise six very energetic kids and had the power to quell them with a single look. Erica had seen it in action.
"You know, that actually does make me feel a bit better."
"Good. You're going to be fine," Adam promised before kissing her. "You'll be the best teacher Gainesville has ever seen."
Erica didn't know about that but appreciated his confidence in her all the same. If he believed in her, she had to believe in herself too.
She did manage to get her student teaching set up for her very last semester without any issues. She would be assisting teaching a fourth-grade class at Glen Springs Elementary. She had plenty of experience with kids around that age at this point because of the Mitchells.
And like Adam said, no one was worse than the twins. She actually felt sorry for whoever their teachers were every year because Sarah always specifically requested that they be in the same class, knowing they wouldn't be able to handle being apart. Those two were never very far from each other.
Being (partially) in charge of an actual classroom was a lot different than Erica was used to but she was adjusting. She was sure she would be able to handle one of her own come fall. Provided she was even able to get a job in time. She needed to get started on her applications as soon as she had her teaching credentials.
Adam, who had done a paid internship last summer instead of finding a second job the way he normally did, already had a job lined up with that company. They had been impressed by his work ethic. And why wouldn't they be? She had never met such a hard worker.
When he heard the news, she wasn't sure she had ever seen him so excited. He got the call when they were at one of Jenna's softball games and let out a whoop of joy so loud that everyone stared at him because nobody had done anything cheer-worthy on the field. He was too happy to care and insisted on treating everyone to Hardy's after the game with a huge grin on his face.
Erica was glad things worked out so well for him. If anyone deserved it, he did. But as graduation approached, she couldn't help but wonder what was next for them.
They had been dating for two and a half years and lived together. Was he ever going to propose or did he have some stupid thought in his head about how he couldn't do it until he could afford some expensive ring?
She didn't care about things like that. She just wanted to know that she would be with him forever.
She knew that Adam had his pride. He had thought that she was too good for him and that he couldn't give her what she deserved, which was ridiculous. What she wanted was a life with the one she loved. She didn't expect things to be perfect when they were just starting out as real adults. His standards for himself were way too high!
Erica didn't mind struggling for a while as long as they were able to do it together. She couldn't rely on her parents forever. They had very generously helped her through college but now it was time for her to be responsible for her own life.
Their own life. The one she wanted to properly build with Adam more than anything. Would he even let her or would she be stuck waiting until he reached whatever benchmark he had set for himself?