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“I think that’s a long shot, don’t you?”
She shrugged. “Guess it depends on how good their memories are.”
“Or maybe I could ask them to sign a waiver for participating in my thesis research, and when they don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll just say, ‘oh. Totally thought you knew.’”
“Um. No.” She turned and looked at me, spatula in hand. “Baron, I know you don’t want them to be upset with you, but you have to be up front about this. Just tell them the truth.”
Fuck.“What if I wrote something in the app, something only they would know?”
“Really think you’re overcomplicating this whole thing...”
“Something like, ‘it started with a housing mistake. It developed into… attraction. And now it’s…”
“Now it’s what? Don’t stop now.”
I let my lips curl up into a smile. “I think I’ll make you wait for it.”
“You jackass,” she replied without heat, and motioned for a plate. “Let’s eat.”
We sat on the mattress to eat, and all the while I cataloged every part of the small house I could recall. It would be perfect as a foundation for something bigger, something more suited to more people. Say, four or five. I’d get Galen here to take a look at it and do some planning, as his major was in architecture and he’d know the right way to do things.
Jude’s foot, toes tipped in pink nail polish that matched the ends of her hair, nudged my thigh. “It’s okay, you know,” she told me.
“Hmm?”
“My house.” She waved a slice of bacon around. “It doesn’t have to be perfect. I’ll get it habitable by the time Eleanor and I move in for good.”
“Eleanor and you, huh?”
“Yes?” She arched a delicate brow, darker than her hair but still pale.
“What about me, and Ez, and Gale?”
She choked, grits spewing from between her lips. Lips twisting with humor, I pounded her back gently. “All of us?”
Leaning forward, I kissed her. “What’d you think was going to happen, Pinky?”
She pulled away and stood to pace the confines of the bedroom. “I… I hadn’t thought that far, obviously. But we can’t do that, Baron. As amazing as it would be, I have to make sure I don’t do anything that might risk Eleanor, and—”
“I have a plan for that, don’t worry.”
“What?” She stopped and stared, her hand stalling in the process of tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
“We will make certain that our relationships with you are discreet. But I’ve never told you about my family.” I took another bite of the grits. “They’re a bit like your family was, I suppose. Just legit. I don’t ask for a lot, so when I ask them to make certain that you gain custody of Eleanor, they’ll make sure it happens.”
She continued to gape, her mouth slack. Then she took a deep breath and released it slowly, lowering her hand. “Are you fucking with me?”
I made a face. “I wouldn’t do that, Jude. Not over something like this. I’ve already put a call in to set things in motion.”
“Oh, my God! Baron! There’s so much to do! We can’t have a home visit right now… and I need to graduate, and get a job… and…”
“Relax. None of that will happen until we’re ready, and when it does it will very likely just be a formality. But I would like to take some measurements while we’re here, maybe some photos. I want something to take back to Gale so he can start thinking about what we can do with the place.”
“We.” The smile she sent my way was soft, happy. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me, too.” I pointed my fork at her plate. “Now get your ass over here and eat something.”
She complied, and we finished our breakfast in a hurry, excited to start moving forward.
