And my eyes snap back into focus. “Best view in the world,” I say, with a cheesy grin, and she snorts.
“You want to go for a bike ride later?” I say.
She tilts her head. “A bike ride? That wasn’t what I expected you to say. Cycling with your biking buddies isn’t enough?”
And this is another thing. I’ve joined a cycling club, and every Wednesday evening we cycle somewhere interesting in the city and grab some food. Sadie comes along, too, sometimes.
I tip my head to one side. “I missed you when I woke up.”
Saturday has become our chill-out-in-bed morning, often spent reading, a new rule and one I love, so I was kind of surprised that she had headed out here, though maybe she didn’t want to be interrupted with other ideas.
“It was a hard choice. Brandon Sanderson or James Royce.”
“So, the better man won.”
She puts her book down and stands up. Mr. Karen shakes himself, looking all disgruntled that his hot-water bottle has moved, and she heads toward me, ruffling my hair as she moves in behind where I’m sitting at the table. I tip my head back to look up at her.
“In the real world, James Royce is always the better man,” she says.
Now it’s my turn to snort. I spin round to lock her between my knees. She nods at my screen. “You’re working on the new Samsung hardware?”
“Yep. It’s quite exciting what they’ve done. You want to see?”
I’ve been teaching Sadie more electronics stuff, and she’s taken to it likea duck to water. She’s got this visual sense of how and where things connect, like it’s her superpower. I can already tell that she has an instinctive way of looking at a computer board that isn’t very common. Once she’s learned all the theory, she’s going to be amazing at hardware as well as software.
She smiles at me. “Maybe later, I’m at an exciting part of my book. I didn’t want you to feel neglected, though.”
I laugh. “Neglected? I don’t think there’s any chance of that.”
My relationship with Sadie is so different, and it’s felt like that from the first moment she walked down that corridor toward me. I want to shout from the rooftops how giddy I am. I can’t do enough for her. Work has been fine with us being a couple. Jo pursed her lips when I told her, and said, given that she slept with one of our biggest clients, that she didn’t have a leg to stand on, and quoted some stat at me about how many people meet their future partner in the office. She talked to Sadie, too—about the degree and about me—to make sure she was happy and reassure her about her role in the company. It made me appreciate her approach to this business even more.
“Who’s making dinner tonight?” I say.
“I think it’s my turn,” she says as she heads back to the couch and picks up her book again, and Mr. Karen eyes her up like he wants to make sure she’s not going to move again for several hours.
And just like that, we’re peacefully spending time together, wrapped up and enjoying our own worlds. I still haven’t told Sadie that I love her. I’m biding my time. But I hope she realizes it in what we do together every day.
Chapter 40
Sadie
When I wake up, James is curled around me with his hand on my stomach and pressed into my back. It’s my favorite time of day, those few minutes when we’re wrapped up in each other. I have a fantasy life living downtown with a gorgeous guy, so I want to enjoy every second of it. James is like a different person now, eyes twinkling at me when he makes some joke about cooking or Mr. Karen or some fantasy book, bossing people around in the office and joking about that, too. It’s a joy to see him so happy.
The girl holds the injured bird in her hands. When she opens her fingers, it spreads its wings and flies away.
Jane did such a number on him. She still texts him, and she seems more considerate of him now, but he’s often irritated by it. He hasn’t said anything about being in a relationship with me. And maybe, after everything with Jane, that’s not a place he wants to go. Am I a rebound for him? Will he eventually move on? The thought is sharp and hot.God.For now, all I want to do is wallow in it all like I’m between the pages of some amazing book.
I’ve been working with Cath on how to employ people with experience and fewer qualifications, and Roy’s given me responsibility for some parts of the code. No one at Williams Security treats me like I’m slow. And I’ve started to think that maybe it was just one of those stupid things that cruel kids say at school that aren’t true but end up becoming how you view yourself nonetheless. I’d like to get a degree someday, but I understand the code just as well as the college graduates here. And there are lots of assholes with degrees, Rodriguez and Jane to name just two. James has been so positive about my forays into hardware, and his enthusiasm makes my heart ache. I’ve come so much further than I ever expected: this job, standing up to Jake, Cady.
The girl writes some code that transports her to a different planet.
And sci-fi? Who knew? I’m into the creation of worlds and the tech, but I’m mainly into it because, after I’ve read the story, I get to listen to James nerd out about it for hours. I rest my hand lightly on top of his hand on my stomach and breathe it all in as I close my eyes.
The next thing I know, lips are moving down the back of my neck, the hard shape of him pressed into me from behind. I smile at the wall. This is my second-favorite time of day, and definitely my favorite thing to do with James.
I place my hand over his again and slide it downward, and he groans and nuzzles into my hair.
“We don’t have to do this …”
