Page 109 of Home Is Where You Are

I leaned into him, and sighed.

“Words can’t describe how happy I am in this moment,” I told him.

“I’m happy you’re happy. What all do you need to finish that you didn’t get done yesterday?”

He pulled back and I turned to face him, letting him know that I just needed help hanging some photos and changing some curtains. The water began to boil so I grabbed a box of pasta and poured in the contents, giving it a quick stir and set a timer so we didn’t forget.

We worked in relative silence as he helped me finish the few tasks I had. Since the house was fully furnished, I didn’t need to worry about much other than making this place feel like my own.

My stomach growled as the timer went off for the pasta.

Gentry walked into the kitchen and finished getting the pasta ready and dumped the jar of alfredo sauce into the pan. He let it warm a bit before he plated our food and brought it back to the living room for us to eat.

“Let’s get you fed before you wither away,” he joked as he handed me the bowl.

We sat on the couch where I devoured the meal.

“Slow down, the food’s not going anywhere,” Gentry said as he chewed.

“I’m just starving,” I confessed after I finished chewing my last bite.

“How’s it feel to finally be in your own place?”

“It feels like freedom. Like I’m finally taking the next step in the right direction of where I’m meant to be.”

We hadn’t discussed him moving in here, but we’d get there. We’d wasted enough time already. I didn’t want to waste a second more.

I took the final bite of my pasta, ready to make my next confession. I needed to tell him how I felt about him. I didn’t want to waste another moment or have him question my feelings for him.

“Thank you so much for helping me today.” I didn’t want to just throw the three words at him. I wanted the moment to be meaningful.

“I’ll do anything for you, beautiful,” he replied with a grin as he took his last bite of food.

“Gentry, I…” Just as I was about to tell him, his phone rang.

He pulled it out of his pocket, my dad’s name on the screen.

I couldn’t hear what my dad had to say, but I could tell we weren’t going to finish this conversation as Gentry’s posture straightened, and he got to his feet.

He ended the call and turned to face me.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t have to go because I needed to tell him how I felt.

“There’s an emergency in the kitchen,” he said as he turned toward me.

“Will you come back over later?”

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I’ll message you and see if you’re still awake,” he said as he kissed me on the lips.

He rushed out of the house, and I followed, leaning against the doorframe. I watched him leave, not moving until I saw his taillights disappear down the drive.

“I love you, cowboy,” I whispered into the open air, wishing I was saying the words to him.

After I finished cleaning up the mess from dinner, I plopped down on my bed completely exhausted.

I checked my phone for a message from Gentry, only one never came.

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