"No," I lie, wiping at my eyes. "I just have something in my eye."
"Both eyes?"
"Shut up."
He laughs and pulls me closer, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. Whiskers stretches and repositions herself so she's draped across both our laps, clearly deciding that we're both acceptable furniture.
"She really likes you," I tell Dime.
"The feeling's mutual. She's a good cat."
"High praise from a guy who told me when we met that he wasn't a cat person."
"I've evolved."
On the other side of the couch, Devil and Dani are arguing about whether the ice dancer should have forgiven the bad boy so quickly.
"He lied to her for like, half the season," Dani argues. "She should have made him work for it more."
"He choreographed an entire skating routine for her. That's work," Devil argues back. "It's not like that shit is easy, is it?"
"That's the bare minimum. He should have groveled." She tugs on his hair.
"He did grovel. Did you miss the whole speech he gave?"
"That wasn't groveling, that was a declaration of love. There's a difference."
I catch Dime's eye, and we both smile. This. This is what I want. Not just him, but this. The normalcy, the laughter, the arguing about stupid TV shows with people who are our best friends.
"Hey," Dime says quietly, so only I can hear. "You okay?"
"Yeah," I tell him, and I realize I mean it. For the first time since everything happened with Logan, I actually feel okay. "I'm really okay."
"Good." He kisses my temple. "That's all I want. For you to be okay."
"I love you," I whisper, the words tumbling out before I can stop them.
He goes still for a moment, and I hold my breath, wondering if I've said too much too soon. But then he's turning my face toward his, his eyes searching mine.
"Say that again."
"I love you," I repeat, stronger this time. "I know it's fast, and I know we're in the middle of all this crazy stuff, but I do. I love you."
"I love you too," he says, and the relief in his voice mirrors my own. "God, Allison, I love you so much. Every time you say it, I want to take it and put it in my pocket so I can carry it around all day, every day."
He kisses me, and I hear Dani make a sound that might be aww but could also be her choking on popcorn. I don't care. All I care about is this man, this moment, this feeling of finally being exactly where I'm supposed to be.
The TV show continues playing in the background. But I'm not paying attention to it anymore. I'm too busy soaking in this moment, this feeling, this life I'm building with Dime.
Whatever comes next, whatever challenges we face when the truth comes out, we'll face them together. And that's all that matters.
But none of us realize how hard those challenges might be.
Twelve
Dime
Today is supposed to be the first normal day since Allison was attacked at school, and I'm looking forward to it.
