The Girl Next Door (Chris Evans Fanfiction)

Chapter 36

"Holy shit, what's this thing made of? Bricks?" Chris chuckled while trying to move a heavy dresser she had built in her garage over to the side so she still could park her car inside.

"What are all those muscles good for if you don't use them?" Erica put her hands on her hips and teased.

Chris let out a grunt when he finally got the furniture over to the side and brushed his hands off on his jeans before he turned around and smirked at Erica. He closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms loosely around her hips while looking into her warm eyes.

"Well, you seem to like them when I have my shirt off," Chris teased while nipping at her neck.

"You're ridiculous, I hope you know that," Erica laughed while he rubbed his beard along her soft skin before bringing his lips to massage against hers.

Erica reached her arms behind him and slipped her hands into his back pockets while he held her tightly and deepened their kiss. He smiled against her lips when he heard a soft sigh escape Erica and it only made him want to kiss her more but he pulled away when they heard a familiar voice.

"Alright break it up love birds," Dave announced his presence. "I don't need to see your tongue down my niece's throat and I have something for you two anyway."

"What is it?" Erica took a step back from Chris and smoothed out her Beastie Boys shirt.

Both of them laughed when Dave rolled his eyes and retorted, "Guess you'll just have to come inside and unwrap it. I put it in the living room."

They followed Dave into the house and Chris went to let the dogs in from the backyard before he came back to the living room and sat down next to Erica. He kissed her cheek while she was inspecting the big box Dave had put on the coffee table.

"So this is just a little wedding present I got for you guys and even though you're not getting married for a couple more weeks, I wanted to give it to you now so you could put it in the house since Erica's moving in next week," Dave explained.

Chris told Erica she could open it so she took the box off the top before pulling out the leather case. She instantly recognized it and tears formed in her eyes but Chris didn't know what it was yet. He reached out and opened the leather case to find a record player inside but he still didn't understand the significance.

"Uncle Dave... are you sure?" Erica over at her loving uncle through her teary eyes.

He just nodded with a soft smile, "I want you to have it. I want it be part of your and Chris' life the way it was part of ours."

She got up and hugged her uncle tightly before she came back over to sit by Chris and gently ran her fingers over the leather case before looking into his clear blue eyes, "This was my mom's record player and then after she died, Uncle Dave had it and we used to listen to it all the time."

Chris smiled at the joyful memory that she had and told her, "I'm looking forward to seeing you playing some of your favorite music to our kids one day."

"We'll have the best dance parties around it," Erica beamed, so excited for the life that laid ahead of her.

Dave watched the couple with a smile on his face and a few tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. He was sitting in the chair across from where Erica was snuggled up to Chris' hunky frame and she noticed the look on his face. She tilted her head, almost asking him what was wrong and he blinked a few times to gather his emotions.

"I just can't believe you guys are getting married," Dave mused before laughing, "I still remember the first day I had you after your mom died and I can remember you sitting at the table with your crazy curls and me looking through all my empty shelves trying to figure out what I was going to cook you for dinner."

Erica laughed softly while telling him, "I remember that too and I also remember having a lot of boxed macaroni and cereal that first year."

Dave just shook his head, laughing softly at how incredibly unprepared for being a parent he was. He thought about how different he had been back then and he knew Erica was thinking the same.

"We've both come a pretty long way, haven't we Uncle Dave?" Erica smile at him warmly while Dodger and Jacky both hopped up on the couch to snuggle with Chris and Erica.

"Yeah I'd say we have... and now that crazy joyful little girl is all grown up and getting married," He could hardly believe it but then turned his eyes to look at Chris. "And I couldn't be happier with her choice."