“Is that a military thing or a Ledger thing?”I ask as I crawl out of bed.
“Both, I guess.I was like this growing up, but the military kind of made it worse.”
“It’s not a bad thing,” I correct him.“I wish I were organized and put together like you are.”
“I like your chaos,” he says, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“Really?”I look at him skeptically.
“Uh-huh,” he murmurs, kissing my neck.
“So, you don’t mind that I’m messy and disorganized?”
“Nope.”
“Come here.”I take his hand and lead him to my closet.
I watch his face as I pull open the door.His eyebrows raise when he sees the mess inside.Clothes are piled on the floor and spilling out of the hamper.Shoes, books, and other hobby stuff I gave up on clutter the space.
“How do you find anything?”
I snort.“It’s a struggle.”
“I could organize it.Set up a system,” he offers, looking almost excited to clean up my mess.
“Yeah?Is that how you want to spend my day off?”
He shakes his head.“Hell, no.I’ll do it tomorrow when you’re at work or the day after.”
“You don’t have to do any of that.This is supposed to be a vacation for you.You should be out hiking or seeing the sights.”
“I’ve hiked.We’ve been to town.I’ve seen the sights,” he says.
“No, it’s fine.I’ll deal with the mess later.Come on, let’s shower and go out for breakfast.”
My fantasy of showering together is popped as soon as I step into the shower and realize that there’s not enough room for both of us.
“How do you feel about a little remodel in here?”Ledger asks as he leans against the wall and watches me with hungry eyes.
“I think I need to fix the back porch and the roof first before I tackle things that are still working.”I sigh.
“We’ll make a list.”
“You and your lists.”I laugh.“In all honesty, though,” I continue as I rinse the soap off my body and step out so he can get in.“I don’t have enough money for a remodel.Not right now.I don’t even have enough money to fix the urgent stuff.”
“That’s why you were looking for a roommate,” he says quietly.
I wrap a towel around my body and another around my hair.When I look back at him, he’s watching me, a gentle look in his dark blue eyes.
“We’ll figure it out together,” he says firmly.
I nod, but inside, I’m freaking out.
I guess it’s a good sign that he’s making plans for the future, but whenever I think about us being together after this week, my mind blanks.I’m not sure what our relationship will look like or how I’ll handle it.
Neither of us has brought up the future except in vague terms.I can’t tell if we’re both avoiding it, or if Ledger is afraid to hurt me with what he knows it will be like.
We need to talk about it before he leaves or before I become a tense ball of anxiety, but I push those thoughts aside for the day.If I’m going to play hooky and spend the day with him, I want it to be light and happy.I want to have this day as a happy memory for when he’s gone.
