“Yeah, it could be. But I’m not sure I want to make that big of a commitment. I love traveling and what I do, but living in a house temporarily is reminding me how nice it can be to have a bigger space to come home to. Cooking on a stove instead of a hot plate or in an oven instead of a microwave is so nice.”
“Yeah, I love the idealized aesthetics of van life, but I doubt I could live like that for longer than a couple weeks. I need my weekly baths and couch rot time to relax.”
“I miss baths the most. Drew actually let me use his last week after I spent half the day digging a guy out of the snow for a rescue.”
“He didn’t put one in the rental?”
“The upstairs bathroom isn’t finished with renovations yet, so he let me use Izzy’s bath. It was actually so cute, she offered me her mermaids to play with.” I smile thinking back on it.
“I love that kid so much.”
“I know. She makes it impossible not to.”
My phone lights up with a notification.
Drew: Izzy is requesting your presence at dinner tonight
Drew: Should I break her heart or make her day?
Me: Who am I to deny her?
Drew: Exactly
Drew: Where are you?
Me: Out with Ava for a drink
Drew: Tell her hello for me and then hurry home
Home.
That’s actually what it feels like. Every time I pull into the driveway, the comfort of his house sinks into me. My van used to make me feel like that, but with each passing day, it becomes harder to think about going back to that lifestyle.
“Speaking of Izzy,” I say, as I close the text thread. “She apparently wants me to join them for dinner. Do you mind if I head out after this round?”
“Not at all.”
We talk some more as we drain our glasses. When it’s time to leave, she makes me promise to have Drew take me on a legitimate date for winning him in the auction. I agree to appease her, not having any intentions to do so. I was completely serious when I told him letting me stay for free was more than enough.
Smoke billows from the chimney into the cloudy, dark night as I pull into the driveway. I can see light filtering through the curtains from the living room. Maya jumps out of the Jeep when I open the back door and runs out into the snow-covered yard to do her business.
The curtain moves, and I catch Izzy peaking outside. I give her a little wave, and a big smile crosses her face. Maya finishesup, and we walk up the front steps. Drew’s front door flies open, and Izzy races to me, wrapping her arms around my hips in a tight squeeze.
“Hi, Willa,” she says, breathless with excitement.
“Hello.” I bend down and scoop her up into my arms. “How was your trip?”
Drew’s eyes meet mine, warm with affection as I walk into his house.
“It was so good. I went to the beach and rode roller coasters. My grandma gave me a mommy book, do you want to see it?” She wiggles out of my arms and races upstairs before I can answer.
Drew pulls me to him by my coat and presses his lips to mine in a fast, dirty kiss. We don’t pull away from each other until we hear her loud footsteps racing back toward us. Good to know we’re still doing this. I really wasn’t sure if it was just a short-term thing or if he wanted to keep it going.
We talked about so many things in between all the sex but never touched on what we’re doing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t need huge declarations of intentions or anything, and I’m definitely not one to push a define-the-relationship chat, but there’s someone else just as important to consider. I don’t know how to act with Izzy around. Are we just friends? Is it an act for her, or was the weekend just scratching an itch for both of us?
The latter doesn’t sit well with me, if I’m being completely honest. I sit in wonder as that revelation washes over me. This is a new experience for me. I’m pretty good at keeping things casual, but something tugs at me when I think about it.
There’s not enough time to explore those feelings before Izzy is pulling me over to the couch.
