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We kissed for so long that we didn’t break apart until Chuck knocked on the door and walked back in to find us slightly disheveled.
Both of us got to our feet, a little embarrassed.
“So, thanks for the offer, Chuck, it seriously means a lot. But I think I’m going to make other arrangements for right now.” Esme took my hand and squeezed it and I felt so happy that I wouldn’t have been surprised if I was actually glowing.
Chuck didn’t seem upset, and we traded banter back and forth as he locked up the unit again and led us out to the front.
“Holy shit, we’re moving in together,” I said, when we got into Esme’s truck.
“Yeah. We are. What’s your mom going to say?” she asked.
“Oh, she’s definitely going to need to meet you officially now. I’m sorry in advance.” I’d definitely have to have a talk with her about not hitting up my girlfriend to join her downline in her “business.” I’d been down that road before and it wasn’t pretty.
“Dad wants you to come over for dinner next week, by the way. I’ll tell him about moving in together before then, though. I’m not sure how he’s going to take it, but he knows who you are. He likes you. Says you’re always nice to him when you’re at the store.” It was so strange, that I’d had hundreds of interactions with her father, but now everything was different because I was dating his daughter.
“Okay. I think I can handle that,” I said. Esme grabbed my hand.
“We’ll deal with our parents together, Paige. We’ve got this.”
* * *
I wentto meet Gray with Linley, and invited Esme along because I figured why not just double? He was just as sweet as I remembered, and he was absolutely head over heels for Linley. I could appreciate his good taste.
Esme kept us all entertained with her bartender stories, and she and Gray got in a deep conversation about art that was way over my head.
It was a lovely evening, and Esme came back to stay at my place with Stormy. She and Potato were the bestest of friends now, so having Esme move in just made sense. It was only fair to our pets.
“You’ll have to tell me what you absolutely hate,” I said as we crashed on the couch that night.
“I don’t hate anything in here,” Esme said. “I like your stuff. Maybe we can just put some of it away.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“So, you don’t like all of my stuff,” I said.
Esme shook her head. “No, no, I like your stuff. There’s just a lot of it. Everywhere.”
I glared and then started laughing when I couldn’t keep up the facade.
“Esme, it’s fine. I know I have a lot of shit, and I know I need to organize things better. There’s plenty of room in the basement for stuff. I want you to feel like this place is yours too. Not that you’re just visiting, or a guest. This is going to be your place,” I said.
We’d already agreed that Esme and I would split expenses, which was great for me, since I’d be able to pay a little more each month toward my student loan debt. Asking Esme to move in with me was the most fiscally responsible thing I’d ever done.
* * *
“You asked her to what?”my mom screeched as we sat at the table eating dinner. I’d gotten her another lasagna in hopes of softening the news.
“She’s moving in with me. Next week. And her dog,” I said. We’d already ordered some fencing to enclose part of the yard for Stormy.
Mom sat there and stared at me, open-mouthed.
“Paige, you’ve always been impulsive when it came to love, but this is a whole other level. Are you sure about this?” I poked my fork into my piece of lasagna.
“Yes, I’m sure. I can’t explain how I know it’s right, but it’s right,” I said.
Mom let out a tense breath. “You thought it was right all those other times, too,” she said gently. Okay, that was fair, but I couldn’t make her understand that this was different. Esme was different. Now that I had distance from my relationship with Wyatt, I saw all the cracks that had been there the whole time. I saw the problems that I’d ignored. I saw how incompatible we were. Hindsight hurt like a bitch.
“I love her,” I said, and I hadn’t even known I was going to say it before the words came out of my mouth. They rang through my bones with truth. I loved Esme. Really, and truly.
