Both of Keys’ eyebrows shot up now. “Kids? As in more than one?”
“Someday. When I’m no longer hiding and you’re no longer fish and/or roach hunting, yeah. I don’t want Oscar to get much older. Don’t get me wrong, Poison is my sister and I love her, but the bond that most siblings cherish is missing.”
“Might also have to do with her thinking you’re dead,” he deadpanned.
Rose slapped her hand down on his chest. “You know what I mean. I don’t want there to be a major age gap between them.”
Keys pursed his lips, thinking. “What if we look into kids who are already alive?”
Rose tilted her face in curiosity. “You mean adopt?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “There’s so many unwanted kids in the world, and as much as I’d like to experience fatherhood, I can’t help but think of all the hardships the ol’ ladies have gone through, what you must have gone through with Oscar. I’m not opposed to more kids, but just thinking that maybe we don’t bring another into this world. Maybe we give one a home that they don’t currently have.”
Rose watched him for a heartbeat before smiling. “I love that.” Leaning over him, she gently pressed her lips to his. “I didn’t say it before, Keys, but I do want it known: I am falling for you. I may not be able to say those words yet, but there’s not a doubt in my mind that you’re it for me. Can you just give me a bit more time?”
“Rose, you don’t ever have to say those words to me. We’reboth aware how much actions speak louder than words. If you’re not comfortable saying the words, then don’t. Write them on the bathroom mirror, send me a text message, or leave me an Easter egg in some source code. I don’t need the words to know you feel them.”
“Thank you. I’ll get there one day, but it’s nice to know the pressure is off to say them. I am sorry I can’t say them as readily as others can or do.”
Keys shook his head. “I’m not. I’d rather they weren’t spoken at all than said prematurely or when you don’t mean them.”
Settling herself under his chin, Rose wrapped her arms around him. Keys shifted his arms to encircle her waist rather than grip her hips. “What a pair we make,” she mused.
“No joke. I am probably the only father in history who’s still a virgin.”
Rose laughed, shaking her head. “We’ll fix that soon enough.”
“Maybe we don’t.”
Rose lifted her head up, frowning down at him. “What do you mean?”
“Well, other than Cage’s poor advice to clean up my scruff,” Keys explained with reproach, “he also talked about how intimacy is more than sex. How we need to work on trusting each other and building our relationship outside the bedroom.”
“He knows about me?” Rose asked, her frown deepening.
“Not specifically, but he knows I’m interested in someone,” Keys clarified. “While I willneverallow wax to touch my skin again, I’m thinking he might not be wrong with that other advice. What if we take sex off the table? Work on us, strengthen our relationship, learn who we are beyond the computer screens we’ve been hiding behind, and when the time is right, then we can…” He let his voice trail off.
“Pop your cherry?” Rose offered with a smile.
Snorting, Keys nodded. “Sure.”
“What about kissing?”
Leaning forward, Keys took her lips. While there was a slight hesitation in the beginning, his confidence grew exponentially, and Rose knew she would always rememberthisas their first real kiss.
When he pulled back, Keys answered her initial question. “Kissing and touching is fine. In fact, it’s encouraged.” He trailed his fingertips along the skin at the small of her back. “But we work on us without the pressure of sex or saying those three pesky little words.”
“And we go roach hunting,” she added.
Keys chuckled. “Absolutely. It’s essential.”
Nodding slowly, Rose said, “I like this. It’s not conventional, but then, what about us is?”
“Personally, I think conventional is overrated. Now, why don’t you get some sleep, and I’ll come by in the morning with breakfast?”
The apartment was fully stocked with all the essentials, including food. But not donuts, and every kid’s heart could be won over with donuts. And maybe a few more LEGO kits.
“Will you stay?” Rose asked softly, like she was afraid of the answer.
