Then he lets me go and steps out of the tub.
I miss him already. “Aren’t you going to stay and wash off?”
“If I stay,” he replies, “we’ll never get clean.”
His voice floats back to me. “Get it done, Fleming. I have limited hot water.”
“As if that’s my fault,” I call after him, but without conviction. It was the best shower sex I’ve ever had.
After we’ve both showered, we crawl into bed, me in his arms. Exhaustion washes over me and I close my eyes. “I’m so tired,” I moan.
I’ve almost drifted off when he says, “Move in with me.”
My eyes pop open and my sleepiness disappears.
“When?” I ask.
“Next week,” he replies. “I want you here. I want you and Henri safe. I want to see you in the morning when I open my eyes. I want your face to be the last thing I see before I go to sleep.”
His words make a lump lodge in my throat. They’re not making me cry, they’re making me choke. “Too soon,” I croak, snuggling deeper into him so he knows I still love him.
“Are you being serious or are you being contrary?” he replies as shifts so he can see my face.
I turn the question over in my head. Nope, not contrary. Unfortunately, I’m adulting.
“We’ve known each other a week.”
“I love you. That’s not gonna change.”
“Same, Eight. But from a practical point of view, there are other considerations.”
“Like.”
I grab his jaw and give him a quick kiss as I sit up. “C’mon, dad, I thought you were a genius.”
He snorts a laugh as he sits up and presses his back against the headboard. “Touché. So then, mom, how do we handle this?”
“We need to make sure Henri and Oscar feel secure in our relationship before we take any big steps.” I can’t believe the shit coming out of my mouth.
By the look on Eight’s face, he can’t either. “Suddenly you’ve developed maternal instincts?”
“I’ve always had maternal instincts,” I reply, offended. “They usually get stuck deep down where Henri can’t get at them.”
“We are talking about Henri and Oscar. They’re not normal.”
I chuckle. “Henri isn’t anyway. If we do this too fast, the neighbors will start talking.”
Eight settles his chin on his chest. “So, how do we make them feel secure? We can’t go an hour without fighting or fucking.”
“Well, we’ll keep the fucking behind closed doors or in dark alleys.”
“Obv,” he says.
“The fighting we’ll have to tone down, but we can’t just stop or they’ll know something’s up.”
“Okay, so we’re talking about the impossible, and speaking of that, we’re gonna have to find a way for Oscar and Henri to get along. Otherwise, we’ll never have peace, and they’ll never go back to school.”
“They seem to have bonded on their little adventure,” I point out.
