To say nothing about how many hours he’d spent doing laundry.
And that wasn’t including the laundry he carried in the suitcase.
But none of that mattered; he’d cleaned, and he was ready for her to see his space.Ready enough at least.
“Are you ready?”he asked.
She nodded.
He held his breath as he put the key in the slot and twisted, the old door squeaking open.He wondered what she was thinking as they walked inside, her bag on her shoulder and him leading the way with his suitcase.“Living room,” he said, pointing to the space with the big comfy couch, two chairs and the entertainment center across the way.
He continued on, pointing with his thumb toward the kitchen and the sleek, stainless-steel appliances that looked somewhat out of place in the space.But he’d spent money on those appliances; this was a cook’s space after all.
The table stood by the balcony area, accessible through the kitchen space.And as they headed toward the back of the apartment, he pointed out the first of many bookshelves, the bathroom and his bedroom.
“I’m putting my stuff down,” he said as he walked into the bedroom.
He heard her footsteps behind him, and he didn’t want to turn to see what she was doing; he just didn’t want to pressure her or keep her on a path.This was him opening his space to her, and he didn’t feel like forcing her on a timeline.
At least one that wasn’t the timeline they had to follow so that they’d be on time to meet with the visual artist.
“I like the space,” she said, her voice cutting through his thoughts as she put her bag on his bed.
“Thank you,” he said, feeling a little dazed if not entirely too excited for words.“You see spaces all the time, so I wanted to make sure you liked this one.”
She smiled, and he knew he’d impressed her.“You and this place is like Artur and his car.”
Which made some sense based on the stories Samuel dropped when they were just talking.Artur, Liv’s boyfriend, had some kind of thing about his car—and a secret one that was apparently more expensive than any of Jacob’s.“Any particular part of it?”he asked.“I mean if that’s what you were going for?”
She laughed and it made his heart burst if not beam.“I mean possibly the kitchen, but it was more a reference to how you’d not ever talked about or invited me to this place…until now?”
And that was a thought—a serious one.One that required a different environment than his bedroom.“Come,” he said.
She nodded and took the hand he’d outstretched.He led her into the living room, to the couch that he’d had for years and refused to give up because it was the best couch he’d ever sat on, not to mention they didn’t make couches like this one anymore.
“Tell me.”
He smiled.“I think you’re actually more on the nose than you thought when you were talking about Artur and his car.”
She raised an eyebrow.“What do you mean?”
“I think,” he said, trying to word this carefully, “that Artur showed your sister his cars when it was obvious that they were going to be spending so much of their time together and that he couldn’t literally make her drive him everywhere.”
“I’m listening,” she said, her eyes wide.
“When my first unconscious thought when I got back from my trip was not only seeing you but also going to your place and staying there.I knew that…things had changed.Right?”
She nodded.“Things have changed.Yes.”
He continued, “As we try to figure out what that means, I noticed how much I’d been staying at your place.And I also noticed I didn’t want to be the kind of guy to force you to…host us especially when I actually have an apartment that’s more convenient to some of these places.So…” He smiled.“I figured it was important that you see this place at its best and know that…you’re as welcome here as you’ve welcomed me into your place.”
And his heart pounded when he finished speaking, looking into Naomi’s eyes and hoping she’d say something, anything to fill the space where words should be, and make him feel like he wasn’t talking to an empty room.
But then he saw her eyes get soft, her smile wide.“Thank you,” she said.
Which were the two best words he’d ever heard.
*
