Plans for later

“Nice setup you got here,” Lucas remarked as Duke showed him the backyard.

They were standing on a wooden porch where Duke had installed a jacuzzi, a grill, and a big table. It overlooked a spacious pool that the Adams had yet to fill with water.

“Yeah,” Duke grinned. “After the flat, I kinda wanted a big place, you know?”

“Too true, bud,” Lucas nodded in agreement, remembering his own time in the cramped apartment the four of them used to share. “That brings me to the main reason of our visit, Bella and I are having a BBQ at our place later,” he told his friend. “You and Sarah should go, we can introduce you guys around.”

“That would be awesome, we’ll definitely be there,” Duke agreed as he glanced at the empty pool. “So, how are the people here?”

“Oh, you’ll love them,” Bella answered when Sarah had asked her the same question Duke had posed to her husband. “You’ll see.”

“If you say so,” the blue-eyed brunette commented, amazed at all the nice houses and freshly-mowed lawns she saw as they jogged.

“I mean, it has the cool ones and the annoying rotten apples, just like every other neighborhood,” the blonde explained, waving over to a woman who was watering some plants in front of a house. “But Luke and I love living here, can’t imagine going back to all that mess and noise downtown.”

Sarah smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Well, I just hope I can fit in here just as well as you did.”

Isabella’s eyes widened as a grin formed on her lips. “Oh, I just remembered, Luke and I will have a few people over for lunch later. You and Duke have to come, Sarah.”

Sarah felt the anticipation rising within her, eager to meet their new neighbors. “Sounds like fun, I’ll talk to him when we get back.”

Bella smiled. “Luke probably already invited him, if I had to guess.”

“What do you do here for fun?” Duke inquired as they got back inside the house. “All this…quietness…, must get a little old sometime, huh?”

Lucas laughed. “You know me, man, even though I love this place, I wouldn’t live here if there weren’t at least a few entertainment options,” he told his friend. “I’ll show you sometime, but we’ve got a bowling alley, a bar… and, oh, the guys and I usually get together a couple of nights per week to play poker or something else. Well, there’s the church too.”

“Nice,” Duke said and then shrugged. “If we need anything else, we can always head downtown, right?”

“True, buddy,” Lucas chuckled in agreement.

Later, Duke and Sarah had just finished getting ready to go visit Lucas and Isabella. Their friends told them to not wear formal outfits, so Duke was wearing just a blue polo t-shirt, jeans and shoes, while Sarah had a dark blue sundress covering a matching set of lingerie in the same color and a pair of white, low-heeled sandals.

“Ready?” he smiled as his wife finished strapping the sandals to her feet.

“You bet,” she replied animatedly. “Let’s go check the kind of people we’re dealing with.”

“Geez,” he laughed, “You make it seem like we’re going to war.”

Sarah gave him a small smile. “Sorry, I’m just kinda worried that those people will be, I don’t know, too snobbish for my tastes.”

Duke hugged her and pressed a comforting kiss to her lips. “Don’t worry, Sar, everyone will love you, plus, Bella and Luke will be there.”

Sarah returned the kiss with another brief one and grinned at him. “You’re right, I’m just hyperventilating. Let’s go?”