Page 84 of Wanna Bet?

A customer browsing nearby snorted. Traitor.

Myah continued. "Look at him."

"Please don't." Jace begged.

The customer glanced over. Then shrugged. "She's right."

Jace stared in horror as the customer smiled. "My wife says the same thing when I organize the garage."

Myah looked genuinely vindicated. Of course she did. She had this strange habit of putting him in awkward positions because she thought, in her words, ‘It’s the most adorable thing in the world when you get all flustered, J.’

"I win." Myah lifted her shoulder up and smiled like a proud child.

"I’m taking away your record store privileges," Jace grumbled, returning to the ever growing stack of inventory.

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They had routines now. Little habits. Things that happened so naturally neither of them remembered when they started.

Morning texts. Goodnight calls. Coffee dates before work. Movie nights. Shared playlists. Inside jokes. The comfortable rhythm of two lives weaving together. And maybe that was Jace's favorite part. It wasn’t in the big moments but the small, mundane ones. The ones nobody else saw. The way Myah automatically reached for his hand when crossing a street. The way she stole his hoodies. The way she climbed onto his couch and immediately took over all available blankets. The way she tucked herself against his side whenever they sat together. The way she looked for him first whenever something funny happened.

As if her instinct was always: Did Jace see that?

The thought alone made his chest ache, because nobody had ever looked for him before. Not like that. Not first. Not instinctively. Not consistently. Until Myah.

"You're thinking again." Myah said, pausing the movie that Jace was one hundred percent not watching.

They were sprawled across his couch as some movie about gorillas played in the background. Neither of them had paid attention for at least twenty minutes. Myah lay partially on top of him, one arm around his waist and one leg tangled with his. It was comfortable and warm.

Every time she cuddled like this he completely lost the ability to think.

"I'm always thinking," Jace said.

​"What are you thinking about?" Her fingers traced lazy circles against his shirt.

The answer came immediately in his head, You. Always you.

But saying things like that still made him nervous. Which was ridiculous because she loved him, he knew she loved him, but still, some habits were hard to break.

"Myah?"

"Hm?" She hummed, not lifting her head from his chest.

"Can I ask you something?"

She lifted her head, immediately attentive. "Anything."

Jace hesitated before just saying it, "Why me?" The question escaped before he could stop it.

Silence followed. She didn’t seem uncomfortable, just surprised.

Myah blinked. "What?"

"Why me?"

Her expression softened instantly. The teasing that always seemed to be on her face, disappeared. Replaced by something gentler and honest.

"Jace."