Her hesitant shrug tells me maybe not.
“Still. You could tell him. That way he’d at least be prepared. I’m happy to go with you if you need moral support.”
She tucks a hand under the pillow, lying on her side. “Mind if we don’t talk about my ex or my dad anymore?”
“Sure. What do you want to talk about?”
“You think my car will be done on Friday?”
I nod. I know it will. The mechanical issues have already been fixed. The bodywork started today.
At least she looks as sad about it as I do.
“I suppose I should start packing our things.”
I put a hand on top of hers. “Or you could stay.”
Her eyes become glassy. “I can’t. I’m sorry, but I just can’t.”
“Is it Cyrus? Tell me, Kenna. Are you running from him? I can take the truth.”
She slides across the mattress, closing the gap between us, and lays her head on my shoulder, her hand on my chest. “Can we just lie here and talk about stuff that doesn’t mean anything?”
I close my eyes and run my hand over her hair. “Sure.”
For the next hour, I learn a lot about the woman I’m now sure I’m in love with. Her favorite colors. Her hobbies. Her dreams for Amelia.
When she falls asleep in my arms, I relish the feeling. I don’t move for an hour. Maybe two. Then I slip out from under her, pick her up, and carry her back down the stairs.
As I’m putting her in bed, she sleepily turns and looks at me through slitted eyes.
I lean down and kiss her forehead. Then I do what I couldn’t do earlier… I put my mouth next to her ear and whisper, “I could be your ride-or-die, Kenna.”
I pull back and we stare at each other for so long I start to wonder how much time has passed. Tucking her hair behind her ears, I smile at her, and walk away.
Chapter Twenty-four
Kenna
Did I really spend half the night in a man’s bed and not have sex? And how can cuddling with a man make one of the best nights I can remember?
What’s worse is how I like him even more now. I should be distancing myself from him, not lying in his bed telling him intimate details about myself. At what point will it become impossible to walk away?
He wants to be my ride-or-die. Is that something you canchooseto be for someone else? Doesn’t it just happen naturally over time? Like one day you wake up and suddenly know they’re the one person you could never live without.
I rub my eyes, scared that I may have already come to that realization.
There’s a loud knock on the door at the top of the stairs.
“Come in!” I shout.
I quickly check my appearance in the rock-band mirror on the living room wall, rolling my eyes at my reflection when I start to feel like a schoolgirl with a massive crush. But as I hear Carter’s heavy footfalls coming down the stairs, I know this has long passed crush territory.
He rounds the corner and glances around the room. I know what he’s looking for. Boxes. Suitcases. The ones I should be packing but haven’t. The ones I told him last night, or early this morning rather, Iwouldbe packing.
“Are you one of those people who waits until the very last minute to pack?”
“I suppose I am.”
