I can’t tell what he’s thinking, but he’s not said no, so that’s promising, right? “Well, I thought it might give you one less thing to worry about. I have the room, and obviously Frank wouldn’t be a problem.” I gesture to Kyla and Jen who’re both flaked out in Jen’s bed. “And it’s not like we don’t know each other. You could stay here while you get used to your new job and take your time looking for somewhere new.”
There.
I’ve made the offer, now it’s up to him.
I lean against the worktop again, arms folded, and wait for him to digest it all.
“Do we know each other?” he asks eventually, and it’s quiet enough that I take a moment to make sure I heard him right.
And yeah, his question stings a little, but I understand where he’s coming from. We’ve been messaging for months, but it’s not the same as seeing each other in person. I get that. But...
I take the seat opposite him.
“I think we do, yeah.” I take a drink of my coffee and replay the conversations we’ve had over the last few months. “I know you love your job, love working from home, but also wish it could be like it used to be before lockdown happened.” He tilts his head to the side, listening. “I know you got Frank because your home felt too empty after Karl left. And that you’d have had every cat in the shelter if you had the room.”
He laughs at that. “True.”
“I know you miss being close to your parents but have absolutely no desire to move back to your hometown. And—” I take a breath before meeting his eyes again. “—I know you desperately want this new job because the idea of seeing Karl every week fills you with dread. But you also hate change and taking it would mean changing almost everything.”
“It would,” he whispers.
He taps his fingers on the table, and I reach out to grasp them.
“I want to make things a little less stressful for you if I can.” I run my thumb back and forth over his knuckles.
“Why?” He looks genuinely puzzled, and I’m not sure whether to be offended by that.
“Because you’re my friend, Reed.” It’s as simple as that, really.
“Friend?” His eyebrows rise and I’m not an idiot. I know he’s thinking about last night. About what we almost did.
“Yeah.”
Our eyes meet again, and he stares back at me, unblinking, before finally closing his eyes with a heavy sigh, and Iknowwhat he’s about to say.
“I’m not saying yes,” he offers, looking down at his mug as though it holds all the answers. “But if I did... we can’t—” He breaks off and shakes his head. “We’d just be friends. We can’t cross that line.”
“Yeah,” I know. And as much as that thought sucks, especially after coming so close, I’m positive this is the right thing to do. But that doesn’t mean I can’t flirt a little. “At least not yet anyway. You’re not gonna live here forever, right?” I wink at him, and a laugh bursts out of him.
It breaks the weird tension that had threatened to creep in, and he grins back at me, the sparkle back in his eyes. “No, I won’t be here forever. And maybe not at all,” he adds quickly when I open my mouth.
We’re still holding hands, something I think he’s forgotten about because his eyes widen when he notices. He doesn’t draw back, though, just stares at where our fingers interlace. “Thank you.” When he looks up, my heart stutters at the emotion that he makes no attempt to hide. It’s gratitude and hope and maybe a touch of regret, and in that moment I wish I could take the offer back because I want nothing more than to pull him across the table and kiss him.
But then he smiles, gratitude winning out over everything else. “I’m not saying yes, because it’s not something to be decided on the spot, and?—”
“It’s fine,” I cut in. “Take all the time you need, there’s no hurry.” I don’t want him to decide now because it’ll be a no. I need him to think about it, to let the idea sit for a bit. Let him imagine how much better it would make everything.
Well, hopefully, because now I’ve put that offer out there, I really fucking want him to accept.
I nod to his mug. “Drink your coffee. I’ll make us some breakfast, and then we can go for that walk before we need to be at Sean and Vic’s.” At the mention of the wordwalk, Jen lifts her head, tail wagging lazily.
Reed laughs, his expression softening. “Thank you,” he murmurs again, more heartfelt this time, and I ignore thebutterflies in my belly because I can’t help but hope that this means he’s considering my offer.
Oh, I know it’s going to be hard not acting on the attraction between us, but this, giving Reed a safe place to stay while he sorts out his life, is way more important.
The housewarming partygoes exactly as I thought it would. Sean and Vic start the night as perfect hosts, and a few hours in, they’re tipsy and more than a little handsy.
I’m amazed when Sean manages to extract himself from Vic long enough to come talk to me.
