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I peer through my eyelashes to look at her. “What?”
“If I move in, what are you going to tell the guys?”
“My parents can help find them a place, or two of them can share a room if they want to stay and then the baby can have a room. We'll figure something out.”
She nods as I turn to lay on my back. Audra moves closer to lay her head on my shoulder. I trail my fingers from her shoulder down her back, my only available path with my arm bent at the elbow. The place is quiet, and I can't help but smile at the thought that it won't last much longer before the silence is replaced by the cries of baby girl.
THE FIRST THING that happens when I wake up is a recollection of last night. Ugh. God, I'm a bastard. I can feel Audra's ass against my hip and her back against my side. I'm still on my back, and she's facing away from me on her side, but she's still pressed against me.
“Babe?” I rasp, realizing my throat is dry as fuck.
“Hmm?”
“I'm sorry.” Last night's apologies don't count because I was drunk.
Audra rolls over. “You've said that a lot. You can fix me breakfast, if you still feel really bad about it.” She smiles, gives me a kiss on the cheek, and then leaves for the bathroom.
“I would have done that anyway,” I call after her. I get up and go to the kitchen to start cooking. Then I realize what she said before we went to sleep. The legs of the chair scrapes against the floor and a glance over my shoulder shows me her presence. “You're moving in?” No need to beat around the bush.
Before she can answer, there's a knock on her door. Who the hell is here? Audra gets up and returns with her parents. I've never met her dad, and I'm so thankful that it's winter because that means I'm wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt for a change.
“Neil, if I had known you were here and making breakfast, I wouldn't have brought any for Audra.” Her mother sets a bag of food on the table and then turns to her husband.
“It's okay. I'm sure she'll eat everything still.” I chuckle and manage to make both her parents laugh too. I turn off the burner and face her father
, holding out my hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“You too. It works out that you're here,” he says, taking a seat.
Audra comes and fixes her a plate. I stay standing near the stove because she only has three chairs at her table. Once they are all seated, Mr. Garcia angles himself towards me.
“Audra said she didn't want to travel for Christmas this year, especially since she saw everyone at Thanksgiving. We would like to have dinner with you and your parents.”
“Um, yeah, I could arrange that. They haven't met Audra yet, and I'm sure they want to.” Her parents exchange a look. I don't know what it means though. Truth is, I haven't talked to my parents much since I told them. Mom texts me, wanting updates on how Audra is doing, but that's about it. Maybe I need to work on my relationship with them before they meet her parents.
“Since y'all are here,” Audra starts, “might as well let you know that I'm going to move in with Neil. Oh!” She wipes her mouth with a napkin and looks at her mother. “What do you think about Liana, Ma? For the baby's name?”
“It's pretty. Where did it come from?” She smiles.
“Neil met someone with that name.”
“What's wrong with this place?” her father asks, being the first to comment on her moving in with me. I can't tell for sure, but I don't think he really likes me.
Audra shrugs. “We talked about it and decided that was best for us. He's over here most of the time anyway.”
“You'll sleep better in my bed too, babe,” I say without much thought as to how it may sound. All eyes land on me and I add, “Your mattress sucks and mine doesn't. Hopefully, you can sleep more soundly than what you have been.” She nods. “Um, is there any particular time you would like to have this dinner? So I could let my parents know?”
“Whenever is good for them,” Mrs. Garcia answers.
THAT SOFT CLICKING never fails to make me smile. I'm sitting in the library, studying, and Lucy has apparently arrived. Now, I'm waiting for that whine of disappointment when she realizes I've noticed her.
“Grant,” she sighs. “You ruined it.”
I lift my head to look at her walking towards me. “That's not a nice thing to say. I can't help that I have good hearing.”
She sits down next to me and shrugs. “I guess.” Her fingers fiddle with the camera hanging from her neck before she says, “I have a question.”
“What's that?” I ask, closing my textbook to give her my full attention.
