He shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I don’t expect you to wait for me or anything.”
“I haven’t even looked at another guy since I moved in here.” I blurt out the words before fully thinking them through.
And I don’t even realize the truth of the statement until I say it out loud. It’s been five months, and I can’t remember the last time I went that long without so much as a flirtation over a drink. But no one has piqued even a hint of my interest since I met Jack, even when I still thought of him solely as my nerdy, sweet roommate.
“So does that mean you think you could give me a little more time?” There’s such hope in his voice, my already melty insides turn completely liquid.
I can’t do anything other than nod and agree. Because he means too much for me to do anything else, and I want him to have that time, to feel ready for whatever the next step might be. I hold open my arms and he steps into my embrace. And we’ve hugged before, mostly awkwardly, but this is something different. His arms wrap around me, his strong hands flat on my back, pulling me close. I bury my face in the crook of his neck, letting my fingers tangle in the curls at the nape. I breathe in every inch of him, holding on for as long as I can.
When he finally separates himself from me, I give him a cheeky smile. “We’re doing it on this counter one day.”
His cheeks flame a bright red, his pupils exploding, darkening his eyes. “Jesus, Sadie.” Finally, he bursts out laughing. “I’m holding you to that.”
GEMMA:Um, excuse me, Miss Sadie. WTF am I seeing on your IG right now?
HARLEY:What’s on her Insta?
HARLEY:Wait, why am I asking that when I can open it up and check for myself?
NICK:Oh shit. Where is that?
GEMMA:WHY ARE YOU IGNORING US RIGHT NOW.
GEMMA:Sadie.
GEMMA:Sadie.
GEMMA:Sadie, I have literally 20 minutes between classes to pee, shove food in my face, and regroup and I’m using those 20 minutes to text you, so you better fucking answer!
ME:Jesus. I was on the phone with a customer. Good lord.
ME:Hi, all! What’s everyone up to?
GEMMA:I’m going to kill you.
HARLEY:My caseload is full, so you might want to rethink murder at this point.
NICK:Good god, Sadie. Tell her so my phone stops blowing up please.
ME:It’s not really a big thing, it’s just the top level of the brownstone.
GEMMA:The top level of the brownstone has coolers, a sink, and an island perfect for flower arranging? Convenient.
ME:Jack provided some of those things. Obvs. I think he was sick of me taking over the kitchen every day.
HARLEY:I’m sure that’s it
NICK:Yeah, that shit looks expensive. He wants to bang.
GEMMA:He wants to do more than bang.
NICK:True. He’s probably in love with you.
HARLEY:Probably?
NICK:I mean, I wanna say definitely, but I also don’t want to jinx it.
ME:He’s not in love with me. I straight-up propositioned him and he still hasn’t touched me.
