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“That’s my dinner,” Jenny said. “I hope you like Hawaiian food.”
“I’ve never had it before.”
For the first time since Chicago she gave me a real smile. “There’s a surprise.”
Jenny
“This is good,” Blair said as she spooned up some rice and teriyaki chicken. “Thanks for sharing.”
“Good thing I ordered extra,” I teased. “You seem hungry.”
I wasn’t over what happened in Chicago or the days since, but somehow hearing about what Blair had been through had eased most of my anger. Listening to her outline the ways she was standing on her own two feet and learning how to take care of herself gave me hope.
“I haven’t been eating well since we got back,” she said. “When I first got to Katy’s all I wanted to do was sleep, and then when I thought I lost you… well, it’s been hard.”
“You haven’t lost me,” I said softly. “I have to admit, when I got back to the hotel and you were gone, and then I didn’t hear from you for so long, I figured you were blowing me off, trying to let me down easily.”
“I’d never blow you off,” she said sincerely. “Did you miss the part earlier when I said I’d fallen in love with you?”
My heart lurched. I hadn’t missed that part at all, but somehow I didn’t fully believe it.
“It’s too soon for love. We’ve known each other, what? A week and a half?”
“It’s not too soon,” she said firmly. “I get it if you’re not there yet, but I want to be honest about how I feel. If we’re going to have a relationship – and I hope we are – I want us to commit to total honesty.”
As I sat there, everything started falling back in place for me. My doubts were disappearing as fast as the macaroni salad we were sharing. It was a relief.
Sure, Blair had left me in Chicago, but I understood why now. When she texted me afterward I’d let my own insecurities about our match color my thinking and instead of asking what happened, I’d assumed the worst. I wasn’t proud of it, but then again, maybe it was only natural that after a whirlwind romance I might be cautious.
“I love you too,” I said softly. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure about it until the words left my mouth.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I want us to be together. I want to try being together in the real world and see where it goes.”
“So we’re officially dating?”
“Yes, I guess we are,” I confirmed, not able to hide my smile. The weight I’d been feeling since Chicago suddenly lifted, making me light and almost giddy.
“Then there’s one more thing I need to tell you right up front,” Blair said. “I want to live on my own for at least a year. I need to prove to myself I can take care of myself before we talk about moving in together or anything like that.”
I started to tease her that no one had asked her to rent a U-Haul and move in already, but I could see that setting this boundary was important to her, so I decided to take it seriously.
“Understood. We don’t need to rush things. We have plenty of time to talk about next steps after the year is up.”
Blair set down her fork. “Do we have plenty of time for other things too?”
“What did you have in mind?” I asked innocently, knowing from the look on her face exactly what she was talking about.
“For one, I’d love to see my new girlfriend’s bedroom.”
“I think that can be arranged.”
Leaving everything on the table, I stood up, grabbed her hand, and led Blair to my bedroom. It was kind of a mess, but then again, I hadn’t been expecting company. The bed was unmade and I hadn’t unpacked from the trip, other than to dig out my phone charger, all my clothes in a pile on top of the open suitcase. At least the sheets were clean and I’d vacuumed recently.
If Blair was bothered by the clutter, she didn’t show it. Instead she seemed focused on getting undressed as quickly as possible. Following her lead, I practically ripped off my clothes and tossed them in the direction of the suitcase.
Once we were both naked, we flew together, mouths meeting and hands wandering.
