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“We could invite them out for dinner and tell them the news first? At least then we won’t have to worry about what the gossip mill embellishes on.”
He blinked, then groaned again. “I didn’t even think about that. They’re probably already going crazy as we speak, thanks to me carrying you out of your apartment.”
I couldn't help it, I pouted, and he noticed immediately. Raising a brow, he asked.
"Why the frown?"
Under my breath, I grumbled. "I wasn't even awake for it."
Some of his nerves relaxed and he laughed, eyes warm and soft again. “I could carry you again if you’d like? I’m fully capable.”
I wanted to say yes so badly, but was that really alright? It felt…childish to ask to be carried. He must have read my thoughts from my face because he got up with a grunt, his arm working under my waist and hefting me against his chest with little effort.
It was weird, being weightless, but as I relaxed against his chest, I couldn’t say the feeling was a bad one.
“This is nice,” I said, more than happy to melt against him. He didn’t seem to mind either as he walked to the living room and plopped onto the couch. Situating me in his lap, he snagged the remote and nodded.
“It is. While I’m still clear-headed and thinking with the right brain, I need to ask. Where are our boundaries?”
That was an excellent question, but unfortunately not one I had a ready answer to. Leaning against him, I bit my lip and considered it.
“I don’t know. My usual rules don’t apply to us thanks to how long we’ve known each other.”
He raised a brow. “What rules do you usually go by?”
I shrugged, “No sleeping together or anything similar on the first date is the main one, and we sailed right past that.”
It’d been good and I still tingled at the memory of it, but the point stood that this thing between us was going to need a completely new set of boundaries.
He frowned, his hand pausing against the center of my back as he asked. “Does it bother you that I didn’t bring you out for a date first?”
The question was genuine, and I took a minute to really think it over. With anyone else, that would be a resounding yes. I hated the idea of hookups, and dates were fun. I wanted to spend time with my partner outside the bedroom before venturing into it.
It had a dual purpose of getting to know them and showing me if they were only interested in one thing. Most guys hit the road when they realized I wasn’t an easy lay, and while it’d been disappointing, I’d been relieved not to get tangled with them.
William though…
I already knew he didn’t see me like that. I trusted him and without a doubt, he’d drown in guilt before he hurt me on purpose.
So, after a second to choose my words, I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I’d still like to go on dates, to be clear, but it doesn’t bother me that we skipped that step.”
He relaxed a bit, his head tipping curiously. “I was already planning on bringing you out, but now that we’re on the topic, what do you want to do?”
He set the remote aside, the television still off as it’d been since we’d walked into the room. His complete attention settled on me, and I considered it.
“I think I’ll like just about anything, though obviously we’ll need to go out of town for most of it.” One of the joys of living in a small place like this was how little there was to do.
If we didn’t drive to the next city over, our options would be a few restaurants and maybe an arcade.
Was the old arcade even in business anymore?
Shaking that aside, I watched him nod. “We will, but what kind of things do you like to do? The only thing I can think of right now is maybe bringing you to a café I found a few towns over. Something about it made me think of you when I walked in.”
Fluttery warmth flew through my chest. He’d apparently thought about me even before now, and I hummed. “I’d be fine with that. As for what I’d like to do…” I trailed off, digging through what little knowledge I had of the somewhat local towns around us.
In one of the bigger cities they had an ice skating rink–that could be fun if I didn’t break an ankle–and a movie theater.
“How do you feel about ice skating?” I asked, and he shrugged.
