“Whatever. I’m never home.” But then he shrugs. “I dunno. Maybe I’m not ready to pull the trigger. It almost feels like a jinx. Like—if I sign an expensive lease, I’ll get sent back to Loveland.”
“You won’t,” I say, and it’s not just loyalty talking. Beck’s future with the Cougars is bright.
“But Rigsy doesn’t care that I’m month to month. He told me to take my time.”
“Careful!” Jean yells from the next room. “Units are going fast!”
We both ignore her. I step into Beck’s personal space and wrap my arms around him. “What does your gut say?”
He rests his head on my shoulder. “My gut wants lunch. And my gut says this place isn’t the one. Even if the commute is pretty great.”
“Fifteen minutes to the practice facility?”
He hugs me a little tighter. “And nineteen minutes to you and Charlie.”
My heart skips a beat. The last six months have been the best of my life. I’d forgotten what companionship feels like, but that’s what we have together. Even when our schedules don’t align, we’re still there for each other in all the ways that count.
Which is why I take a deep breath. “I have another idea.”
“Hmm?” He releases me. “About apartments? Or lunch?”
“Neither. What if you moved to Erie?”
Beck’s blue eyes widen. “Wait. What are you suggesting?”
“Move in with me.” I lean in and kiss him on the jaw.
He freezes. “Really? You mean that?”
“Do I say things I don’t mean? This is not a drill. You’d have a better commute, free rent. We could try it out.”
He steps back and stares at me, and the look I see on his face isn’t the one I was hoping for. “Forest, I don’t think it can work like that.”
My heart drops. “Why not?”
“You want to try it.” His blue eyes look sad. “But I’m like a dog at the pound who wants a forever home. I can’t be casual about moving in with you. I can’t just try it out.”
Oh, shit. I’ve really fucked up now. “Honey, no.” I caress his jaw. “You’re not the experiment. I already know I love you. When I said try it out, I meant the house. The commute. Not the relationship.”
“Oh,” he says, and looks away.
“…Because you’re a keeper, and I’d like to keep you close to me. I wouldn’t ask you to move in if I thought it wouldn’t work between us.”
He takes a deep breath. “In that case, I accept. I like your house. I love you. And you’re shaving a lot of drive time off my week.”
I step closer and pull him against my chest. “The booty calls will be a lot more frequent.”
He kisses me on the jaw. “Do you want to sleep on this idea? Maybe you need to think it through. It’s a big change.”
“For you?”
His gaze snaps back to mine. “Well, no. Easy as rolling off a log. But all I’d have to do is pack up my snow-globe collection and take down my posters. I don’t have a mortgage or a kid to take care of.”
I put a hand on the center of his chest. “This isn’t the first time I had this thought. I promise you that I’ve already had a chance to overthink it.”
He grins. “Aw, you sexy beast.”
“So I don’t need to sleep on it. All I need to sleep on is you.” Then I grab the front of his jacket and kiss him. I make it a good one.
