AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They’re huggers, too. Personal space means nothin’ when it comes to strangers.”
Awesome.
“I hope you’re okay with that. I know you mentioned you had sensory issues or somethin’ like that, that you’ve had to work through.”
I decide that if I’m going to spend the rest of my life with her, she needs to know. I grab her hand. “I didn’t think I’d ever have a reason to tell you this, and it’s not something I like to talk to about, but I guess if we have kids one day you need to know…” I smile at her. She frowns and stares expectantly at me. “It’s not a big deal, okay? But it does make me who I am.”
“Go on, honey,” she says, squeezing my hand assuredly.
“I was diagnosed with Asperger’s at a young age.”
“That’s, like, autism, right?” she asks.
I nod. “It is autism. I was very low on the scale, like near the bottom. High-functioning they call it. It hasn’t impacted my ability to learn or become successful, in fact, I believe it has actually helped me. I’m very much left-brained to where I understand and comprehend technical things and numbers very easily. What it has impacted is mostly social. I had to learn over and over to look people in the eye, it was very uncomfortable for me most of my childhood and even teen years. My dad would make me practice. He said if I didn’t, I’d seem untrustworthy. And that made sense to me. Even in the bedroom, that’s why I make you look at me. I wouldn’t call it practice, but it helps relax me. Sensory issues as well. My mom would have to cut out the tags in my shirts because they would be so distracting and uncomfortable, I couldn’t concentrate at school. If socks weren’t tight enough on my ankles and started to get loose, I would throw them away. I cried at my first clipper haircut. The noise and the feeling of it on my head was too much and I sort of melted down. Dad shaved Nate’s head every summer for simplicity, but I had to get regular haircuts, I couldn’t handle it. I haven’t had one since but I’m sure I’d do better with it now if I had to. The only friends I had as a child were Nate and Roman because I simply did not care to have them at school. I didn’t play sports or go to any social events. I had no desire to be fashionable or get along with other kids. I was happy being a loner.”
“Wow, that kinda makes me sad,” she drawls.
I chuckle without humor. “Try being my mom, she didn’t understand it at all. Took me to get tested for psychological disorders around age twelve since I wasn’t acting ‘normal.’ And knowing what I know about my dad, I suspect he has it too, just milder.” I look down at our linked hands. “Oh, and smells are a problem sometimes. I’ve had to stop myself from smelling everything.”
Her brow furrows. “Like what? What do you sniff?”
“Literally everything. New pair of shoes? Sniff them. New pen? Sniff it. New appliances, even Kitty. She doesn’t smell like anything, though.” I laugh. “I know in my head that it’s weird and not normal, but sometimes I can’t help it. I don’t do it in public—well, except food. I know that’s socially acceptable.”
“How many times have you sniffed me?” she asks, grinning.
“Every single time you’re around me. Why do you think I kiss your head so much?”
“I thought I heard you sniffin’ a few times, I thought you were just ‘inhaling my delicious scent’ like my smutty books say.”
“I was doing exactly that,” I say with a smile.
“So, if you were to have kids, they could have this too?”
I nod. “Yes, ifwehave kids, there’s a possibility, but at least we’ll know how to handle him or her.”
She nods and puts her hand on my cheek. “Thank you for sharin’ that with me. That’s pretty fascinatin’. I think I’ll do some reading up on it.”
“I have a few books in my library you can’t seem to ever leave,” I reply. “Sometimes I think you love that room more than me.”
“Why do you think I agreed to move with you? It wasn’t because of that playroom or that swimmin’ pool.”
I laugh at how cute she is.
“So, what’s there to do in Mobile, Alabama?” I ask.
“Leave it as quickly as possible and go to Gulf Shores to the beach, that’s what.”
***
After hearing her describe Gulf Shores, I canceled our reservation at a Hilton in Mobile (it was the nicest hotel they had) and booked us into a resort on the beach. I rented an Audi and drove us there to check in before we made the hour drive up to Mobile to meet her family later.
“Oh, my gosh. I’ve always wondered if this place was as nice as it looked from the outside,” Quinn comments, looking around at the spacious five-star resort. I’d secured us a beachfront suite.
After checking in, we get into our suite. She throws her bag on the bed and opens the sliding glass door before kicking off her shoes and sprinting onto the beach. Then, she falls down in the sand and lies on her back with her eyes closed.
I toe my loafers off, roll up my pantlegs, and slide my sunglasses on, walking through the warm, white sand to stand next to her. “Good God, it’s hot and humid.”
“Yep, suck it up, buttercup.”
